Lesson 6

[5 minutes]

• Remind the class of the ground rules for PSHE education. Using slide 3, ask pupils to imagine a child who is 8 or 9. They’ve seen a news story online – but there’s something about it that makes them unsure if it’s true. Individually students should note down their thoughts on:

  • What could be making them uncertain?

  • What could they do to find out if the story is true?

• Use this assessment to inform the lesson and make adjustments as needed. Share the learning objective and outcomes.

Activity 1

[10 minutes]

• Ask small groups to match the key terms on slide 5 to the correct definition and example. (This slide can be printed for pupils who would benefit, and for younger children it may be advisable to remove the examples and just ask them to match the word and definition.) As a class, check answers using the following slide.

  Support: Remove hoax and have pupils focus on fake news and reliable source.

  Challenge: Ask pupils to come up with one similarity and one difference between ‘fake news’ and ‘hoax’.

• Explain that there are different reasons why people might report fake news. For example, they might want to trick people (like the spaghetti tree hoax) or they might not have checked the story and report fake news by mistake. So, it’s useful for reporters and readers to be able to spot fake news, so they don’t report it or share it. Factchecking news websites tell people if news stories are fake or if information or facts they include are wrong.

Activity 2

[10 minutes]

Tell pupils they will be learning how to identify fake news. Use slides 8-16 to introduce the NewsWise Navigator, using the discussion questions and answers on the slides to support pupils’ understanding. Slides 10-12 help pupils understand what a professional online news report might look like - so use the word ‘professional’ (as detailed in the slide notes). When discussing reliable sources of news on slides 9 and 16, collect and record ideas from pupils to produce an agreed list that can be referred to throughout the unit of work. (You may want to offer pupils some initial ideas.)

Activity 3

[20 minutes]

• Now pupils are going to use the NewsWise navigator to become fake news detectives! Show the headlines on slides 17-19 and ask for gut reactions on whether they are fake or real news stories. For example, using eyes closed and thumbs up (real) or down (fake).

• Give each small group the Clue cards worksheet and ask them to move around the room looking at the Fake or real clue cards. Note that the cards could be cut up and placed randomly around the classroom, or organised in a carousel so the clues for each headline are at different stations. For each card, the group should decide if it points towards the headline being true or being fake. They should record their responses on the Clue cards worksheet, with a ✔ for real, ✘ for fake, or ? for not sure.

• Finally, the group should agree whether they think each headline is about a real or fake news story. Do a class vote and reveal the answers:

  • Dad uses a swing for over a day to set world record – real (clues: reported by a trusted source, the report is neat with no mistakes, it has quotes from different people and other reliable sources are reporting the story too)

  • Rhino and elephant horns dyed pink to protect them – fake (clues: shared by less trustworthy online sources, like social media - and there were mistakes in it. Fact-checking websites also reported the story - and remember that these are special websites that identify fake news! The photo also looks like it could have been edited and there are no quotes. This could be a hoax fake news story – designed to trick or fool people)

  • Scientists build computer powered by seaweed – real (clues: same as the first ‘Dad uses a swing…’ story - plus, captions to explain the photo)

  Challenge: For any stories the group thinks are fake, why might someone have written this fake news story?

• Lesson slides: Fake or real news (adapt and print slide 5 as needed)

• Lesson slides including teacher notes: Fake or real news

• Clue cards worksheet

• Fake or real clue cards