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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.

Alaska content standards learning standard: W.8.8; RI.8.8 · 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 Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, 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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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 is the purpose of an annotated bibliography?

    • to make a timeline
    • to tell a story
    • to rate movies
    • to list sources with notes on their usefulness

  2. Question 2

    What does “fair” mean when judging information?

    • it is free
    • it represents different sides and does not distort facts
    • it is short
    • it agrees with you

  3. Question 3

    An article quotes an expert, but the expert studies a different field. What is the issue?

    • there is no issue
    • the expert may not have knowledge of this topic
    • experts are always right
    • it is a primary source

  4. Question 4

    What makes evidence strong in research?

    • it is relevant, accurate and from a credible source
    • it is emotional
    • it is the first thing you found
    • it is short

  5. Question 5

    What does it mean for an argument to be logical?

    • its reasons support its conclusion
    • it uses big words
    • it is popular
    • it is long

  6. Question 6

    A source is published by a group with a clear position on an issue. How should you use it?

    • use it carefully and compare with other sources
    • quote it as neutral
    • trust it completely
    • never read it

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