Trial resource - not yet verified for classroom use. This is a starting point to help you build your own lesson, not a finished or approved plan. Cyber Safe with Monkleton is new, and we are shaping this with teachers - please adapt it freely, use what works, and tell us what doesn't so we can improve it. Once it has been shaped and checked with teachers, we will mark it verified. Feedback: cybersafe-feedback@monkleton.io.
Spotting misinformation and fakes
Printable - use your browser's Print (Cmd/Ctrl + P) to print or save as a PDF.
This is a starting point, not a script - take what is useful, change what is not, and shape it around your class. It brings a Cyber Safe with Monkleton lesson into the classroom: the behaviour, not just the rule.
The big idea
Not everything online is true, and one dramatic post is never proof. Check a second, trusted source - and learn to tell a fact from an opinion from something simply made up.
Learning intentions (adapt to your class)
- I understand that lots of shares does not make something true.
- I can check a claim against a second, trusted source.
- I can tell a fact from an opinion from a made-up story.
A suggested shape
Starter (about 5 minutes)
Show a dramatic claim: "Doctors don't want you to know this - share before it's deleted!" Ask: is it true? How would we know?
Explore (about 15 minutes)
Draw out why fakes spread fast, and why "share before it's gone" is pressure, not evidence. Note that AI can now fake photographs and videos too, so a realistic picture is not proof on its own.
Practise (about 10 minutes)
Pupils sort a set of statements into fact, opinion, and made-up, and say where they would go to check.
Safe Check plenary (about 10 minutes)
Pupils state the rule: one source is not enough - check, then share.
Ready-to-use resources
- Background for you: our guides How can I tell if a story online is true?, How can I spot a deepfake video or fake giveaway?, and How can I tell if a photo is AI-generated?.
- To send home: share the first guide with families.
In the app
This lesson pairs with an in-app quest in Cyber Safe with Monkleton, so classroom time and screen time reinforce the same habits. The app is in its first previews now, and supporting media is coming soon. Until then, the discussion and activities here stand on their own.
Tell us how it went
This is a trial, and your classroom experience is exactly what will make it better. If you use it, we would love to know what worked and what you changed - email cybersafe-feedback@monkleton.io.
Trial guidance, shared early for teacher feedback - please adapt it before any classroom use, and let us know how it went. Product names are used only to describe their features; Monkleton Labs is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, them. No ads, no affiliate links.