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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 12 of 14

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.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 8.8(E); 8.12(H) · judging sources and whether evidence is relevant and sufficient

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 Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 12 of 14 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Media Influence and before Roots: ast, qui, path, mand, duc.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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

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

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    What is bias in a source?

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

  4. Question 4

    What does it mean for an argument to be logical?

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

  5. Question 5

    What is the difference between a fact and a claim?

    • a fact can be verified; a claim still needs evidence
    • a claim is always true
    • a fact is an opinion
    • there is no difference

  6. Question 6

    Which helps you avoid plagiarism when taking notes?

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

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