In July 2026, a very real, very round Seattle raccoon went viral. Half the internet called the real footage "obviously AI." Meanwhile, AI-generated videos of the same raccoon fooled millions. Your students saw at least one of them.
That is the media literacy problem in one animal: your students are not just at risk of believing fake things. They are at risk of disbelieving real things. Neither gut-trusting nor knee-jerk cynicism works anymore. This lesson teaches the only move that does: checking sources.
The Jimothy Test is a complete 45-minute, print-and-teach high school lesson. No devices, no accounts, no prep beyond printing and cutting. Teams sort a simulated feed of 12 cut-apart post cards into three piles: Real, Fake, or Can't Tell Yet. The rule that makes it work: no card gets placed without pointing to evidence from the 6-card source bank, which summarizes what real reporting and official sources actually said.
This is not a lecture. Students argue, cite, and re-sort. The SORT framework (Source it, Others?, Real-world trail, Too perfect?) gives them four concrete moves, and the Can't Tell Yet pile teaches something most media literacy lessons skip: honest uncertainty is a legitimate verdict, not a failure.
What is included in the 14-page packet:
Teacher guide with a minute-by-minute lesson flow and teacher tips
SORT framework printable poster
12 feed cards, 6 evidence cards, and 3 sorting-pile signs, all cut-apart
Student sorting log plus an optional Before I Share reflection handout
Exit tickets and a full answer key with every verdict, its evidence, and look-fors
Why teachers reach for it: the arguments between teams do the teaching, the answer key tells you exactly what to say for every card, and the framework outlasts the raccoon. When this story fades, the piles, the poster, and the handouts all work with the next viral moment.
Aligned to ISTE Standards for Students 1.3b Knowledge Constructor and AI4K12 Big Idea #5, Societal Impact.
Perfect for digital citizenship week, a media literacy unit, an advisory period, or a sub-plan day that actually teaches something. A grades 6-8 version with 10 cards and evidence-strength ratings is also available.
Students do not need to be told the internet lies to them. They need practice catching it. This lesson is that practice, with a scrappy raccoon as the guide.
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