Teacher guide · Think Lab · Harder · about 40 min
🤖 Search Result Sleuth
Pupils practise problem solving through "Search Result Sleuth": Check sources and choose useful search terms.
Lesson guide
1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🤖 mission title and read the opening: "Which search is most specific for a science question?". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Cog the Owl's line as your prompt: "Good thinking. Show me the why."
3. Do · 15 min
Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used problem solving today.
Discussion questions
- What was the hardest choice in "Search Result Sleuth", and why?
- Which search is most specific for a science question — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Does the first result have to be true — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Which is a useful check for a factual claim — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Where could you use problem solving outside school this week?
- If you did this again, what would you change?
Adapting it
Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.
Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.
Curriculum links
- National Curriculum: Computing: algorithms, debugging and online safety
- National Curriculum: Maths: reasoning mathematically and problem solving
- National Curriculum: Computing: logical reasoning and algorithms
- PSHE: Living in the wider world: making decisions and evaluating choices
Pupil sheet
🤖 Search Result Sleuth
Name: ____________________ Date: __________
1. Which search is most specific for a science question?
☐ Everything about the world
☐ Stuff
☐ Why does ice float in water?
2. Does the first result have to be true?
☐ No, check the source and evidence
☐ Only if it has a photo
☐ Yes, always
3. Which is a useful check for a factual claim?
☐ Believe the longest page
☐ Compare it with reliable independent sources
☐ Count colourful adverts
4. Connect the clues to their meanings.
Author → ________________
Publication date → ________________
Evidence → ________________
5. Choose a question about space. Write a search phrase and three checks you would use before trusting an answer.