by Hans Bluedorn, Copyright April 01, 2003, all rights reserved. 5848 views
Since we wrote The Fallacy Detective in 2002, we have received many letters from teachers who use our book in their classroom. We’ve created this page to give you suggestions about how to use our book with a group of students.
The Fallacy Detective has 36 lessons with exercises. The answers to the exercises are found in the back. This presents a problem, “How do I assign homework when the answers are in the back?” But this is nothing a little creativity can’t solve.
Nathaniel and I have written a thirty-two question test. It is not a difficult test. Teachers can use it to check that students paid attention in logic class. This test is free. We will email The Fallacy Detective Test as a PDF file to any teacher who requests it and you can print it on your computer printer. This file contains the test and the teacher’s answer key.
In your request email, please give us (1) your name, (2) the school you represent, and (3) what you teach at that school. We want to make sure only teachers and not students receive this test.
Any teacher can use our test, even if you don’t use our book The Fallacy Detective in your class. We will still send the test and you can use it to test how good your students are at detecting fallacies.
If you would like to make more test material for your class, you can use The Christian Logic News archives for material. You might also try playing The Fallacy Detective Game (located at the back of our book) in the class. Students make up fallacies in specific categories and vote on which fallacy is the “best.” Students find the correct name for their chosen fallacy.
Are you a logic teacher who has used The Fallacy Detective in your class? We would like to hear your input.
1 • Michael Riversong • May 03, 2008 • 2:59 PM
Today we went through Lesson 13, “Assumptions.” Out of respect for copyright, I did not duplicate the excellent “Aroup Goupta” story. Instead, I assigned reading 1 Samuel 11 yesterday, and today formulated a series of questions about the passage. This was a real-life demonstration of assumptions, plus a story that included someone making a false assumption. Then, I was able to read Lesson 13 with some hope that my students understood the concept.
Yes, this is perhaps a bit too creative. Lack of funds will often stimulate excess creativity, and i really do hope that next year we can go into this with all the students having the books on hand. I have a huge responsibility here and am not taking it lightly.
In the classroom, we are currently taking a couple of days on each chapter of “Fallacy Detective.” Actually I’d like to spend more time and go more in depth, but we have a lot of demands on our time so i have to try and be more dramatic and use the material to form deep impressions when possible. Right now there are 12 students in our Christian school classroom.
2 • Melissa Jones • May 03, 2008 • 3:01 PM
Last January I began teaching a Pre-Logic Course with a small group of 7th & 8th graders. We creatively used The Fallacy Detective to allow them an opportunity to get more comfortable with “Logic in Life.” It worked! A Fallacy Folder was required for course completion. Examples for their folders were found in ads, coupons, news, comics, even dialog with siblings. Each student had to decide the best way to organize his folder so that a reader, unfamiliar with “logic”, would understand what the folder was showing. It was a great test of their understanding of the fallacies, as well as their critical thinking skills. I was very pleased with the end result: better thinkers, with minds much more attune to learning and more detail oriented. Their listening skills were much improved, as well.
The game was the grand goal. They worked very hard to earn the opportunity to play “The Game.” To address the “answers in the back of the book” situation: We embraced it. I assigned, on average, two lessons per class to be read and worked out before our next time together. They were encouraged to look at your answers in the back after reading and thinking about them on their own. I even made a lesson out of “why would I want you to look at the answers in the back?” The exercises proved to be a wonderful opportunity for the students to have discussion. I created quizzes covering the materials for each class. The students new it would be given at the beginning of class, then used as an outline of discussion for that day.
The first three lessons and Aroup Goupta have recently been introduced to my new group of 7th graders. They have been very eager to get to TFD, since they’d heard it was “so fun” from last semester’s students.
The parents of last semester’s students really enjoyed seeing their young people start to think more about what they would say, before saying it and were very good sports when their fallacies were identified by their eager detectives.
By the way, we also memorize scripture pertaining to the various lessons we cover. It is a nice “plus” having scripture right there on the same page with the lesson. TFD is an easy to use text. Thanks for a great tool.
3 • Terri Hill • June 25, 2008 • 4:04 PM
I am wondering if Melissa would allow me to use quizzes that she has created for class. Any help is appreciated.
4 • Julie Hayes • July 28, 2008 • 11:02 AM
Melissa, I am going to be using The Fallacy Detective for the first time this year with my 7th graders. I would be most grateful if you could share one or all of your quizzes with me as well as any other helpful information you have acquired. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
5 • Scott Wright • August 18, 2008 • 4:15 PM
Melissa, I too will be using the Fallacy Detective for the first time this year. Could I use the quizzes you’ve developed? Thanks in advance for any consideration you can give me.
6 • Gwen Sieler • August 25, 2008 • 6:02 PM
Ditto - I’m a teacher new to TFD and really appreciate the posts sharing classroom ideas. Melissa, if you’re willing to share your quizzes, I too would love to use them!
I’ll be checking back regularly for more/new info from teachers and will hopefully be able to post what works well in my classroom as well.
7 • Christy Willis • September 03, 2008 • 1:55 PM
Melissa, could I have a copy of the quizzes also? I am teaching this class in my daughter’s co-op this year and those would help so much!
8 • Jill Houston • September 27, 2008 • 2:09 PM
I will be using TFD with middle schoolers beginning in January. Any suggestions, activities, materials, etc. would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
9 • Gabriella Colclough • November 15, 2008 • 7:25 PM
I have a quiz on the first section of the book I can share, but I’d very much like to receive some quizzes as well!!!! I also have files of pictures I will barter for materials. 
For an activity on equivocation, we “acted out” Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on First - just as a fun (for what it’s worth) activity.
10 • Maria Barcelona • February 12, 2009 • 12:55 AM
I teach 8th grade literacy at a charter school in Santa Fe, NM. I am very interested in teaching students to discover their thinking process as in how assumptions are made.
11 • Angela Woodall • August 01, 2009 • 3:56 PM
I am going to be teaching a class in a co-op this year. Melissa, would you send me the quizzes as well as any other ideas you have developed. Thank you so much! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
12 • Susan Beadle • August 18, 2009 • 5:04 PM
I just picked up this book in July at Answers in Genesis Creation College 3 (I highly recommend attending their summer 2010 conference on apologetics) and will be teaching it to 8th graders. I just got this news today so I too would appreciate Melissa’s quizzes and more of everyone’s terrific ideas. Thanks!
13 • John van Nooten • October 06, 2009 • 8:33 PM
I am using The Fallacy Detective for the first time with a group of home schoolers. I find they are very interested and like the format. I add things to it - questions, essays, dialogues etc. and find the lessons flexible enough to do this. For students for whom formal logic is not desirable, the Fallacy detective seems to do the job. Will be able to say more at the end of the course. Keep up the good work.
John van Nooten
14 • Angie Weatherman • January 26, 2010 • 11:22 PM
I am going to teach TFD to some homeschoolers and would appreciate the quizes Melissa made for each lesson or any others someone else may have. Thanks!