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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.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 8.W.8; 8.RI.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 Arizona

In the Arizona Academic 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: Arizona Department of Education

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

    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

  2. Question 2

    A chatbot gives a quotation from a historical figure. What should you do?

    • find the quotation in a reliable source before using it
    • say you wrote it
    • change a few words
    • use it as is

  3. Question 3

    What does it mean to synthesize information?

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

  4. Question 4

    What is the best way to check a surprising claim you saw in a video?

    • check how many views it has
    • search for the claim in several reliable news or expert sources
    • read the comments
    • watch it again

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

    Which helps you avoid plagiarism when taking notes?

    • use only one source
    • write notes in your own words and record the source
    • skip writing sources
    • copy full paragraphs

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