What's Real? What's Not?

Learning to Tell the Difference Between Reality and Imagination in Media

Von der Europäischen Union finanziert. Die geäußerten Ansichten und Meinungen entsprechen jedoch ausschließlich denen des Autors bzw. der Autoren und spiegeln nicht zwingend die der Europäischen Union oder der Europäischen Exekutivagentur für Bildung und Kultur (EACEA) wider. Weder die Europäische Union noch die EACEA können dafür verantwortlich gemacht werden.

Alle Inhalte, insbesondere Texte, Bilder und Grafiken sind urheberrechtlich geschützt. Soweit es nicht ausdrücklich anders gekennzeichnet ist, liegen die Urheberrechte bei media.eduskills.plus und stehen unter der Creative Commons Namensnennung -Nicht kommerziell -Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Lizenz. Sie dürfen im Rahmen der Lizenzbedingungen verwendet werden.

2026 media.eduskills.plus

Lernergebnisse

	Kompetenzen Distinguishing fiction vs. reality Observation and comparison Kritisches Denken Media interpretation Awareness of media construction
	Zielgruppe 4 Jahre und älter In Gruppen Kleine Gruppen
	Benötigte Materialien Two short clips or pictures showing similar but contrasting scenes (e.g. a cartoon lion and a video of a real lion) Screen, projector, or printed images Cards or signs with "Real" and "Not Real"
	Materialien Printable cards showing real vs. fictional objects (e.g. plane vs. dragon, person vs. cartoon hero)

Anleitung zur Aktivität (Schritt für Schritt)

Vorbereitung:

Gather children and explain that you will look at pictures or videos and think about what is real.

Durchführung:

Show the first example (e.g. a real animal) and discuss what they see.

Show the second example (e.g. the cartoon version of the animal).

Ask guiding questions: "Is this real? Could this happen? Why or why not?"

Invite children to hold up "Real" or "Not Real" cards to show their answers.

Discuss together: "How can we tell something is made up?"

Conclude by explaining that media sometimes show things that are imaginary to make stories fun or interesting.

Abwandlungen und zusätzliche Ideen

Use photographs and drawings made by the children.

Play "Real or Not Real?" as a movement game (stand up for real, sit down for not real).

Introduce a discussion on why people make imaginary stories (like fairy tales) and how they can still teach us something.

Hintergrundinformationen und didaktische Perspektiven

This activity introduces children to the concept that media can represent both real and imaginary worlds. Distinguishing between the two is a fundamental media literacy skill that supports critical thinking and helps children understand that not everything they see or hear is true. Through guided comparison and questioning, children learn to observe details, express reasoning, and engage in dialogue about how media create stories. The activity strengthens both analytical and expressive skills, laying the foundation for responsible media use later in life.

What's Real? What's Not? | media.eduskills.plus | media.eduskills.plus/activities