Eight Online Games that Teach Kids Critical Thinking & Media Literacy

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Quick reminder that I’m running a 25% off sale on paid subscriptions through next week!

I’ve been doing lots of research over the past couple of weeks for my book chapter on critical thinking and media literacy. As part of that, I’ve learned about a bunch of amazing resources, including games for kids that have been designed by researchers to help them spot misinformation and “fake news” and safely surf the internet.

I probably don’t even need to say this, but critical thinking and media literacy are among the most important skills we can foster in our kids, especially since so few schools today teach these skills (and some of them use strategies that research has shown do not work). In a 2016 study involving nearly 8,000 U.S. students, Stanford University researchers found that more than 80 percent of middle schoolers believed that an advertisement labeled as sponsored content was actually a news story. The researchers also found that fewer than 20 percent of high schoolers seriously questioned spurious claims in social media.

As parents, there’s a lot we can do to help kids learn these skills, including by steering our kids towards resources designed to teach them important concepts. So without further ado, here are eight games that can help teach kids these skills. Enjoy!