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Pause, notice, question, act: Stopping the spread of misinformation and disinformation
Child Safeguarding Statement
Some resources and activities may prompt a child to remember and potentially share an experience of harm. Make sure you’re familiar with your school's safeguarding policies and procedures so you can confidently report safety and well-being concerns.
Prepare students for the session by discussing: their right to be safe and respected; what to do if discussing online safety makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe; and how to seek help if they feel or have felt unsafe. Use this resource available on the website.
Pause, notice, question, act: Stopping the spread of misinformation and disinformation
Overview
In this lesson, learners will learn how to identify and respond to misinformation shared with them by family, friends, ads, or other online sources. Learners will develop critical thinking skills to pause, recognise their emotional response, ask key questions to verify facts, and decide on appropriate actions, such as ignoring false information or informing a trusted adult.
This lesson aligns with and promotes several principles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to access reliable information (Article 17), by empowering learners to seek, evaluate, and use accurate information while understanding their responsibility in sharing it. The lesson also upholds the right to protection from harmful content (Article 19) by teaching learners how to safeguard themselves and others from the potential dangers of misinformation.
Estimated time: 80 minutes (or two 40-minute sessions)
This lesson is part of the FREE digital licence program
Learning Intentions
Learners will:
- Develop knowledge of types of misinformation that they may be presented with by others, and how this may impact their rights.
- Develop skills and behaviours around responding to misinformation that has been shared by others.
These intentions are evidenced when learners can:
- Identify examples of different types of misinformation that might be shared with them online.
- Model ways to respond to misinformation that has been shared by others.
Educators will:
- Develop strategies to teach critical thinking skills, enabling learners to pause, evaluate, and question the reliability of online content.
- Deepen their understanding of how misinformation impacts learners' rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
These intentions are evidenced when educators can:
- Model fact-checking and critical questioning techniques in relation to online media.
- Clearly connect lesson content to learners’ rights under the UNCRC, empowering learners to recognise the importance of accurate information and safe online behaviours.
Lesson Instructions
Part 1: Introduction to misinformation and disinformation
Slides 1-2: Sharing information online
Discuss where people share information online and the different types of information (e.g., articles, photos, videos). Look at examples on Slides 1-2, and ask learners whether they believe that the information presented is real or not.
Ask learners:
- How would they feel if these articles were shared with them?
- What would they do (e.g., share, question, or ignore)?
- What might make them want to share information with others?
Slides 3-4: Strong emotion and false information
Explain that all examples from Slides 1-2 are misinformation. Discuss:
- How do learners feel knowing the information is false?
- How would they feel if they had shared it by mistake?
Review the points on the slide about how strong emotions can make people share false information. Explore why some people might share misinformation, defend it strongly, or resist conversations about its accuracy. Ask learners if they’ve experienced this and why they think it happens.
Slide 5: Types of Mis/Dis-information
In class, or, as homework
Complete the wordsearch to find terms related to misinformation and its types. Match each word to its definition. Optional Challenge: Use each word in a sentence.
Class discussion: Create a mind map on the board defining "misinformation" and "disinformation." Use the “Educator lesson notes” to guide and refine the definition.
Apply Learning:
Revisit the examples from Slides 1-2. Identify which examples align with the different types of mis/disinformation discussed.
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Part 2: Pause, notice, question, act
Slide 6: Child Rights and online information
Explain that child rights are part of basic human rights and aim to protect health, happiness, and safety. Use the UNICEF Australia Child Rights poster provided to guide the discussion.
As a class, or in think/pair/share groups: Revisit the concepts of misinformation and disinformation, focusing on how they relate to children’s rights. What rights on the poster could be impacted by mis/dis-information?
Slide 7: Pause, notice, question, act framework
Reiterate the importance of identifying misinformation where possible, in line with the earlier discussion regarding child rights.
Use the slide to explain the Pause, Notice, Question, Act framework as a strategy for evaluating online information. Choose an example from Slides 1-2 or an online article to demonstrate how to apply the framework.
Ask learners how the framework can help protect children’s rights by helping them make safer decisions online.
The Fact-Checking Project
Note: This may require the pre-approval and whitelisting of sites that are suitable for this age group to explore, such as:
- ABC’s “Behind the News”: An educational news program aimed at 10-13 year olds.
- Squiz Kids News Podcast: a daily podcast keeping kids informed, with none of the nasties.
Learners work in groups, pairs, or individually to find a piece of information - an article, image, podcast clip, or video - that they would like to fact check. Ask them to imagine that this media has been shared with them, and model how they would use the Pause, Notice, Question, Act framework to think through their responses. They will evaluate their chosen piece using this framework in the Exit Pass activity.
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Exit pass
In-class activity or set as homework.
Using one of the fake news examples created during the lesson, have learners fill out the Exit Pass worksheet: It can be completed with a parent, carer, or trusted adult to discuss and develop their responses further.
Briefly review responses as a class. Invite peers to offer feedback, add ideas, or suggest improvements for the responses shared.
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(Optional) Top-up or extend the lesson
Top-up the lesson
For learners who need more help meeting the learning intentions & success criteria.
Visit the eSafety Commissioner website, and guide learners in researching at least five tips for how to spot fake news.
Record these tips around the Contact area map, which they can later colour in.
Extend the lesson
For learners who have met the learning intentions & success criteria and need a bit more of a challenge.
Ask learners to identify a piece of possible misinformation in the news, and fact check it using online tools such as ABC News Fact Check or Reuters Fact Check. They can perform this task in class, or at home.
Record these findings around the Contact area map, which they can later colour in.
Aligned Curriculum
Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0)
The Australian Curriculum outlines the fundamental knowledge, comprehension, and abilities students are expected to acquire as they advance through the initial 11 years of schooling.
Year 5: English
- AC9E5LA01: Understand that language is selected for social contexts and that it helps to signal social roles and relationships.
- AC9E5LA02: Understand how to move beyond making bare assertions by taking account of differing ideas or opinions and authoritative sources.
- AC9E5LA07: Explain how the sequence of images in print, digital and film texts has an effect on meaning.
- AC9E5LY02: Use appropriate interaction skills including paraphrasing and questioning to clarify meaning, make connections to own experience, and present and justify an opinion or idea.
- AC9E5LY03: Explain characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text.
- AC9E5LY05: Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning to build literal and inferred meaning to evaluate information and ideas.
Year 6: English
- AC9E6LA02: Understand the uses of objective and subjective language, and identify bias.
- AC9E6LA07: Identify and explain how images, figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to meaning.
- AC9E6LY01: Examine texts including media texts that represent ideas and events, and identify how they reflect the context in which they were created.
- AC9E6LY02: Use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions.
- AC9E6LY03: Analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text, and engage and influence audiences.
- AC9E6LY05: Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning to build literal and inferred meaning, and to connect and compare content from a variety of sources.
Years 5 & 6: Health and Physical Education
- AC9HP6P04: Describe and demonstrate how respect and empathy can be expressed to positively influence. relationships
- AC9HP6P08: Analyse and rehearse protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies that can be used in a range of online and offline situations.
- AC9HP6P10: Analyse how behaviours influence the health, safety, relationships and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
Years 5 & 6: Media Arts
- AC9AMA6E01: Explore ways that media languages and media technologies are used in media arts works and practices across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts.
My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia
This framework assists educators to provide children and young people with opportunities to maximise their potential and develop a foundation for successful lifelong learning. The Framework has been designed for use by approved providers and school age care educators working in partnership with children and young people, their families and the community, including schools.
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world.
Children learn about the impact of sharing information and how to engage positively with their community.
This is evident when children:
- Identify how their actions in sharing or addressing misinformation affect others in online spaces.
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners.
Children engage in critical thinking and problem-solving to assess the reliability of information.
This is evident when children:
- Use fact-checking tools to verify information and confidently articulate their findings.
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.
Children share their understanding of misinformation and strategies for addressing it through collaborative activities.
This is evident when children:
- Communicate their findings about misinformation to peers and trusted adults, fostering shared learning.
CASEL Framework
This Framework creates a foundation for applying evidence-based, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies both at school and in the broader community. Its aim is to support the cultivation of SEL skills and environments that advance students’ learning and development.
Responsible Decision-Making
The lesson encourages critical thinking and informed decision-making in digital interactions. This is evident when learners:
- Use the “Pause, Notice, Question, Act” framework to analyse the credibility of online information and decide how to respond.
- Evaluate the consequences of sharing misinformation, both for themselves and for their communities.
Bournemouth University Theory of Change
This project, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the UK government's Online Literacy Media Strategy, aims to empower people to stay safe online by being able to critically evaluate what they see and read on the internet. It offers a transferable and sustainable framework and methodology that can not only be used for the independent evaluation of media literacy projects but also to inform their future design.
- Consequences: Media literacy can contribute to significant change if we take media literacy actions that can make a constructive and positive impact on the media ecosystem in our lives and on the lives of others in a functioning civic society. Consequences may include challenging misinformation, producing media content and / or online information, sharing trustworthy content on social media, trying to increase the representation of people who are marginalised in the media, data activism or more critical and mindful non-action (e.g. not sharing misinformation, changing data settings).
National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)
The NAMLE Framework outlines the foundational concepts and principles for teaching and learning about media literacy. Media literacy, as defined by NAMLE, is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.
Core Principle 1
- 1.1: MLE encourages learners to ask critical questions about the media they engage with.
- 1.2: MLE intersects with other literacies, such as critical thinking, social literacy, and emotional literacy.
Core Principle 2
- 2.1: MLE includes digital, visual, and social media as valid forms of literacy.
- 2.3: MLE integrates emotional and physiological responses to media.
Core Principle 3
- 3.1: MLE equips learners with transferable skills for evaluating media and making informed decisions.
Core Principle 6
- 6.1: MLE promotes responsible and ethical behaviour in digital interactions.
- 6.3: MLE encourages collaborative problem-solving and dialogue.
Differentiate the lesson by assessing the discussion. Modify instruction as appropriate, based on whether learners can:
- Contribute towards a definition of misinformation or disinformation.
- Identify at least one type of misinformation or disinformation in the examples provided.
Options:
- Visit a site such as ABC News Fact Check or Reuters Fact Check to find an example of misinformation that has been debunked. Discuss what type it could be.
- Use everyday examples to explain the difference: Misinformation: A friend tells you something untrue by mistake. Disinformation: Someone spreads a false story on purpose.
Observe activity participation. Modify instruction if learners struggle to:
- Understand the links between false information and child rights.
- Identify a type of misinformation that they want to emulate.
Options:
- Play the video “What are Child Rights?” by UNICEF Australia to help unpack the concept of child rights.
- Assign each group one type of false information and ask them to brainstorm how it might affect a specific right.
- Have students act out situations where false information impacts child rights. Discuss the outcomes as a class.
Assess the “Exit pass” to ensure learners have met the following success criteria:
Identify examples of different types of misinformation that might be shared with them online.
Model ways to respond to misinformation that has been shared by others.
Next steps:
If some learners didn’t meet the criteria, do the “Top-up” activity in the following section. Discussion about the lesson’s themes can be continued at home, by setting the extension task as homework.
Important Note:
If this lesson is part of the eSmart Digital Licence, you’ll need to ensure that all learners have met the success criteria before accessing the Digital Licences.
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