Locate credible online information.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do I locate credible online information?
OVERVIEW
The first section of this lesson introduces students to the concept of fake news, and discusses the spread of misinformation online. Then, students will learn how to develop strategies to combat the spread of fake news or online misinformation by examining the CORE strategies in detail. Finally, students learn about the strategy of lateral reading, and will be exposed to some fact checking websites. The lesson ends with students continuing the Town Hall Meeting preparation that they have started in previous lessons.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Identify fake news and understand how it spreads
- Analyze problems associated with the spread of fake news
- Identify and use strategies to locate credible online information
KEY TERMS
Fake news, misinformation, lateral reading, fact checking
BROAD AREAS OF LEARNING
Health and Well-Being
Media Literacy
Citizenship and Community Life
CROSS-CURRICULAR COMPETENCIES
Intellectual Competencies
- Uses information
- Exercises critical judgment
- Uses creativity
Methodological Competencies
- Adopts effective work methods
- Uses information & communications technologies
Communication-related Competencies
- Communicates appropriately
ESL COMPETENCIES
C1 Interacts orally in English
C2 Reinvests understanding of texts
C3 Writes and produces texts
WARM-UP – FAKE NEWS (6 minutes)
This section is intended to introduce students to the concept of fake news and to warn of the spread of misinformation online. It introduces important terminology and concepts to help facilitate understanding of online activity and information seeking.
Part 1 HOW FALSE NEWS SPREADS (8 minutes)
This section introduces important terminology and concepts. Students will watch the video, “How false news can spread” before discussing the questions (available on Worksheet 3.1).
PART 2 HOW DO WE EVALUATE THE CREDIBILITY OF ONLINE INFORMATION? (15 MINUTES)
After learning about online fake news, this section helps you develop CORE strategies to combat the spread of fake news or online misinformation.
PART 3 REALITY CHECK (10 minutes)
Students navigate to Reality check, the game (MediaSmarts resource) to complete this activity.
PART 4 HOW TO USE CORE STRATEGIES (10 minutes)
Students will be introduced to the concept of lateral reading, as well as some fact checking websites. These websites can be used to help students read laterally about a source.
PART 5 LESSON 3 TOWN HALL MEETING PREPARATION (25 minutes)
Using Worksheet 3.2, students will locate sources to help them gather information for their stakeholder’s speech in the Town Hall. They will also describe the process through which they found their sources, and reflect on their initial lateral reading strategies to assess the credibility of their sources. Finally, they will summarize the information provided by their source.
Accommodations to come.
Extensions to come.