• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Which source is most reliable?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. You want to find out if a new trainer really makes you run faster. Which source is most reliable? (the shoe box / a celebrity who is paid to wear them / the advert from the company selling the trainer / an independent test that compares several trainers) → an independent test that compares several trainersPrompt: Ask: Who made this? Do they know the topic? Is it up to date?
2. Read the question and choose. Which question is MOST useful when checking a website? (Does it have bright colours? / Who wrote it, and what do they know about the topic? / Is the font easy to read? / Does it have lots of pictures?) → Who wrote it, and what do they know about the topic?Prompt: Think about expertise, evidence, purpose and date.
3. A post says chocolate cures colds. Which is the best way to check the claim? (count how many likes the post has / believe it because it has a photo / look for what health organisations and doctors say / ask the person who posted it) → look for what health organisations and doctors sayPrompt: Ask: Who made this? Do they know the topic? Is it up to date?

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: News, opinion, advert or satire?. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: What kind of text is this? Tired of slow Wi-Fi? Switch to ZoomNet today and get your first three months half price!
• Step 1: News reports inform; opinion pieces argue; adverts sell; satire exaggerates to criticise or amuse.
• Step 2: It is trying to sell a product.
• Step 3: So the answer is: advertisement
• Answer: advertisement
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. What kind of text is this? The school will replace its paper planners with a free app from September, the head teacher announced in a letter to parents. (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → news reportPrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?
2. Read the question and choose. An influencer praises a skincare brand but does not say she was paid. What is the problem? (the product must be bad / viewers may think it is an honest opinion when it is really an advert / influencers are not allowed to like products / there is no problem) → viewers may think it is an honest opinion when it is really an advertPrompt: Ask who made the text and what they want you to do or think.

• 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Read the question and choose. Why can satire be mistaken for real news online? (satire uses no headlines / satire is always false and harmful / news sites never use humour / when shared without its source, the joke can look like a real headline) → when shared without its source, the joke can look like a real headlinePrompt: Ask who made the text and what they want you to do or think.
2. What kind of text is this? Scientists Confirm Mondays Are 37% Longer Than Other Days, Ask Public To Stay Calm (news report / opinion piece / advertisement / satire) → satirePrompt: Is it reporting facts, giving a view, selling something, or exaggerating to make fun of something?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-7.