Lesson Plans Archives – Page 3 of 3

60 resources available

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Oil Exaggerations

Critical Thinking
President Barack Obama has said that “we import more oil today than ever before” – but do we? How can you find out? In this lesson, students will weigh Obama’s superlative claim against the facts.

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Monty Python and the Quest for the Perfect Fallacy

Critical Thinking
This lesson will focus on 10 fallacies that represent the most common types of mistakes in reasoning, using Monty Python and popular culture to make the lesson relatable.

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Made in the U.S.A.

Critical Thinking
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wanted to stop U.S. companies from moving jobs offshore, and a group called Working 4 Working Americans ran an ad in support of his plan. But the story the ad tells doesn’t quite give the whole picture. In this lesson, students will examine the facts behind this potentially misleading ad.

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Health Care Hooey

Critical Thinking
This lesson comes in a basic version, for classrooms without internet access and/or students at the 8th-9th grade level, and a more advanced version, which does require internet access and is aimed at students at higher grade levels.

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Everything You Know is Wrong 2: Beliefs and Behavior

Critical Thinking
This is the second of two lessons focusing on the instincts and habits of mind that keep us from thinking logically. This time around, we will focus on how people reconcile their beliefs with the world around them, even when the evidence doesn’t seem to agree with those beliefs.

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Everything You Know Is Wrong 1: Us and Them

Critical Thinking
In this lesson, students explore some of the irrational ways in which humans think, and learn to recognize and overcome the habits of mind that can get in the way of good reasoning.

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Combating the Culture of Corruption

Critical Thinking
In this lesson, students will: Examine an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee that attacks John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for looking the other way during a bribery and corruption scandal. Research McCain’s role as head of the Indian Affairs Committee and explore the history of the investigation into the scandal. Assess whether or not the DNC’s e-mail accurately describes McCain’s actions regarding the scandal.

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