Lesson Plans for Educators
Lessons to boost mental immunity, designed for the classroom
Our lesson plans aim to empower educators with comprehensive playbooks for teaching critical thinking skills in fun and engaging ways, helping students develop resistance to manipulative information in today’s complex media landscape.
Science Denial
Science denial is the refusal to accept well-established scientific conclusions. Teach your students how to spot science denial and inoculate them against it with the Cranky Uncle Game!
Health Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience pretends to be scientific but doesn’t adhere to science’s methodology. This lesson plan covers the characteristics of health pseudoscience and the techniques used to sell it with a fun activity: creating a fake ad.
Horoscopes & Personality Tests
This lesson plan covers an activity to fool students with a bunk personality assessment to demonstrate to them techniques that are commonly used to mislead, with a “gotcha!” twist.
Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories have been referred to “epistemic black holes” because once you’re into them, they’re hard to get out. This lesson plan teaches you how to prevent your students for falling for these traps.
Logical Fallacies
Logical fallacies are pervasive in pseudoscience, disinformation, and bad faith arguments. Teaching students to master the art of recognizing logical fallacies can supercharge their critical thinking skills.
Learn More
Check out our What Works to Build Mental Immunity page: a toolbox for educators.
There is also a general audience version (What Works for Learners) linked on that page.
If you haven’t already…
Confused about some of the terminology we use? Check out our glossary page.
These lessons are the work of our the brilliant Melanie Trecek-King.
Melanie is the Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project and the founder of ThinkingIsPower.com.
These lesson plans are part of our Mental Immunity to Manipulative Information Campaign (MIMIC).
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