As you hit "logical fallacies" in your curriculum, you may be tempted to breeze over it. Logical fallacies can be very confusing to students and it may feel like a waste of time. Here are some reasons I think you should spend some serious time in your classroom on logical fallacies.
1. It will be difficult to teach GOOD persuasion with it.
When you learn to drive, you spend a lot of time looking at what NOT to do. Don't swerve for a squirrel, don't speed, don't switch lanes without signaling. Avoiding these pitfalls is what helps make up a good driver!
You want to teach your students how to persuade correctly while showing them how to identify bad persuasion.
When you learn to drive, you spend a lot of time looking at what NOT to do. Don't swerve for a squirrel, don't speed, don't switch lanes without signaling. Avoiding these pitfalls is what helps make up a good driver!
You want to teach your students how to persuade correctly while showing them how to identify bad persuasion.
2. Their arguments will be full of pitfalls and errors.
"I'll just demonstrate how everyone thinks this is a good thing, so it must be!" Without teaching them about fallacies, your students will for sure start committing some of the fallacies. Fallacies are often "low-hanging fruit" and feel like a quick and easy proof of their point.
"I'll just demonstrate how everyone thinks this is a good thing, so it must be!" Without teaching them about fallacies, your students will for sure start committing some of the fallacies. Fallacies are often "low-hanging fruit" and feel like a quick and easy proof of their point.
3. It will help them critically evaluate persuasion techniques that they hear every day.
Show your students ads. Can they find the logical fallacies? As students learn to identify fallacies, it can be an exciting exercise to start identifying them, while also teaching them about thinking critically about something that affects their lives.
Looking for a fun assessment activity for logical fallacies? Check out my fun assessment activity- Build Your Army: Logical Fallacy Edition.
Show your students ads. Can they find the logical fallacies? As students learn to identify fallacies, it can be an exciting exercise to start identifying them, while also teaching them about thinking critically about something that affects their lives.
Looking for a fun assessment activity for logical fallacies? Check out my fun assessment activity- Build Your Army: Logical Fallacy Edition.
