Ask for Evidence lesson plan

Social media connects us to each other, but it also connects us to a world of rumours, myths, and misinformation. Learning to navigate this new landscape and think critically about what we encounter on it is a challenge for us all. No wonder that critical thinking has been identified as a key 21st century skill by the World Economic Forum among others.

Three years ago Sense about Science worked with pupils at Key stage 3 – 4 to develop an educational resource to give them the skills needed to critically assess claims online, and prevent the spread of unquestioned information.

In 2017, based on feedback from teachers and pupils, we’ve launched an updated version of the resource that:

  • Better reflects the confusing new world of social media and proliferating news sources
  • Is designed for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education classes
  • Is more flexible for different classroom size, time and ability constraints
  • Includes constant pupil participation
  • Could help pupils as part of a rounded sex and relationship education (SRE) plan
  • Could help Key Stage 3 – 4 pupils engage with the ‘Working scientifically’ content section of the UK science curriculum

The driving question is, ‘Where do news stories and claims about health come from, and how do we know if they’re true?’ It focuses on finding and understanding evidence. It could be summed up as, ‘critical thinking through scientific thinking’. It takes skills that pupils might learn in the lab, and shows how you can apply the same thinking to life online.

It’s free to download at TES.

  • Share this resource with your networks of teachers or educators
  • Tweet about the lesson plan with #AskforEvidence, or your favourite education hashtags
  • Share this email with schools, science teachers, or parents

Please get in touch with any queries and let us know how you use it.

We've made a few short animations. Please watch and share them!

  

 

Tags: lesson plan

Sign in

×

Sign up

×

Share

×