Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Online Sources Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Online Sources, and supports the standard of discerning bias and reliability from sources on the Internet. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of  projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display the following two science websites: science.gov and DailyMail. Ask:

  • Which of these websites would you trust more? Why?
  • When researching on the Internet, how do you know if you are getting reliable information?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read aloud the description on the Online Sources topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the articles. Pair them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Online Sources Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about online sources while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a PSA explaining how people can identify a biased website or one with  misinformation.
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map with a list of strategies to use to determine the reliability of an unfamiliar site.
  • Creative Coding: Code a meme with a warning about unreliable websites.

More to Explore

Newsfeed Defenders: Students manage a social media site in this interactive game.

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of assessing the credibility of sources with these topics: Media Literacy and Research.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments