Bullshit in classes and activities: a guide for teachers and youth leaders
Bullshit works great as a lesson opener, to wrap up an activity or as a game in a youth group. Every participant plays from their own phone, without downloading an app or signing up, and a short round takes less than a quarter of an hour. Behind every question is a true fact with a short explanation, so even those who didn't win leave with something new in their heads. The game is in English and Hebrew.
What students practise
- Critical thinking. To spot the truth you need to ask: what is plausible? What fits the grammar of the sentence? What sounds "too good to be true"?
- Creative writing and persuasion. To write a lie that others will believe, you need to understand your audience and write briefly and precisely.
- Information literacy. The game shows, in a funny way, how easy it is to believe something that sounds convincing. It's a good starting point for a talk about fake news and checking sources.
- General knowledge. Animals, the human body, history, science and words. Every fact comes with an explanation.
How to run it in class
- Open a private room. The teacher goes to bullshit.eshgames.com, taps "Create a room" and chooses 5 rounds.
- Students join. Write the room code on the board. Students tap "I have a code", type it in and choose a nickname.
- Play. When everyone is in, the teacher taps "Let's go". In a private room the teacher decides when to move from stage to stage, and can continue without waiting for latecomers.
- Stop and talk. After the truth is revealed you can pause and ask: who knew? Why was that lie so convincing?
Not enough phones? Choose "Play on one device", project the screen and play in teams. Each team makes up one lie together.
Activity ideas
- The quiet round. Before the reveal, each team writes on paper why it is sure its answer is right.
- Check the fact. After the game, each pair picks one fact and looks for another source for it.
- Write our own question. Students write a true fact from the subject they are studying, with a missing word and two good lies.
Safety and privacy
- Only those who received the code take part in a private room. The teacher can remove a player from the room before the game starts.
- Players write the lies themselves, so it's worth agreeing on rules of behaviour in advance and playing in a private room rather than in public rooms.
- There is no need to sign up or give personal details, and you can play with a nickname. More details in the privacy policy.
- Results of online games with three or more players may appear in the champions tables with the nickname. This can be turned off on the tables screen.
Used Bullshit in class? We'd love to hear how it went and what you were missing: [email protected].