Screen Time Warm-Up: Your Daily Digital Check-in

Instructions: Think about your average day. How much time do you spend on screens (phone, tablet, computer, TV, video games)? Write down your answer below, and then share one of your favorite things to do without a screen.

My Screen Time Estimate:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

One Favorite Non-Screen Activity:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Screen Time Smarts: My Balance Plan

Name: _____________________________
Date: ___________________________

Part 1: My Screen Scene

Think about your daily and weekly screen habits. Answer the questions below honestly.

1. On a typical weekday, approximately how many hours do you spend on screens (phone, gaming, TV, computer for fun)?
   
   
   
   
   
2. On a typical weekend day, approximately how many hours do you spend on screens?
   
   
   
   
   
3. What are your top 3 favorite screen activities?
   1. _______________________________________
      
   2. _______________________________________
      
   3. _______________________________________
      
      
      
4. What are 3 things you often do instead of screen activities?
   1. _______________________________________
      
   2. _______________________________________
      
   3. _______________________________________
      
      
      
5. Have you ever noticed any of the negative side effects we discussed (tired eyes, headaches, trouble sleeping, difficulty focusing, mood changes)? Describe an experience.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Part 2: Brainstorming Balance

In your groups, discuss these questions and brainstorm ideas to help create a healthier screen time balance.

1. What are some realistic rules or boundaries your family or you could set for screen time? (e.g., no phones at dinner, no screens an hour before bed, screen-free zones in the house)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. What are some fun non-screen activities you enjoy or would like to try more of? (Think about hobbies, sports, creative projects, spending time outdoors, reading)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. How can you remind yourself or help your friends remember to take breaks from screens?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. What is one small change you could make this week to improve your screen time balance?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Part 3: My Personal Pledge

Based on our discussion, write down one practical tip you will try to implement to limit your screen use and improve your balance.

My Tip: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why this tip is important to me: __________________________________________________________________________________

Screen Time Discussion Guide: Finding Your Digital Balance

Objective: To encourage students to reflect on their screen use, share personal experiences, and collaboratively brainstorm strategies for healthy screen time habits.

Instructions: Divide into small groups. Discuss the questions below, sharing your thoughts and listening respectfully to your classmates. Appoint one group member to be the note-taker.

Discussion Questions:

1. Based on the Screen Time Smarts Worksheet Part 1, what did you discover about your own screen habits? Was anything surprising?
   
   
   
2. What are some of the biggest challenges to limiting screen time in today's world? (e.g., peer pressure, boredom, addictive apps, homework needs)
   
   
   
3. Referencing Part 2 of your Screen Time Smarts Worksheet, let's discuss some of the rules or boundaries you brainstormed. Which ones do you think would be most effective and why?
   
   
   
4. Share some of the non-screen activities your group thought of. How can we make these activities as appealing as screen time?
   
   
   
5. How can friends support each other in making healthier screen time choices?
   
   
   
6. If you could give one piece of advice to a younger student about screen time, what would it be?
   
   
   

Group Share-Out (Teacher Led):

• What were some of the most creative non-screen activities your group discussed?
• What was one practical tip that your group agreed could make a big difference?
• What was a new idea you heard that you hadn't thought of before?

Screen Time Balance Game: Out-Screen Your Screen!

Objective: To actively brainstorm and commit to engaging non-screen activities that can balance out screen time.

Materials: Small pieces of paper or mini whiteboards for each student/pair, pencils/markers.

Instructions:

1. The Challenge: Let's find awesome non-screen alternatives to balance our digital time!
2. Brainstorm & List: On your paper, quickly list as many non-screen activities as you can think of in 1 minute. (e.g., Reading, playing outside, drawing, sports, talking to family, helping with chores).
3. My Top 3 Balancers: Choose your top 3 favorite non-screen activities from your list. Write each one on a separate small slip of paper (these are your "Balance Cards").
4. The Balance Act: Whenever you plan to use a screen for fun, challenge yourself to complete one of your "Balance Card" activities first. For example, if you want to play a video game, you might choose to read a book for 15 minutes before you start gaming.
5. Share Your Strategy: Discuss with a partner how you plan to use your Balance Cards this week. How will this help you find a healthier screen time balance?

Screen Time Cool-Down: My Pledge for Balance

Instructions: Take a moment to think about everything we discussed today. What is one practical step you can take this week to create a healthier balance with your screen time?

Write your pledge below, and explain why this specific tip is important to you.

My Screen Time Balance Pledge:

I will try to ____________________________________________________________________

Because it will help me to:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Bonus: Share your pledge with a family member or friend to help you stick to it!