Introduction
Evaluating information is a critical skill all students need to have, especially in a world where information is free flowing. Students who have the skills to evaluate information make better researchers, but they also make better citizens. They will be able to keep themselves well informed, recognize misinformation and disinformation, and be better prepared to help inform others.
There are many methods for teaching your students how to evaluate information but they all focus on making sure a source is credible, reliable, and relevant.
Credible: refers to how trustworthy and authoritative a source is. A credible source is created by someone with recognized expertise, is free from bias, and is backed by verifiable evidence.
Reliable: refers to how consistent, accurate, and well-supported the information is. A reliable source presents fact based, well-researched content that can be confirmed by other trustworthy sources.
Relevant: refers to how closely connected the source is to your specific research question or topic. A relevant source provides information, perspectives, or data that directly help you answer, explore, or support your research goal.
Teaching Resources
How to use Materials
Lesson plans can be customized based on chosen activities, length of class, and varying skill levels. The lesson plan can be used as-is or altered to fit your class needs.
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Evaluating Sources Lesson PlanA lesson plan to help guide you through teaching your students how to evaluate information sources. Includes suggested activities and learning outcomes.
How to use Materials
Activities can be interchanged based on learning outcomes. Some suggested customizations:
- Evaluation Game: Change questions slides to make them easier or more difficult OR change the amount of time students have to answer each question.
- Source Evaluation Worksheet & Scale: Choose articles with opposite degrees of reputability on the same topic and have students evaluate these two sources using one of the worksheets.
- Be sure to provide the Source Evaluation Cheat Sheet with the chosen activity.
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Evaluation GameA fun and engaging team game that allows students to practice their evaluation skills and collaborate with their classmates
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Source Evaluation Cheat SheetA cheat sheet of the 5Ws & 1H evaluation criteria to help remind you of what to look for when evaluating your sources. To be used with the Source Evaluation Worksheet.
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Source Evaluation ScaleThis activity will guide you through evaluating the credibility, reliability, and relevance or your sources by rating them based on the 5Ws & 1H evaluation method.
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Source Evaluation WorksheetThis activity will guide you through evaluating the credibility, reliability, and relevance or your sources by answering questions and locating information based on the 5Ws & 1H evaluation method.
How to use Materials
The classroom slides can be used as they are by presenting directly from this page. If you want to save them for future use or customize them for your class needs, you can download the the slides using the link provided. While the slides are designed to complement the lesson plan, they can also be used on their own.