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Two sessions — do them on different days. Session 1 introduces real vs. pretend. Session 2 adds the tricky third category: maybe-made-up. Introducing all three at once is too much for this age group. Give the first two categories a day to settle before adding the third.

🖼️ The three pictures

All three pictures are right here — no internet needed. These are the ones you and your child will sort together.

Picture 1
A dog
Does this look like a real animal you could meet?
🟢 REAL
Picture 2
A dragon
Have you ever seen one of these at the zoo?
🟡 PRETEND
Picture 3
A purple glowing rabbit
Rabbits are real — but does THIS one look like it could really exist?
🙌 MAYBE-MADE-UP

These pictures are embedded in this page and work without an internet connection — suitable for library and classroom use.

Session 1 — Real or pretend?
🟢 REAL A picture of something that actually exists in the world.
🟡 PRETEND A picture of something someone made up — it doesn't exist anywhere.
  1. Show your child Picture 1 (the dog). Ask: "Is this a real animal, or did someone make it up?" Let them answer. Confirm: "Yes — dogs are real. This is a REAL picture."
  2. Show Picture 2 (the dragon). Ask the same question. Confirm: "Dragons are pretend — someone imagined them. This is a PRETEND picture."
  3. Go back and forth between the two — point to one, let them call it. Swap order a few times. The goal is fluency with just two categories before the next session.
  4. Ask: "Where do you think pretend pictures come from?" Let them answer. Guide toward: "Someone drew it, or a computer made it — but it came from someone's imagination."
Stop here for today. Leave Picture 3 face-down or just skip scrolling past it. Let real and pretend settle overnight before adding a third category.
Session 2 — And one more: maybe-made-up
🟢 REAL Something that really exists. You could see one in person.
🟡 PRETEND Something made up. No one has ever seen a real one.
🙌 MAYBE-MADE-UP Looks almost real — but something feels off. A computer might have made it.
Introduce the idea: "Sometimes computers can make pictures that look almost real. The thing in the picture might be real — like a rabbit — but the picture was made by a computer that got some things slightly wrong. That's a MAYBE-MADE-UP picture."
  1. Review Pictures 1 and 2 quickly: "Remember these? Real — pretend. Good."
  2. Show Picture 3 (the purple glowing rabbit). Ask: "What do you think? Real, pretend, or... something else?" Let them wrestle with it.
  3. Introduce the third category: "This one is MAYBE-MADE-UP. Rabbits are real — but this rabbit glows purple and has star eyes. It looks like a computer made it and got a few things wrong."
  4. Ask: "How did you know something felt off?" Listen. Their instinct — "the colour is wrong," "eyes don't look like that" — is exactly the skill. Name it: "That feeling of 'something is wrong here' is really important. It's what helps us spot made-up pictures."
  5. Sort all three pictures together one more time using all three categories.
The one-sentence takeaway: "If a picture looks almost real but something feels off — pause. It might be a computer picture. Ask a grown-up before you decide it's true."
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The Picture Detective Sticker

One sticker after Session 1. One sticker after Session 2. A third sticker any time they spot a "something feels off" moment on their own — looking at a picture on a screen or in a book. That's the skill working in the wild.

🌱 Signs it's working

Next step at ages 7–9: "Real, pretend, maybe-made-up" grows into "I know what deepfakes are and I can spot the signs" — the next visual literacy skill in the DCC Kids sequence.