Junior Detectives · Mission 4 of 6
Who wrote it?
Learn the three questions a detective asks about every message.
about 6 minutesStart with the → key or the space bar.
💬Case no. 4: A hedgehog in the garden
It’s evening. Leo spots a hedgehog in the garden. He wants to help it.
Online he finds some advice: ‘Hedgehogs love drinking milk. Give it a bowl of milk!’
Leo is already carrying milk from the fridge. Emma stops him. ‘Wait. Who wrote that?’
There’s no name under the advice. No date either. Just the nickname HedgehogFan99.
The detectives decide to investigate.
A detective’s three questions
1. Who wrote it? Does the writer have a name? Are they an expert, a school or a zoo? Or just a nickname?
2. Why did they write it? To help? Or to sell, to make you laugh, to scare you?
3. Does anyone else say so? Find it in a book or on another website. Ask an adult.
Advice without a name isn’t always wrong. But check it before you use it.
How it ended
Emma and Leo find a leaflet from an animal rescue centre. It’s written by people who treat sick hedgehogs.
And they warn: milk is bad for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs like drinking it, but it makes them ill. A shallow bowl of water is better.
Leo puts the milk back in the fridge. The hedgehog has some water.
Game: Who can you trust? · Message 1 of 2
Read the advice. Tap the sentences that are trying to trick you. But one piece of advice is fine.
A website with advice about animals. The writer only signed as HedgehogFan99.
Hedgehogs love milk, everyone knows that! A man who knows about animals told me. Share this so everyone finds out!
Marked: 0 · After the discussion, click the places the class agrees on. Then show the analysis.
Game: Who can you trust? · Message 2 of 2
Read the advice. Tap the sentences that are trying to trick you. But one piece of advice is fine.
A leaflet from a rescue centre for wild animals
Written by the carers at the rescue centre who treat hedgehogs. Don’t give hedgehogs milk, it’s bad for them. Give them a shallow bowl of water. A hedgehog out in the daytime may need help. Call us.
Marked: 0 · After the discussion, click the places the class agrees on. Then show the analysis.
Quiz: Who wrote it? · Question 1 of 3
What does a detective ask first?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Quiz: Who wrote it? · Question 2 of 3
Some advice on a website has no name and no date. What do you do?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Quiz: Who wrote it? · Question 3 of 3
Who probably knows most about sick hedgehogs?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Detective rule
- ◆Who wrote it? Why? Does anyone else say so?
- ◆No name and no date? Careful – check it.
- ◆Lots of likes is not proof.
💬Let's talk
- 1Shall we find out together who writes your favourite website?
- 2Who do you trust when you want to know about animals? Why?
- 3Do you know any advice that turned out to be wrong?
Tip for the teacher
Show your child where to look for the author and the date on a website – often at the bottom of the page or under ‘About us’. And if you ever meet a hedgehog: really don’t give it milk, it’s bad for hedgehogs.
✓ Mission complete!
At home, children can play it again – with their parents, for example. Free and without an account.
thinkcritical.eu/