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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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? 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. 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 / Garden bird now nests days earlier as springs warm, study finds / Birds abandon spring / Climate change wipes out garden birds) → 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? You Won't BELIEVE What This Teacher Did Next! (it hides the facts to make you click / it reports a statistic accurately / it gives a clear summary of the story / it names a reliable source) → it hides the facts to make you clickPrompt: Does the headline tell you the facts, or tease you?

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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 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.
  2. Read the question and choose. Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? (an established fact-checking organisation or several reliable news outlets / the account that posted it / the comments under the post / a forum with anonymous users) → 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 · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. 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 is safer than the real site (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. 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.

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

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Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Is the proposed answer correct? You find a website about a health claim. You've never heard of the organisation behind it. What should you do first? → trust its 'About us' page

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

  2. Question 2

    Read the question and choose. A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it?

    • A. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared
    • B. count the shares
    • C. zoom in to see if it looks wet
    • D. ask the person who shared it if it's real

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 3

    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. asking a teacher
    • D. calling her uncle

  1. Question 4

    Is the proposed answer correct? Which source is usually most useful for checking a surprising claim quickly? → the comments under the post

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

  2. Question 5

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

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

  3. Question 6

    Is the proposed answer correct? A news story is shared today, but the article is dated four years ago. Why does this matter? → dates are only for decoration

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

  4. Question 7

    Read the question and choose. A post says "A study proves X" but gives no link. What is the best next step?

    • A. share it so experts can check
    • B. ignore all studies
    • C. assume it is true because it mentions a study
    • D. search for the original study and see what it actually found

  5. Question 8

    Is the proposed answer correct? You strongly agree with a post and want to share it immediately. What's the wisest move? → pause and check it, because we are less careful with claims we already agree with

    • 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. A. do a reverse image search to see where and when it first appeared

  3. 3. B. a reverse image search

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

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

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

  7. 7. D. search for the original study and see what it actually found

  8. 8. A. yes, it is correct