American University
Factitious
Truth or factitious? Users of an engaging interactive test their ability to identify whether an article is real or fake news.
K20 LEARN
Preparing for Othello - Frontloading Meaning (Part 1): Pre-reading Strategies
The success of any instructional activity based on a complex text relies heavily on what instructors do before beginning the reading. Before reading Othello, scholars engage in a series of pre-reading activities, including completing an...
Curated OER
HOW TO EVALUATE THE TRUSTWORTHINESS OF CONTENT-ORIENTED WEB SITES.
Students objectively learn how critically evaluate Web sites for utility, trust, and reliability. In this lesson, students learn that some Web sites might be deceiving in their intent despite their popularity.
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Quilt Codes
Students list criteria to evaluate credible historical sources and defend their criteria in an essay. In this historical sources lesson plan, students review information of historical sources as well as the facts and pictures.
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Evaluating Your Sources
Students practice making critical judgments about the sources sited when researching a topic on the internet and in real-life situations. They assess how sources vary in reliability and accuracy while reviewing a variety of source...
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Sources of Information
Students review information from a previous instructional activity about JFK and his assassination. As a class, they identify sources they believe historians use and describe the difference between a primary and secondary source. In...
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Statistical Accuracy and Reliability
Ninth graders assess the accuracy and reliability of current survey data and how it is represented. They design a survey, collect data, and use technology to analyze the data and present the results. Students examine scatter plots and...
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Gathering and Evaluating Sources for the "Greatest American" Speech
Students brainstorm a list of criteria for determining credible sources for their research. They research information to include in their "Greatest American" speech. Students will evaluate all sources by applying the criteria they agreed...
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The Parachute
Students discuss parachutes and write a procedure to determine the effect of different size parachutes and different masses on the time it takes the masses to fall. They record all their data from their experiment then write three...
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Newspapers in the Digital Age
Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...
News Literacy Project
News Goggles: Tracking Developing Stories
A 28-slide presentation introduces viewers to the process reports go through to track and verify developing news stories. Using the reports of the attacks at Atlanta, Georgia, massage parlors as an example, viewers are taught what to...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 1 Day Lesson
After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.
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I Heard It 'Round the Internet: Sexual Health Education and Authenticating Online Information
Students evaluate websites regarding sexual health information. In this media awareness instructional activity, students discuss facts and myths regarding sex as they determine how to find reputable online and print resources.
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Sextant Solutions
Pupils explore ways a sextant can be a reliable tool that is still being used by today's navigators and how computers can help assure accuracy when measuring angles. This activity will show how computers can be used to understand...
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Youth Activity: How People Get Their Water Reservoirs: "Holding Tanks" for Drinking Water
Students experience and participate in "Riding the Water Cycle" with this lesson. They explore, analyze and study the role of reservoirs in maintaining a reliable supply of drinking water. Each student constructs a model of a reservoir.
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Science Current Events
Seventh graders write science current events articles using various media sources.
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Twain's Hannibal
Students use primary resources to examine the context the writings of Mark Twain. They criticize the resources for reliability, accuracy, perspective, relevancy, and authoritativeness.
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Researching Skills: Researching on the Web
How do researchers narrow their searches so that they get the most useful and accurate information available? This essential question is at the heart of the activities suggested by a research skills worksheet. Tips include how to craft...
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The Formation of Fossil Fuels
Middle schoolers participate in an activity in which they explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy. They discover why the supply of fossil fuels is limited and practice using new vocabulary.
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Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Images of the American Revolution
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this American Revolution lesson, students examine international involvement in the war as well as major events of the war.
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Death and Taxes
Students explore the "death tax" and analyze statistical information about how the government taxes dead people. They research sources to determine the validity of a anti-tax group campaign and John McCain's claims about taxes. ...
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RAW HISTORY: USING PRIMARY SOURCES
Students analyze the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, how slaves forged their own culture in the face of oppression; and the role of the plantation system in shaping slaveholders and the enslaved.
American Press Institute
Media Literacy: Where News Comes From
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
Newseum
Evidence: Do the Facts Hold Up?
Sometimes it's hard to escape bad information! Pupils learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources and complete a worksheet to assess a news article using their new skills.