Lesson: Verifying Information Online
In this lesson, students play “Reality Check,” a game that involves verifying different kinds of information, then stulearn four quick, easy steps to verify online information. They then analyze the game and design their own games aimed at teaching the verification skills they have just learned.
Grade range: 7-8
Time Frame
| One class period (75 minutes) | Two or three class periods (150-225 minutes) | |
| Activities | Reality Check
Four Verification Steps
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Reality Check Four Verification Steps Analyzing Reality Check Making an Information Verification Game
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Preparation:
- Make sure that you are able to show the embedded videos or that students are able to access the links.
- Make sure that students are able to access the interactive activities.
A printable version of this lesson is available on the MediaSmarts website.
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Media have social and political implications:
- Sources of information in media may be biased, inaccurate or untrustworthy
Digital media are networked:
- Anyone can publish digital media content
Interactions through digital media can have real impact:
- Sharing inaccurate information can have negative impacts on ourselves and others
Key questions:
- How can we find accurate information online?
- How can we verify information we find online?
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Finding and verifying: Steps for verifying online information (use fact-checking tools, find the original source, verify the source, check other sources)
- Key vocabulary: Fact-checker, reverse image search
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Access: Find and verify online information
- Use: Use verification strategies, search engines and fact-checking tools
- Understand: Understand the implications of networked digital publishing on information
- Engage: Consider ethical needs to verify online content before sharing
Student-friendly outcomes:
- We will learn the steps for verifying online information, such as using fact-checking tools and comparing to other sources, and key terms like fact-checker and reverse image search.
- We will think about how digital media content is published by a wide range of sources that may be biased, inaccurate, or untrustworthy and the impact sharing inaccurate information can have on ourselves and others.
- We will design a game that teaches information verification skills, analyze how publishing information online affects the way we share and access knowledge, and reflect on the importance of verifying online content before sharing.
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A2. Digital Media Literacy
A2.1 Digital Citizenship
evaluate and explain their rights and responsibilities when interacting online with appropriate permission, and make decisions that contribute positively to the development of their digital identity and those of their communities
A2.3 Research and Information Literacy
conduct research, considering accuracy, credibility, and perspectives, with a focus on misinformation, disinformation, and curated information, to construct knowledge, create texts, and demonstrate learning, while respecting legal and ethical considerations
A3. Applications, Connections and Contributions
A3.1 Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning
analyze and explain how the knowledge and skills developed in this course support learning in various subject areas and in everyday life, and describe how they enhance understanding and communication
Strand C: Comprehension (Understanding and Responding to Texts)
C1 Knowledge About Texts
C1.1 Using Foundational Knowledge and Skills to Comprehend Texts
read and comprehend various complex texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge
C1.4 Visual Elements of Texts
Grade 7: analyze and compare how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts
Grade 8: evaluate how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning
C1.6 Point of View
Grade 7: identify the narrator’s point of view, including first, second, or third person, in a variety of texts, providing evidence, and explain how using an alternative point of view would change each story
Grade 8:8 analyze the narrator’s point of view, including limited, omniscient, or unreliable, in a variety of texts, explain how it is communicated, and suggest alternative points of view, giving reasons
C3 Critical Thinking in Literacy
C3.2 Making Inferences
Grade 7: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to develop interpretations about various texts and to extend their understanding
Grade 8: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to explain and support their interpretations about various complex texts
C3.3 Analyzing Texts
analyze complex texts, including literary and informational texts, by evaluating, synthesizing, and sequencing relevant information and formulating conclusions
C3.5 Perspectives within Texts
Grade 7: explain explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, including narrative texts, provide any evidence that could suggest bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
Grade 8: analyze explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, evaluate any evidence that could suggest bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
C3.8 Reflecting on Learning
Grade 7: compare the critical thinking skills they used when analyzing and evaluating various texts, identify the skills that best supported their understanding, and explain why they were effective
Grade 8: assess the effectiveness of the critical thinking skills they used when analyzing and evaluating various texts, and set goals to improve their use
Strand D: Composition (Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts)
D1 Developing Ideas and Organizing Content
D1.1 Purpose and Audience
Grade 7: identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create, and analyze why the chosen text form, genre, and medium suit the purpose and audience, and how they will help communicate the intended meaning
Grade 8: identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create; choose a text form, genre, and medium to suit the purpose and audience, and justify their choices
D1.2 Developing Ideas
generate and develop ideas and details about challenging topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences
D1.3 Research
gather and synthesize information and content relevant to a topic, using a variety of textual sources and appropriate strategies; evaluate the currency, quality, bias, and accuracy of information; verify the reliability of sources; and check copyright and cite the sources for all content created by others
D1.4 Organizing Content
classify and sequence ideas and collected information, selecting effective strategies and tools, and identify and organize relevant content, evaluating the choices of text form, genre, and medium, and considering alternatives
D2 Creating Texts
D2.1 Producing Drafts
Grade 7: draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, expository, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies
Grade 8: draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, expository, and informational texts, citing sources, and use a variety of appropriate media, tools, and strategies to transform information and communicate ideas
A person or tool who verifies or debunks claims or stories.
A tool that finds all of the places an online image has appeared.