ALEX Learning Activity

This lesson looks at a valid print source, valid Internet source, and an example of fake news. Students will learn how to differentiate between real and fake news in preparation for research.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

The students will describe the difference between real and fake news.

The students will determine if a news article is real or fake.

The students will identify the main purpose of a text and what the author wants to convey through the text. 

1. Play the video clip: Five Ways to Spot Fake News (YouTube: 3:09 minutes).

2. After allowing students to view the video clip, ask students to recount ways to spot fake news. Record the information in a web on chart paper. (1) Where is the information from? What is the URL? Is the website trustworthy? Read other articles from the website to see if it is a trustworthy website. (2) Does the headline sound neutral? Does it make you really angry, sad, or make you burst out laughing? (3) Who wrote it? Can you look up the author and see other things they have written? Is there an author of the article? (4) What are the article’s sources? Verify the sources. How does the author know the information is true? (5) Are the images accurate? If necessary, do a reverse Google image search.  Have you seen these images before?

3.  Next, show the students an article from Newsela entitled "Space Travel for Sale: Two People Have Paid SpaceX to Fly to the Moon". Tell students that resources on the Internet cannot always be trusted, so we will need to evaluate the source. Ask students to look at the author of the article to make sure they are qualified. This article is by the Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff. Explain that the Associated Press is a news organization and Newsela has a staff that screens and reviews information for validity. 

4. While looking at the article on a projector or on printed copies, ask students "What is the main purpose of the text?" (informative) and "About what does the author want to inform?" (people who want to fly to the moon). 

5. Have students refer back to the web on the chart paper and ask the students the five ways to authenticate that the information is trustworthy: (1) Where is the information from? (2) Does the headline sound neutral? (3) Who wrote it? (4) What are the article’s sources? (5) Are the images accurate? 

6. Last, show the students the 1835 article life on the moon. Tell students this was published in 1835 in a newspaper. Explain to students that the article was written as a satire by Robert Adams Locke. It was written under the alias, Dr. Andrew Grant. Explain that fact-checking is important, and this doctor wasn't a person at all. 

7. Have students refer back to the web on the chart paper and ask the students the five ways to authenticate that the information is trustworthy: (1) Where is the information from? (2) Does the headline sound neutral? (3) Who wrote it? (4) What are the article’s sources? (5) Are the images accurate? 

8. While looking at the article on a projector or printed copies, ask students "What is the main purpose of the text?" (satire) and "Why was this satire created?" (to speculate about life on the moon). 

9. Ask students why is it important to check the validity of a source before using it as an example in research or believing what is written. Explain that checking for bias, looking at author qualifications, and print information can help determine if a source is valid before quoting the source. 

At the conclusion of the activity, the teacher can check for the students' understanding of the stated learning objectives by:

1. Asking students what they can do to tell the difference between real and fake news on the Internet.

2. Show students this web page to determine which news article is fake news: "Can You Spot the Fake News Story?". Have students determine which one is real news and which one is fake news. Remind students to check for author qualifications, publication information, and bias. Also, remind students to be a skeptic when it comes to information, fact checking to see if the information is valid.

The teacher will need to either have a computer hooked up to a projector with Internet access, have printed copies of the websites for all students, or have a document camera with a printed copy of the website to show students. 

The teacher will need to make a free Newsela account to access valid news articles.