Critical Thinking About Online Information
A lesson helping KS3 students develop the skills to question, verify, and evaluate the information they encounter online every day.
Overview
Students are exposed to vast quantities of information online, much of it unreliable. This lesson builds practical critical thinking skills that students can apply immediately — from evaluating social media claims to checking the credibility of websites. Through hands-on exercises, students learn that being critical does not mean being cynical; it means being smart about what they believe and share.
Learning Objectives
- •Apply practical strategies for evaluating the reliability of online information
- •Distinguish between fact, opinion, and misinformation in online content
- •Understand why misinformation spreads and how algorithms amplify it
Activities
True, false, or misleading?
10 minutesPresent students with ten online claims (screenshots of social media posts, headlines, and statistics). Working in pairs, they categorise each as true, false, or misleading. Discuss as a class, revealing the correct answers and exploring why some misleading claims were convincing.
The verification challenge
20 minutesGive each group a viral claim and access to a school device. They have 10 minutes to verify or debunk the claim using the SIFT method: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace the original claim. Groups present their findings, explaining their verification process.
Create a misinformation warning poster
15 minutesEach group creates a poster highlighting the red flags that suggest a piece of online content may be unreliable — such as emotional language, lack of sources, suspicious URLs, or too-good-to-be-true claims. Display the posters around the school to share the learning more widely.
Discussion Points
- •Why do people share misinformation even when they do not mean to?
- •How do social media algorithms decide what you see — and why does that matter?
- •What responsibility do you have before sharing something online?
Key Takeaways
- •Always verify before you share — if you cannot confirm a claim, do not pass it on
- •Misinformation spreads because it triggers strong emotions. Pause and think before you react
This content is designed to support professionals in their safeguarding role. It does not replace your organisation's safeguarding policies or training requirements.
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Last reviewed: 2026-03-30