Curated OER
Quilt Codes
Learners 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Sources of Information
Students review information from a previous lesson plan 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 groups, they...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Gathering and Evaluating Sources for the "Greatest American" Speech
Young scholars 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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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. For this media awareness lesson, students discuss facts and myths regarding sex as they determine how to find reputable online and print resources.
Curated OER
Sextant Solutions
Middle schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Youth Activity: How People Get Their Water Reservoirs: "Holding Tanks" for Drinking Water
Pupils 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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. ...
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.
Newseum
E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News
Fair, balanced, and reputable information? There's an acronym for that! Scholars learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources. Then, pupils work in small groups to read and analyze a news story and discuss the activity to...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Research Project Embedded with Media Literacy
Here is a phenomenal language arts lesson plan on media literacy for your middle and high schoolers. In it, learners produce a research product in the form of a public service announcement (PSA). First, they view examples of these PSA's...
American Chemical Society
Curious Crystals
Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...
Curated OER
Fact or Fiction? Urban Legends and Misconceptions
Students are introduced to a process for using web site resources to verify the accuracy of biology information. They follow a guided lesson on evaluating web sites and determining content accuracy. They select a piece of unusual biology...