• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources; Bias and loaded language in reporting). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → the comments under the post (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.
2. Is the proposed answer correct? "Officials ADMITTED that the project was over budget." How does 'admitted' differ from 'said'? → it suggests reluctance or wrongdoing (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Look for words that judge rather than describe.
3. Is the proposed answer correct? A news story is shared today, but the article is dated four years ago. Why does this matter? → it doesn't matter at all (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.

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a photograph taken at a 1963 protest march
• Step 1: Primary sources are first-hand evidence; secondary sources interpret or summarise primary sources.
• Step 2: Created at the event itself.
• Step 3: So the answer is: primary source
• Answer: primary source
• 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. For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a novelist's handwritten letters to her publisher (primary source / secondary source) → primary sourcePrompt: Was it created at the time, by someone directly involved?
2. Read the question and choose. A study on the benefits of a sugary cereal was funded by the cereal company. What should a careful researcher do? (ignore it completely, because funded studies are always false / note the conflict of interest and look for independent studies / only read the summary / treat it as the most reliable source) → note the conflict of interest and look for independent studiesPrompt: Think about authority (who made it), currency (when), purpose (why) and evidence (how).

• 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. For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a diary written by a soldier during the First World War (primary source / secondary source) → primary sourcePrompt: Was it created at the time, by someone directly involved?
2. Read the question and choose. You are researching the safety of an energy drink. Which source is most trustworthy? (a forum thread with anonymous comments / a report paid for by the drink's manufacturer / a peer-reviewed study by independent researchers / a blog by a fitness influencer) → a peer-reviewed study by independent researchersPrompt: Think about authority (who made it), currency (when), purpose (why) and evidence (how).

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-11.