How to Spot Misinformation

Lesson Summary
This engaging ESL lesson plan for Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) students explores misinformation and how to identify misleading information. Students watch a short video, examine how evidence, bias, correlation and critical thinking affect what people believe and develop practical strategies for evaluating claims.

Learning Objectives
• Understand key concepts related to misinformation and misleading information
• Develop vocabulary related to evidence, bias and critical thinking
• Improve viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills
• Develop speaking skills through discussion and roleplay
• Develop writing skills through reflection and creative tasks
• Practise critical thinking by evaluating claims, evidence and sources

Lesson Activities
• Pre-viewing discussion questions on misinformation and identifying misleading information
• Vocabulary development and Video Glossary activities
• Video prediction and viewing tasks
• Video comprehension questions
• Critical thinking and discussion activities
• Extended roleplay on evaluating a misleading claim
• Reading of Eight Questions to Ask Before You Believe a Claim
• Article comprehension questions and Article Glossary work
• Speaking and writing activities
• Multimodal homework tasks

Learner Type
Mature teens and adults

Language Focus
Vocabulary related to misinformation, evidence, bias, sources, claims and critical thinking

Watch the short video.

Transform Your English Classroom with This Film English Multimodal Lesson

This ESL lesson plan is built around a carefully selected short video and designed using the exclusive Multimodal Approach– an innovative methodology that integrates traditional language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with viewing – the active process of analysing and interpreting multimodal texts – and representing – creating multimodal texts. This pedagogically rich approach mirrors how communication works in the real world, through a combination of language, image, sound, gesture and spatial design, making the lesson more engaging, relevant and effective.

This ESL video lesson plan plan consists of a complete, ready-to-use package that includes:

• A thought-provoking short video
• A detailed teacher’s guide with step-by-step instructions
• A pre-viewing vocabulary glossary to scaffold understanding
• Comprehension, discussion and critical thinking questions
• Creative post-viewing tasks such as roleplays, writing prompts and reflective activities
• A thematically linked reading text to reinforce language and deepen understanding
• A final task encouraging learners to create their own multimodal compositions (e.g. vlogs, posters, infographics or social media posts)

Benefits for Teachers:

• Save hours of preparation with a fully developed, flexible lesson plan
• Engage students through compelling stories and real-world themes such as emotional intelligence, character, values, empathy, personal development, identity, relationships, global issues and social issues
• Build classroom routines that integrate multimodal literacy naturally and progressively
• Foster more inclusive and differentiated learning by using varied modes of input
• Promote social-emotional learning (SEL)
• Rely on a trusted methodology backed by educational research and grounded in the theories of Vygotsky, Kress, Mayer and Krashen

Benefits for Learners:

• Develop communicative competence and confidence through integrated skill-building
• Expand vocabulary and improve listening and reading comprehension through repeated, meaningful exposure
• Think critically and creatively while exploring powerful social and emotional themes
• Create authentic, personalised multimodal projects that reflect their own voice and ideas
• Strengthen emotional intelligence and intercultural awareness through affective engagement with multimodal texts

Whether you’re teaching in a secondary school, university or adult education context, Film English lesson plans offer a dynamic, research-informed pathway to meaningful language learning. Join thousands of teachers worldwide who are transforming their classrooms with the Multimodal Approach and helping their students learn English—and live through English—more fully.