Define what illegal downloading is. Talk to your students about the meaning of intellectual property, and the necessity of copyright laws, which protect intellectual property from being stolen or misused. Draw analogies between physical property and intellectual property to help students understand that digital files, while immaterial, are still the property of their creator.
Present your students with facts about the financial effects of illegal downloading. For example, discuss music and film industry revenues as affected by illegal downloading. Also discuss positive effects of not stealing, such as the increase in market base for up-and-coming artists.
Discuss the legal repercussions of illegal downloading. Since students may consider using illegal downloading methods themselves, it is important for them to understand the possible consequences of their actions.
Facilitate a classroom discussion in which students present their own views on illegal downloading. Guide the discussion to the most relevant issues while allowing students the freedom to give their own perspectives. This allows students to learn from each other and develop a greater understanding of the illegal downloading issue, based on the facts presented earlier in your lecture.