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English lesson plan · 11th grade (Year 12 in England) · 60 minutes

Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose

Reading Comprehension

CCSS W.11-12.8CCSS RI.11-12.7England: A-level Extended Project (research skills)England: AP Seminar and ResearchEngland: GCSE English Language Paper 2

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose.

  • 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: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources; Bias and loaded language in reporting

Leads to: Evaluating AI-generated and edited media; Paraphrase, quotation or plagiarism?

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 (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? A news story is shared today, but the article is dated four years ago. Why does this matter? → it may present old events as if they are happening now (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. Is the proposed answer correct? Which phrase is the most NEUTRAL way to describe the same people? → heroes (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Look for words that judge rather than describe.
  3. Is the proposed answer correct? A dramatic photo is going viral with the caption "Flooding in our city today". How can you check it? → zoom in to see if it looks wet (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.

Hook · 6 min

  • 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.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • 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.

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. For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a documentary about the 1963 protest that interviews historians (primary source / secondary source) → secondary sourcePrompt: Was it created at the time, by someone directly involved?
  2. Read the question and choose. Which detail best shows that a website is accountable for its content? (it has thousands of followers / it uses a professional-looking logo / it names its authors and editors and publishes corrections / it has lots of adverts) → it names its authors and editors and publishes correctionsPrompt: Think about authority (who made it), currency (when), purpose (why) and evidence (how).

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. Read the question and choose. Which detail best shows that a website is accountable for its content? (it uses a professional-looking logo / it has lots of adverts / it has thousands of followers / it names its authors and editors and publishes corrections) → it names its authors and editors and publishes correctionsPrompt: Think about authority (who made it), currency (when), purpose (why) and evidence (how).
  2. For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a review of a new film (primary source / secondary source) → secondary sourcePrompt: Was it created at the time, by someone directly involved?

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: Checking claims online: lateral reading and tracing sources.
  • 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: Evaluating AI-generated and edited media; Paraphrase, quotation or plagiarism?.
  • 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-11.

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

eurekami

Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? survey responses collected by students for their own project

    • A. primary source
    • B. secondary source

  2. Question 2

    Read the question and choose. For a report on current smartphone use among teenagers, which source is LEAST useful?

    • A. a survey from 2009
    • B. a recent official statistics release
    • C. a national survey from last year
    • D. a recent university study

  3. Question 3

    For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a novelist's handwritten letters to her publisher

    • A. primary source
    • B. secondary source

  4. Question 4

    Read the question and choose. Two reliable sources disagree about a statistic. What is the best response?

    • A. check how each figure was measured and report the disagreement fairly
    • B. pick the number that supports your argument
    • C. average the two numbers without explanation
    • D. leave out the topic

  5. Question 5

    For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? a history textbook chapter about the First World War

    • A. primary source
    • B. secondary source

  6. Question 6

    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?

    • A. only read the summary
    • B. note the conflict of interest and look for independent studies
    • C. ignore it completely, because funded studies are always false
    • D. treat it as the most reliable source

  7. Question 7

    Read the question and choose. Which detail best shows that a website is accountable for its content?

    • A. it names its authors and editors and publishes corrections
    • B. it has lots of adverts
    • C. it uses a professional-looking logo
    • D. it has thousands of followers

  8. Question 8

    For a research project, is this usually a primary or a secondary source? the original data table from a scientist's experiment

    • A. primary source
    • B. secondary source

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Answer key: Evaluating research sources: primary vs secondary, authority, purpose

  1. 1. A. primary source

  2. 2. A. a survey from 2009

  3. 3. A. primary source

  4. 4. A. check how each figure was measured and report the disagreement fairly

  5. 5. B. secondary source

  6. 6. B. note the conflict of interest and look for independent studies

  7. 7. A. it names its authors and editors and publishes corrections

  8. 8. A. primary source