Evaluating Sources Teacher Resources

Invite your learners to research three different websites that pertain to a topic focused on in your syllabus. Students fill out a chart by answering questions about each site. Then, they compare how useful the sites are to one...

What's the best way to evaluate a source's accuracy and credibility? Pupils discuss the question with a partner and then share their ideas with the class. They also conduct Internet research, looking for an article that answers a chosen...

Calling all archaeologists! Scholars dig through their research about overfishing, searching for the best information to include in their consumer guides. Next, pupils engage in a pair-share activity to discuss their findings with a...

As part of a unit devoted to the study of autobiographies, this one-day library session focuses on developing research skills. Class members locate and properly cite a sketch of a Creative Commons image, as well as record the call...

Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and...

Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond is a seminal work of historical nonfiction from the late 20th century. Use the author's claims and supporting evidence to guide your high school seniors through their research project, culminating...

Learning about research can be as important as learning about the topic itself. As ninth graders continue their guided research projects from Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, they discuss their possible inquiry paths with group...

Now that learners have honed their inquiry-based projects down to their strongest few questions, they can conduct independent research. High schoolers pursue answers to their inquiries while assessing sources, establishing a research...

Need a lesson to fuel young minds? A variety of hands-on activities is sure to get your class fired up! Beginning with an introductory slideshow and culminating with group presentations, the week-long unit has something for everyone....

What are the characteristics of a good research source? At the beginning of a research project, have your class brainstorm evaluative criteria for primary and secondary source material. They then use the generated list to guide their...

It's never too early to build research skills! Young scholars locate information relevant to a subject they are doing a research project on. They take notes and sort the information under main topic headings. Through research, they gain...

Planning on assigning a research project to a high school or college class? Although text-heavy, the concise explanations, color-coded examples, and writing tips included in this presentation make in worth a preview.

Students examine copies of primary source documents and determine the document's value to a researcher. They analyze and evaluate the document for bias or contradiction. They know the difference between a primary and secondary source.

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...

Students are required to become Internet Research Assistants to a staff member or someone in the community and take that person on as a client. They develop a letter informing potential clients that they are available to do research for...

Show your pupils how to use guiding questions to help them focus their research into a topic. Using the framework provided by these questions, researchers explore a topic, collect interesting facts, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation...

Young scholars find out about the minds and thoughts of presidents through reading their actual letters. They explore the personal lives of presidents. They answer questions about a primary source. They write essays.

Middle schoolers will paraphrase a resource without plagiarizing. Then rewrite after reading text. They then evaluate the site or reference they are using for accuracy. In the end, they complete a note-taking organizer.

What sunk the Sultana? Scholars become investigators to uncover the facts behind the 1865 sinking just after the end of the Civil War. Through group work, videos, and primary documents, they research and analyze why 1,800 men died....

Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.

Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....

Seventh graders get the option of choosing their own text from a selection to read and gather more information as part of their research. Learners discuss the difference in reading for research and reading for pleasure. They also begin...