Check out all 4 games

Kids can now enjoy learning to become healthy skeptics of the media they consume

Free to all educators

Media Detectives games, created by kids for kids, are inquiry-based, fun and very interactive. Most take 2 classroom periods at most.

Each one is based on a beloved children’s book such as Click Clack Moo (featured here). The other 3 are The Day the Crayons Quit, The 3 Little Pigs and Elephant & Piggie.‍ Click this link to all 4 games and decide which one is best for your students.

Please email DK@InquiringMindsInstitute.org if you wish to arrange a free consultation.

Main benefits:

  1. Enhances Critical Thinking – Engages students in analyzing sources, identifying biases, and constructing well-reasoned conclusions.

  2. Promotes Civic Awareness – Encourages students to recognize multiple perspectives and practice democratic discourse.

  3. Fosters Collaboration – Builds a cooperative learning environment where students work together as investigators and sources.

  4. Supports Standards-Based Learning – Aligns with inquiry-based learning frameworks to help teachers meet curriculum goals.

  5. Creates an Engaging Classroom – Uses role-play and interactive problem-solving to make learning dynamic and memorable.

Time: 45 min. Ideally, we should have forty five minutes to play out the game. The Inquiring Minds team views this as a good activity to work on after lunch (as an energizer for the afternoon’s curriculum). 

What’s needed: 

Provided by Inquiring Minds:

  • Slideshow to start off the game (includes a read aloud of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type)

  • Teacher protocol

  • Sources subfolder with PDFs of secret witness identity cards and dossiers, examples of media they created including facts and eyewitness testimonies (may be printed out or viewed on tablets).

Provided by educator:

  • Detective Learning Wall - super easy to make (included in

  • Pens for detectives to write notes to add to Learning Wall

    optional:

  • notepads for the detectives is a plus (ok to use post its instead)

  • A copy of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is helpful for reference for clues.

  • Costumes are both helpful and fun.

Here’s a link to the video we made of kids playing this game,

Children's book cover by Betsy Lewin titled 'Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type' with illustrated cows and chickens, featuring a quarter coin for size reference.

From the slideshow: Below 2 of the 13 slides include a read aloud of Click Clack Moo plus students get a primer on media literacy and how to ask good questions.

Below are some of the downloadable components of Cracking the case of Click Clack Moo including (clockwise, top left to bottom) 2 media various examples (Instagram and YouTube); a sample dossier of a witness (in this case a bunny) for detectives as well as well as a top secret identity card (for only the witness to see); opening slide of the slideshow; and below that the 1st page of the teacher protocol