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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 30 minutes

Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.8.7CCSS W.8.8England: KS3 English (research and evaluating sources)England: GCSE English Language Paper 2

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Does the headline match the story?; News, opinion, advert or satire?

Leads to: Spotting misleading statistics and graphs; Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose; Evaluating AI-generated and edited media

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Does the headline match the story?; News, opinion, advert or satire?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What kind of text is this? Local Man Bravely Survives Entire Weekend Without Checking Phone; Doctors Baffled (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → satirePrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?
  2. Researchers found that a common garden bird has shifted its spring nesting about five days earlier over the last 40 years, a change they link to warmer springs. Which headline reports the research most accurately? (Birds now nest in winter / Climate change wipes out garden birds / Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds / Birds abandon spring) → Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study findsPrompt: List the key facts: who, what, how many, how much.
  3. Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? Doctors HATE this one simple trick (it gives exact figures / it explains a medical study / it uses mystery and emotion instead of information / it is written by doctors) → it uses mystery and emotion instead of informationPrompt: Does the headline tell you the facts, or tease you?

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Read the question and choose. A website's address looks almost like a famous newspaper's, but with one letter different. What should you suspect?
  • Step 1: Lateral reading means checking a source by seeing what other trustworthy sources say about it, and tracing claims to their origin.
  • Step 2: Lookalike addresses are a common trick of fake sites.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one
  • Answer: it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is the proposed answer correct? A quote is shared with a famous scientist's photo, but you can't find it in any of her speeches or writings. What should you conclude? → it may be made up or wrongly attributed, so don't share it (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Good checkers leave the page and see what other reliable sources say.
  2. Read the question and choose. Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? (the comments under the post / the account that posted it / a forum with anonymous users / an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets) → an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outletsPrompt: Good checkers leave the page and see what other reliable sources say.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Read the question and choose. You strongly agree with a post and want to share it immediately. What's the wisest move? (share it only with friends / pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with / share it quickly before it disappears / change the wording first) → pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree withPrompt: Good checkers leave the page and see what other reliable sources say.
  2. Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → a forum with anonymous users (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Good checkers leave the page and see what other reliable sources say.

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Does the headline match the story?.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Spotting misleading statistics and graphs; Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose; Evaluating AI-generated and edited media.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-8.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → the account that posted it

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

The Shark on the Motorway

During a storm last spring, a photo exploded across social media. It showed a large shark swimming beside cars on a flooded motorway. Within hours it had been shared more than 80,000 times, often with captions such as "Stay indoors — sharks in the streets!" Fourteen-year-old Amira Haddad saw the photo in her family group chat. Something felt wrong. "The shark looked too sharp compared with the blurry water," she said. "So I decided to check." First, Amira ran a reverse image search. She found the same shark in a wildlife photo published years earlier, on a website about ocean animals. Next, she checked two local news sites. Neither mentioned sharks; both reported flooding and road closures. Finally, she found an article from a fact-checking organisation explaining that the image had been edited and had appeared during several different storms in different countries. Amira posted the fact-check in the group chat. "My uncle had already shared the photo," she laughed. "He was embarrassed, but he thanked me." Fact-checkers say edited images spread fastest when they are shocking and arrive during real emergencies, when people are anxious and want to warn others. Their advice is simple: pause before you share, look for the original source, and check whether reliable outlets are reporting the same thing.

  1. Question 2

    Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?

    • A. visiting the motorway
    • B. a reverse image search
    • C. calling her uncle
    • D. asking a teacher

  1. Question 3

    Read the question and choose. A news story is shared today, but the article is dated four years ago. Why does this matter?

    • A. it doesn't matter at all
    • B. it may present old events as if they are happening now
    • C. old articles are always false
    • D. dates are only for decoration

  2. Question 4

    Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

  3. Question 5

    Read the question and choose. Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly?

    • A. the comments under the post
    • B. the account that posted it
    • C. a forum with anonymous users
    • D. an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets

  4. Question 6

    Is the proposed answer correct? A website's address looks almost like a famous newspaper's, but with one letter different. What should you suspect? → it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

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Answer key: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources

  1. 1. B. no, it is not correct

  2. 2. B. a reverse image search

  3. 3. B. it may present old events as if they are happening now

  4. 4. A. yes, it is correct

  5. 5. D. an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets

  6. 6. A. yes, it is correct