This lesson gives students aged 13–16 an opportunity to explore if the claims that they see, read, and hear are true, using evidence as the gold standard to evaluate those claims. Through the lesson we encourage them to ask for evidence. The lesson will help teenagers develop their critical thinking and questioning skills. It could work in science, citizenship, PSHE, media or critical thinking lessons, and is adaptable.



Learning objectives

• Students must know that not all things reported are true, and it is possible to ask for evidence.

• Students should analyse evidence from a variety of sources, be able to know how to ask for evidence, and feel okay if they don’t know whether to believe something that they see online.

• Students might evaluate a variety of claims and feel confident to ask for evidence



Resource includes:

1 lesson plan with links to external resources

1 PowerPoint file with required resources



The driving question is: “Where do news stories come from, and how do we know if they’re true?” It focuses on finding and understanding evidence, and covers diets, clinical trials, and choosing reliable sources to find information about e.g. drugs/smoking, diet/health, best ways to learn, best ways to stay fit, best value computer games.

