Reading the news like a detective: a lesson plan that worked in my classroom

After the training, several teachers in our group asked the same thing: how do we bring this into a 45-minute class without turning it into another lecture? This is the plan I've used three times now, and my students still ask for "the detective lesson".

The 45-minute plan

1. Warm-up (5 min): show two headlines about the same event, one neutral and one emotional. Ask which one they'd click and why.
2. Video (5 min): watch the short TED-Ed lesson below on how to choose your news.
3. Detective work (20 min): groups get a printed post and a checklist: source, date, evidence, who benefits, what's missing.
4. Report back (10 min): each group gives a verdict and one piece of evidence for it.
5. Exit ticket (5 min): one thing they will check next time before sharing.

What I learned

• Use posts from their world (sports, celebrities, school rumours), not politics.
• Let them be wrong. The discussion after a wrong verdict is the best part.
• Give them a phrase to use with friends: "Where did you see this?" is enough.

If you try it, tell me in the comments how it went. I'd love to collect versions from other schools in the South.