Help your child sort what's real from what's made up —
and celebrate the brave answer: "I'm not sure."
💡 The big idea
Some things are TRUE things. Some things are STORY things.
And sometimes, the honest answer is "I'm not sure" — and that's the bravest answer of all.
🟢TRUE thingsThings that really happened, or things that are really real in the world.
🟡STORY thingsThings someone made up — a bedtime story, a cartoon, a character who isn't real.
🙌I'M NOT SUREBoth hands up. This is the brave, smart answer — even grown-ups say it.
Why does this matter on screens?
Sometimes on a screen, a person or a cartoon will say something that sounds like a TRUE thing but is really a STORY thing.
If your child knows about TRUE and STORY, they can pause and ask a grown-up instead of accepting it as fact.
🛒 What you'll need
🟩 One green card or paper (TRUE)
🟨 One yellow card or paper (STORY)
⭐ Stickers for the "brave thinker" reward
📋 This page — you read the statements aloud
No cards? No problem. Your child can point to your left hand (TRUE) or right hand (STORY),
or raise both hands for "I'm not sure."
🎮 How to play
Set out the green card and the yellow card in front of your child.
Explain: "I'm going to say something. If you think it's a TRUE thing, touch the green card. If you think it's a STORY thing, touch the yellow card. If you're not sure — put both hands up. That's the brave answer!"
Read each statement below, one at a time. Pause after each one and let your child respond.
Every time they say "I'm not sure" — give them a sticker right away. That's the win.
For statements 3 and 5, say "I'm not sure either" out loud yourself. Model the habit.
🗣️ The six statements
Read each one aloud. The answer is shown for you — your child doesn't see it.
Statement 1
"The sun will come up tomorrow."
🟢 TRUE
Statement 2
"Dragons live in our backyard."
🟡 STORY
Statement 3 ⭐ model "I'm not sure"
"If you don't brush your teeth, they turn green."
🙌 NOT SUREActually STORY — but let the ambiguity be the lesson
Statement 4
"[Use a real memory] Grandma called us on the phone yesterday."
🟢 TRUEReplace with any real recent event
Statement 5 ⭐ model "I'm not sure"
"Cats can talk to each other in meows."
🙌 NOT SUREHonestly — yes-ish. Model the uncertainty aloud.
Statement 6 — safety tie-in
"The video said I needed to tell them my address to win a prize."
🟡 STORYA STORY thing said in a TRUE-THING voice
💬 After statement 6, you can say: "If anything on a screen asks for your address, your name, or your phone number — that's a grown-up question. Come find me."
You don't need to explain further. The vocabulary does the work.
⭐
The Brave Thinker Sticker
Every time your child says "I'm not sure" — give them a sticker immediately.
The sticker is for the honest pause, not the right answer.
Over a week of short rounds, they can trade 10–15 stickers for a shared activity they choose.
This reverses the usual "right answer = reward" pattern that trains guessing instead of thinking.
🌱 Signs it's working
Your child uses the words "true thing" or "story thing" during the day unprompted.
They say "I'm not sure" instead of guessing when they don't know something.
They ask "Is that a true thing or a story thing?" about something they see or hear.
They come to you with a question about something on a screen.
Next step at ages 7–9: The same vocabulary unlocks "Is this an ad or a news story?" —
the next critical-thinking skill in the DCC Kids sequence.