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.

What kind of text is this? A wildfire has burned 4,000 hectares near the coast. Firefighters expect to contain it by Friday, officials said. (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → news reportPrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?
A study of 300 students found that those who ate breakfast scored slightly higher on morning memory tests. The researchers said more studies were needed before drawing firm conclusions. Which headline reports the study most accurately? (Breakfast makes you a genius, scientists prove / Small study links breakfast to slightly better morning memory / Scientists say breakfast is pointless / Skipping breakfast ruins your grades) → Small study links breakfast to slightly better morning memoryPrompt: List the key facts: who, what, how many, how much.
Why is this headline likely to be clickbait? Doctors HATE this one simple trick (it is written by doctors / it gives exact figures / it uses mystery and emotion instead of information / it explains a medical study) → 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.

Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared (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.
Read the question and choose. A news story is shared today, but the article is dated four years ago. Why does this matter? (it doesn't matter at all / it may present old events as if they are happening now / old articles are always false / dates are only for decoration) → it may present old events as if they are happening nowPrompt: 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.

Is the proposed answer correct? A post says "A study proves X" but gives no link. What is the best next step? → search for the original study and see what it actually found (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.
Read the question and choose. You strongly agree with a post and want to share it immediately. What's the wisest move? (share it quickly before it disappears / share it only with friends / pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with / 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.

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
Read the question and choose. You strongly agree with a post and want to share it immediately. What's the wisest move?
- A. change the wording first
- B. pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with
- C. share it only with friends
- D. share it quickly before it disappears
2
Question 2
Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared
- 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.

3
Question 3
Read "The Shark on the Motorway". What was the first step Amira took to check the photo?
- A. asking a teacher
- B. calling her uncle
- C. visiting the motorway
- D. a reverse image search

4
Question 4
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?
- A. it is safer than the real site
- B. it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one
- C. nothing; addresses don't matter
- D. it is the newspaper's official backup site
5
Question 5
Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → count the shares
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct
6
Question 6
Read the question and choose. You find a website about a health claim. You've never heard of the organisation behind it. What should you do first?
- A. read the whole site carefully before checking anything else
- B. trust its 'About us' page
- C. judge it by how professional it looks
- D. open a new tab and search for what reliable sources say about that organisation

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

1. B. pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with
2. A. yes, it is correct
3. D. a reverse image search
4. B. it may be an imitation site pretending to be the real one
5. B. no, it is not correct
6. D. open a new tab and search for what reliable sources say about that organisation