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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.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Writing 1; Reading 10 · 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 Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, 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: Maine 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

    Why should you note the page number when quoting a book?

    • it is decoration
    • so readers can find the exact words
    • to count your pages
    • to make the essay longer

  2. Question 2

    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

  3. Question 3

    What makes evidence strong in research?

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

  4. Question 4

    What does it mean to synthesize information?

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

  5. Question 5

    Which of these is a credible source for medical information?

    • a hospital or public health website
    • a celebrity's opinion
    • a post selling vitamins
    • an anonymous forum

  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
    • copy full paragraphs
    • skip writing sources

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