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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 12 of 16

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.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 8W7; 8R8 · 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 New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 12 of 16 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Media Influence and before Talking & Working Together.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

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

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    What does “fair” mean when judging information?

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

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

    You find an article that supports your claim, and one that challenges it. What should you do?

    • ignore the challenging one
    • consider both and address the counterargument
    • delete both
    • only quote the one you like

  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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