Lesson 3: The credibility of sources
Year 7 – Using media – Gaining support for a cause
78.6% of statistics are made up
Q1. Is this true?
Q2. How could you find out if it is true or not?
Starter activity
Who thought that this was a real news story?
Starter activity
Fifteen sheep have been registered at a French primary school as part of a novel bid to save classes at risk of closure.
Jules-Ferry in Crets en Belledonne, a small town of less than 4,000 people at the foot of the Alps, had been told that it would have to scale back its lessons because of falling pupil numbers.
There are only 261 children at the school — but now they have been joined by more than a dozen sheep in a symbolic move to tackle what parents have described as a "miserable situation".
The farm animals were provided by a local herder, Michel Girerd, who with the help of his dog escorted the new pupils along to the school to see them officially signed up with their birth certificates.
Among the names added to the register during a ceremony watched by parents, teachers and children were Baa-bete and Saute-Mouton.
IT WAS REAL
How could you tell?
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How to tell
Starter activity
1. The hyperlinks at the end of the document took you to an article provided by Sky News.
Are they a trustworthy news outlet?
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Sky News
How to tell
Starter activity
1. The hyperlinks at the end of the document took you to an article provided by Sky News.
Are they a trustworthy news outlet?
2. Was it a real school?
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How to tell
Starter activity
1. The hyperlinks at the end of the document took you to an article provided by Sky News.
Are they a trustworthy news outlet?
2. Was it a real school?
3. Did anyone else report on the story?
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Lesson 3: The credibility of sources
Objectives
In this lesson, you will:
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Who can add information to web pages?
Activity 1
Anyone who wants to
Only people who have been approved by an authorised person, such as the government or an internet service provider
Anyone, as long as they have the technical knowhow, eg, being able to program websites and knowing how to set up a web server
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A
B
C
Who can add information to web pages?
Activity 1
Anyone who wants to
What implications does this have for the credibility of information that you might come across on the internet?
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A
Who can add information to web pages?
Activity 1
Anyone who wants to
Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia. How can you check if a Wikipedia article is trustworthy?
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A
Techniques to use when evaluating the trustworthiness of a source
Activity 1
Check the author and the source
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1
“My study found that people who live in Western Australia are twice as happy as those who live in Eastern Australia.”
Professor Bruce
University of East Broughton
Techniques to use when evaluating the trustworthiness of a source
Activity 1
Check the author and the source
Why do you think the article was written?
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1
2
“Computer programmers have found the secret to the National Lottery and want you to know how to win every time. Enter your email address below and we will send you more details.”
Techniques to use when evaluating the trustworthiness of a source
Activity 1
Check the author and the source
Why do you think the article was written?
Check when the article was written
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1
2
“A public survey suggests that 90% of people believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth.”
Philolaus 390 BC
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Techniques to use when evaluating the trustworthiness of a source
Activity 1
Check the author and the source
Why do you think the article was written?
Check when the article was written
Check the facts
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1
2
3
4
Fake news or real news?
Your turn
Activity 1
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Swap and share
Activity 1
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Gaining support for a cause
Activity 2
The aim of the next two lessons is for you to write a blog post that will help you gain support for a cause of your choice
What cause would you like to gain support for?
Activity 2
Spend 5 minutes thinking of ideas and discussing them with your classmates
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What cause would you like to gain support for?
Activity 2
Spend 5 minutes thinking of ideas and discussing them with your classmates
Suggestions:
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Homework: Consider your audience
Homework
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Due: Next lesson
Next lesson
Summary
In this lesson, you...
Checked digital content for credibility/trustworthiness
Used techniques to check if a source is trustworthy
Started thinking of ideas for your project
Next lesson, you will…
Learn about how to find useful information on the internet and use it to help support your cause
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