Online Sources Lesson Plan: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Online Sources, and supports the standard of discerning bias and reliability from sources on the Internet. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display the following two science websites: science.gov and DailyMail. Ask:

Which of these websites would you trust more? Why?
When researching on the Internet, how do you know if you are getting reliable information?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

Read aloud the description on the Online Sources topic page.
Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the articles. Pair them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS

Assign the Online Sources Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about online sources while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

Make-a-Movie: Produce a PSA explaining how people can identify a biased website or one with misinformation.
Make-a-Map: Make a concept map with a list of strategies to use to determine the reliability of an unfamiliar site.
Creative Coding: Code a meme with a warning about unreliable websites.

More to Explore

Newsfeed Defenders: Students manage a social media site in this interactive game.

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of assessing the credibility of sources with these topics: Media Literacy and Research.

Teacher Support Resources:

Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.
Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3

Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7

Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3

Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3

Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.3

Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7

Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.3

Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3

Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5

Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.2

Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.5

Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.5

Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2

Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

Grade: 06

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.5

Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2

Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

Grade: 07

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.5

Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

Grade: 08

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.5

Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.5

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2a

Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Grade: 11-12

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.6

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.8

Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.8

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.8

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Grade: 09, 10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Filed as: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4

Online Sources Lesson Plan: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

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