Why explore belief and evidence with children?
Children meet claims, rumours and images every day, in the playground and online. Learning to ask what the evidence is, and how much evidence a claim needs, is a lasting thinking skill.
The activities move from a classroom mystery and a whisper game to surprising claims, misleading photos and the classic debate between W. K. Clifford and William James about believing without evidence.
Free activities to download
Ready-to-run EduTrend Contents philosophy enquiry workshops for primary, middle and high school. Each free download includes a step-by-step session plan, facilitator notes, three student worksheets and an assessment checklist. Full 20-week programmes are available in EduStore.
The Mystery Footprints
Primary · Ages 5–7
Foundation · 30 min
Young children follow paper footprints and clues to work out who visited the classroom, and enquire into what evidence is.
Whispers and Rumours
Primary · Ages 8–11
Developing · 45 min
Pupils play a whisper game and enquire into whether we should believe what we hear from others.
Extraordinary Claims
Middle School · Ages 11–13
Intermediate · 50 min
Students compare ordinary and surprising claims and enquire into whether some claims need more evidence than others.
Can a Photo Lie?
Middle School · Ages 12–14
Intermediate · 50 min
Students examine how photos and videos can be edited or taken out of context and enquire into whether images count as evidence.
The Ethics of Belief
High School · Ages 15–18
Advanced · 60 min
Students compare W. K. Clifford and William James on whether it is ever right to believe without sufficient evidence.
Liked the free activities? Go further with a 20-week programme.
Each free activity comes from a full EduTrend Contents programme: a Family Guide or Teacher's Guide with one-page session plans for 20 weeks, plus an Assessment Toolkit with rubrics, trackers and certificates. Choose the one for your child's age or your class below. Instant PDF download after checkout.
P4C-421 · 20 WEEKS · $29
Clues and Evidence at Home
Family · Ages 5–11 with a grown-up
Detective thinking and evidence at home.
P4C-422 · 20 WEEKS · $39
Belief and Evidence Enquiries
Primary · Ages 5–11
Class enquiries on clues, rumours and claims.
P4C-423 · 20 WEEKS · $39
Evidence Philosophy Lab
Middle school · Ages 11–14
Claims, images and the ethics of belief.
P4C-424 · 20 WEEKS · $45
Evidence Enquiry Leaders
High school · Ages 14–18
Lead evidence enquiries for younger children.
Photos: saeed karimi, YY TEOH, insung yoon, Charlein Gracia / Unsplash
Belief and Evidence
Explore belief and evidence with five free printable philosophy activities, from mystery footprints and a whisper game to surprising claims, misleading photos and the ethics of belief. For longer learning, choose a 20-week programme for families, primary, middle or high school.
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Belief and Evidence
