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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 12 of 12

Weigh the Evidence

Accurate, logical and fair sources

What your child practices

Children judge evidence and sources for accuracy, logic and fairness, spot fallacies and weak statistics, check content made by technology and combine sources with proper citations.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.9; 8.23 · judging sources and whether evidence is relevant, sufficient and logical

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Bias is a leaning toward one side that can affect fairness.
  2. Fair information shows different sides and doesn’t distort facts.
  3. An annotated bibliography lists sources with notes on how useful each one is.

Example: Which is more likely balanced on a new schedule: a report interviewing students, teachers and parents, or one upset student’s post? Balance means hearing many sides. The report includes three groups. Answer: a report that interviews students, teachers and parents

Weigh the Evidence in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 12 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Media Influence.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What does it mean to synthesize information?

    • copy one source
    • combine ideas from several sources into your own understanding
    • list keywords
    • summarize one paragraph

  2. Question 2

    Which is the strongest reason to trust a news report?

    • it names sources and other reliable outlets confirm it
    • it makes you feel angry
    • it has a dramatic headline
    • it is shared a lot

  3. Question 3

    Which is an example of a logical fallacy?

    • “The scientist measured the water.”
    • “Everyone believes it, so it must be true.”
    • “The museum records list this date.”
    • “Data from three studies show a rise.”

  4. Question 4

    What is bias in a source?

    • a leaning toward one side that can affect fairness
    • a kind of chart
    • a spelling rule
    • a list of sources

  5. Question 5

    An infographic has no source listed for its numbers. What should you think?

    • it is a primary source
    • the numbers can't be checked yet
    • it is an opinion
    • it is fully reliable

  6. Question 6

    An AI image of a historical event is in a slideshow. What should the creator do?

    • say it is a real photo
    • use it as evidence
    • hide where it came from
    • label it as AI-made, not a real photo

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