CSICOP's Young Skeptics Program

For all types of Extracurricular Programs, instructional units can provide content for activities. The lessons can introduce subjects, concepts and many of the topics and ideas that are a part of science, skepticism and critical inquiry. Programs can include activities, experiments, investigations, field trips and a variety of other components.

Here we will provide suggestions for lesson themes. For those topics listed here that are linked to separate pages, you will find additional ideas and material to incorporate into this particular instructional unit. Also visit other areas of the Young Skeptics web site for resources that may be useful.

Concepts in Science

The topis listed here focus on the tools of the Skeptical Inquirer. Learning strategies may include a variety of ideas and activities that help teach young people about how to develop and use these tools as the explore the phenomena they encounter throughout their lives.

Critical Thinking	Curiosity & Wonder
Creativity & The Imagination	Time & Space
The Process of Science	Laws of Nature
Types of Evidence	Objectivity
Logic & Logical Fallacies	Occam's Razor
Skepticism	Discoveries
Explorations	Thinking Fallacies
Senses & Perception	Natural Explanations
Tentative Conclusions

All About Reality

The topics explored here focus on our current understanding of various aspects of our shared reality. The lesson plans are taught against the backdrop of outdated ideas and pseudoscientific claims that are related. This allows for science education to be accompanied by learning programs that teach what isn't science and why, providing students with the necessary tools and thinking to distinguish between the two and filter out the nonsense.

All About the Earth	All About the Stars
All About Life	All About the Planets
All About the Mind	All About the Universe
All About Medicine	All About Evolution

Miscellaneous

A variety of miscellaneous subjects will be listed here that may provide interesting themes to explore through extracurricular activity.

Gullibility	Superstition
Psychology of Belief	Fear & Phobias
Paranormal Tactics	Personal Experiences
Fooling the Senses	Mystery & Intrigue
Fantasy & Make-Believe	Difficult & Boring Science
Science Vs. Pseudoscience	Paranormal Realms

More Ideas? Let us know!