Grade 10
Challenging Confirmation Bias
How can we challenge our own confirmation bias?
Our brains are great at using past experiences to make quick decisions on the fly, but these shortcuts can also lead to bias. "Confirmation bias" is our brain's tendency to seek out information that confirms things we already think we know. Help your students learn to recognize this when they encounter news online, as a way to examine competing opinions and ideas and to avoid drawing questionable conclusions.
Learning Objectives:
Key Vocabulary:
cognitive bias
·
confirmation bias
·
mnemonic device
Show definitions
Key Standards Supported
Common Core ELA
L.9-10.1, L.9-10.3, L.9-10.4, L.9-10.6, RH.9-10.1, RH.9-10.10, RH.9-10.2, RH.9-10.4, RH.9-10.7, RH.9-10.9, RI.9-10.10, RI.9-10.4, SL.9-10.1, SL.9-10.1a, SL.9-10.1b, SL.9-10.1c, SL.9-10.1d, SL.9-10.2, SL.9-10.3, SL.9-10.4, SL.9-10.6, W.9-10.10, W.9-10.2, W.9-10.4, W.9-10.8, WHST.9-10.10, WHST.9-10.4, WHST.9-10.6, WHST.9-10.8
CASEL
1b, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5a, 5b, 5c
AASL
I.A.2, II.A.1, III.A.1, III.A.2, III.A.3, IV.A.1, IV.A.2, IV.A.3, V.A.1, V.A.2, V.A.3, VI.A.1, I.B.1, I.B.3, II.B.1, III.B.1, III.B.2, IV.B.1, IV.B.2, IV.B.4, I.C.1, I.C.4, II.C.1, II.C.2, III.C.2, V.C.3, I.D.1, I.D.2, I.D.3, II.D.1, II.D.2, III.D.1, VI.D.1
ISTE
1a, 1d, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3d, 4a, 4b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d
Lesson Plan
45 mins.
Sign in or join to unlock this free lesson.
Consider: Real or Fake?
15 mins.Explore: Biased Brains
15 mins.Create: Challenging Confirmation Bias
15 mins.Additional Resources
© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org
Lesson last updated: October 2021
EXPLORE MORE LESSONS FOR
News & Media Literacy
Unlock Resources
Set up your free account with Common Sense Education to access the full lesson plan.
Create account
Already a member? Sign in