Embedded Files
Determine Credibility (Evaluating Sources) Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Determine Credibility (Evaluating Sources) Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Find out how evaluating sources is like picking friends on a social network. People add trustworthy friends based on their mutual friends. Likewise, a credible source has reliable educational and professional associations. Ask yourself who created the information, along with their affiliations and expertise. Decide if the evidence supports their conclusions and claims. When, where, and why was it written? How was the research funded? Use the 5 W's to evaluate sources and determine the author's credibility.
Topic: Evaluating online resources, 5 W's (and H)
Language: English
Lexile: 860L
Ways of the Web: Evaluating Websites Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Ways of the Web: Evaluating Websites Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
When looking for sources of information on the Internet, use these questions to help you evaluate websites. Information from library databases is generally more reliable than information via a search engine, which requires a closer look. Look for evidence of integrity. Is the author an expert on the subject? Is it a reliable site? What kind of domain is the site, a nonprofit organization, a for-profit business, an education site, a government source, etc.? Does it list sources of information? Is the website current and well maintained? Does the site have contact information? Is the information biased or objective?
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Internet searching
Language: English
Lexile: 1100L
Evaluating Web Sites Grade Level: 3-5 6-8
Evaluating Web Sites Grade Level: 3-5 6-8
Sometimes it is difficult to know if information on the Internet is true or not. It will take you only five minutes to complete a tutorial about evaluating web sites. This site from Colorado State University is animated and has sound. After you complete the tutorial you will know the five important questions to ask when you are evaluating a web site. Learn how to use the who, what, when, where and why questions and you will know how to sort out the junk!
Topic: Evaluating online resources, 5 W's (and H)
Language: English
Animation
What Can Children Teach Their Parents? Grade Level: 3-5 6-8
What Can Children Teach Their Parents? Grade Level: 3-5 6-8
The United States set aside November 1 as a day to encourage families to read and learn together. National Family Literacy Day began in 1994, and schools, literacy organizations, and libraries promote read-a-thons, book drives, and other activities, sometimes for the whole month. It’s usually the parents that teach the children, but did you know that parents can learn some things from you? Often you know more about the latest technology than your parents, as well as things like cyberbullying, teens abusing drugs, etc. You can also remind your parents that they can learn patience and forgiveness, too.
Topic: Literacy, Digital literacy, Families
Language: English
Lexile: 830L
Audio & Video
Jo Cool or Jo Fool - For Kids Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Jo Cool or Jo Fool - For Kids Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Josie and Joseph Cool are looking at some of their favorite websites. Decide whether they are making smart choices. Jo is surfing the Web and fills out of form with personal information on a site for Splurge Cola. She wants to register to get cool stuff. She even gives them e-mail addresses of her friends so they can get cool stuff too. Think about whether it is safe to meet people online. Is CD Rama a safe place to buy music? Learn about hate propaganda, gossip sites, Netiquette, hacking, online contests, and fake events that want you to send cash.
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Digital literacy, Online identities
Language: English
Lexile: 680L
Educational game
Interactive
Reading, Writing, Fighting Fake News Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Reading, Writing, Fighting Fake News Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
The photo includes the headline, “Jennifer Aniston did WHAT to her hair?” and shows her with a military buzz cut. The photo looked real, but it was fake news. Students at a middle school in Maryland are using it as an assignment teaching that they shouldn’t believe everything they see and read online. Fake news is a worldwide problem, and educators are trying to teach students how to recognize the difference between truth and fiction, which is important at any age.
Topic: Information literacy, Evaluating online resources
Language: English
Lexile: 890L
News Source
URL: http://www.cnn.com
Fake News: How Not To Fall For It Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Fake News: How Not To Fall For It Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
People with preexisting beliefs about a topic or person are more likely to fall for fake news due to confirmation bias. Social media shapes the news you read based on what they think you will like to read. Photos may seem real, but they can easily be manipulated. Investigate how to tell fact from fiction on the internet. How can you judge whether news is trustworthy? News literary is the ability to judge if news is accurate and tells the truth. Learn to think like a skeptical journalist and investigate sources. Fact-checking is an important skill in today's society.
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Information literacy
Language: English
Lexile: 950L
“Fake News” Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
“Fake News” Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Everyone should learn how to discern fake news from the truth, which is an extremely important life skill for all ages. When adults in America were shown a fake news headline, seventy-five percent thought it was true. Social media is a popular place to circulate fake news as people often fail to check the sources of information. A chart shows how five fake election stories influenced the outcome of the 2016 election because people believed they were true. A TED Ed video explains how false news can spread. Learn about “circular reporting,” which occurs too often. Examples of fake news reports are given.
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Information literacy
Language: English
Video
The News Literacy Project: Our Mission Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
The News Literacy Project: Our Mission Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Did you know that “all information is not created equal?” That is what the News Literacy Project is about—teaching students how to tell fact from fiction in this digital age of information. Watch a video that explains news literacy, an extremely important life skill necessary for democracy to work. If you only listen to someone that sounds like what you believe, are you sure you’re getting the whole truth? What if misinformation influences elections? What if fake news manipulates your actions? NPR’s Peter Sagal says, “Actual journalism brings you the world. It doesn’t comfort you; it doesn’t reinforce your biases.”
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Information literacy
Language: English
Lexile: 1550L
Video
The Rise of Progressive ‘Fake News’ Grade Level: 9-12
The Rise of Progressive ‘Fake News’ Grade Level: 9-12
Following the 2016 election, the media blasted Facebook users of the conservative persuasion for circulating fake news that ended up impacting the election outcome. It confirmed theorists’ fears that people don’t seek the truth, which could possibly go against their beliefs. Rather they look for news that shows their suspicions were right about the other party. This isn’t just a conservative issue; the popularity of fake news circulated by liberals has spiked, too. The managing editor of Snopes, Brook Binkowski, gives some advice about how to recognize fake news.
Topic: Information literacy, Evaluating online resources
Language: English
Lexile: 1170L
Magazine
Whatever Happened to the News? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Whatever Happened to the News? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
In the early 1960s, news and entertainment shows were strictly separated, but it didn’t take long for the barrier to erode between them. News became a big money maker for local stations, and competition between the networks and stations increased. New forms of “news” appeared in the 1970s with news magazine type shows like 60 Minutes, and the morning shows combined news and entertainment as “infotainment.” Tabloid news magazine shows began appearing that began to use sensationalism and to quit using scruples. The drive for ratings keeps the focus on drama, which displaces other important news, creating an uninformed public.
Topic: Information literacy, Evaluating online resources
Language: English
Lexile: 1160L
Viewpoint: We Broke the News Media, How Can We Fix Them? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Viewpoint: We Broke the News Media, How Can We Fix Them? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
From the highest office in the land, we are learning to call any information we don’t like “fake news.” More and more people are getting their news from social media, without checking sources to determine if it is truth or fiction. Google, a search engine, received almost half of the online advertising revenue in 2016, and Facebook pulled in forty percent, so media organizations and everyone else are to get a piece of the pie, often at the cost of truth and trust in news reporting. Would that change if news stories were required to show their sources of information?
Topic: Evaluating online resources, Information literacy
Language: English
Lexile: 1150L
What Is Clickbait and Should You Use It? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
What Is Clickbait and Should You Use It? Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
Websites that depend on revenue through advertising need to attract visitors to their sites. Many have resorted to a method called ‘clickbait’ that uses a sensational photo or headline to pull you onto their website, but the article is often far from the truth, or doesn’t deliver what it promised. Clickbait sites have little content, or the stories and embedded videos were taken from other sites. Clickbait advertising works in the beginning because people fall for it, but over time, clickbait can hurt a website’s credibility. Learn what a bounce rate is and how search engines use it.
Topic: Information literacy, Evaluating online resources
Language: English
Lexile: 1260L
The Classroom Where Fake News Fails Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
The Classroom Where Fake News Fails Grade Level: 6-8 9-12
A fake news story led a 28-year-old man to fire a gun in a pizzeria. The pizzagate conspiracy said there were child slaves there, but his intel was wrong. Schools aren't helping students sort fact from fiction when it comes to the news. Students need to learn to make educated choices about what to post on social media. Checkology virtual classroom analyzes viral content like vignettes and memes. High school students learn to sort ads, propaganda, and real news. Discover how to look for bias and be a critical information consumer.
Topic: Evaluating online resources
Language: English
Lexile: 900L
URL: http://www.npr.org
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