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Year 5

Understanding online influencers

I can describe the motivations of online influencers and explain why this means I shouldn’t always trust their content.

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New
New
Year 5

Understanding online influencers

I can describe the motivations of online influencers and explain why this means I shouldn’t always trust their content.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Online influencers are normally motivated by passion, popularity, fame or money.
  2. Online influencers use tactics to gain likes and followers.
  3. Influencers sometimes lie, exaggerate and do controversial things.
  4. There are ways you can tell if something an influencer posts is an advert or is authentic.

Keywords

  • Influencer - someone famous or trying to be famous through posting content online

  • Audience - in this context, the viewers or followers of an online influencer

  • Engage - in this context, to engage is to like, comment or interact with an online post or social media account

  • Motivation - the reason why someone does something

  • Authentic - something that is real and genuine

Common misconception

Online influencers have easy and perfect lives.

It takes hard work, capital investment and a large team of people to create successful online content. Videos have often been heavily edited and manipulated to make the influencer's life seem more attractive and fun than it really is.


To help you plan your year 5 rshe (pshe) lesson on: Understanding online influencers, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Give pupils time and space to share their experiences with internet culture. Be aware of varying experiences and that some pupils will be unfamiliar with this topic. Be cautious to not pass judgement on pupils' experiences or attitudes to internet culture, unless it poses a safeguarding issue.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these statements are true?
Correct answer: Not all games and videos are suitable for children.
It is not important to keep personal information safe online.
Everything online is real and true.
Correct answer: People do not have to tell the truth online.
Q2.
What is streaming?
uploading videos online
Correct answer: playing a video using the internet
creating a video online
Q3.
Match the word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:wellbeing,how healthy we feel in our mind and body
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how healthy we feel in our mind and body

Correct Answer:screen time,the amount of time that we use digital devices
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the amount of time that we use digital devices

Correct Answer:socialise,spending time with family and friends
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spending time with family and friends

Correct Answer:mental health,how healthy our minds are
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how healthy our minds are

Q4.
Social is websites and apps used to share words and images with other people.
Correct Answer: media
Q5.
What is fake news?
a feeling that influences how you respond to the news
news which doesn't sound real
Correct answer: information that is not true but looks real
information that you find online
Q6.
is an image or video created to tempt you to click on it.
Correct Answer: Clickbait, Click bait

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:influencer,someone famous or trying to be famous through posting content online
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someone famous or trying to be famous through posting content online

Correct Answer:audience,in this context, the viewers or followers of an online influencer
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in this context, the viewers or followers of an online influencer

Correct Answer:engage,like, comment or interact with an online post or social media account
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like, comment or interact with an online post or social media account

Correct Answer:motivation,the reason why someone does something
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the reason why someone does something

Q2.
Which of these statements are false?
Influencers can exaggerate online to become more popular.
Correct answer: All influencers live easy and perfect lives.
Influencers can be paid to say things online.
Correct answer: Influencers are only motivated by passion.
Q3.
Influencers can be motivated by passion, , fame and money.
Correct Answer: popularity
Q4.
Which are tactics used by influencers to get more likes and followers?
posting rarely on social media
Correct answer: posting shocking content
Correct answer: pretending to be relatable
ignoring their audience
Q5.
Which are ways we can tell if something is an advert?
Correct answer: The influencer says the post is sponsored.
The post includes a brand name.
Correct answer: The post is labelled as an advert.
The influencer recommends a product in the post.
Q6.
Someone who is is genuine and honest about who they are and what they like.
Correct Answer: authentic