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Evaluating Science in the News

Illustration showing a mock science newspaper and science headlines appearing on a cell phone.
Topic
  • Science Practices
  • Explanations & Argumentation
  • Science & Society
Resource Type
  • Activities
  • Lessons
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Favorited By
46 Users
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Description

In this activity, students evaluate a science news article to determine whether it is a trustworthy source of information.

Science news articles are a great way to learn about new ideas, discoveries, and research. However, it’s important to evaluate the authority and credibility of sources of information. In this activity, students practice their reading comprehension and source evaluation skills by answering a series of questions about a science news article. They then synthesize their answers to determine whether the article is trustworthy. This activity can be used with any print or online news articles.

Two versions of the “Student Handout” are available for this activity. The short handout focuses on evaluating a science news article, and the extended handout also has students respond to the ideas presented in the article. The additional “Criteria for Evaluating Sources” handout provides more questions for evaluating sources of information based on the CRAP (Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose) test.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets
  • Evaluate the currency, reliability, authority, and purpose of a source of information.
  • Justify the reasoning used to determine whether a source of information is trustworthy.
  • (extended handout only) Identify the main idea and supporting details of a science news article.
  • (extended handout only) Respond to the ideas presented in a science news article. 
     
Details
Estimated Time
One to two 50-minute class periods, depending on which handout students will be working on.
Key Terms

authority, bias, CRAP test, currency, evidence, reliability, scientific literacy

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level

The documents for this resource meet accessibility standards in accordance with the final rule for Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act.
Version History
Date Published 06.01.20
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

SEP8

AP Biology (2019)

SP6

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST, ELA.WHST

Vision and Change (2009)

DP6

Materials
Resource Google Folder (link)
Educator Materials (PDF) 325 KB
Student Handout — Short (PDF) 267 KB
Student Handout — Extended (PDF) 288 KB
Criteria for Evaluating Sources (PDF) 216 KB
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