Running head: DETERMINING PURPOSE AND CREDIBILITY

Determining Purpose and Credibility

Katrina Maccalous

Social, Ethical & Legal Issues in 21st Century Learning (OTL-504)

Colorado State University Global Campus

Dr. Michael Miller

September 10, 2017

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Unit: Reviews & Opinion (Persuasive)- Session 3

Background Knowledge/Prior learning: In sessions one and two of the unit, students will

have read and identified key details from the Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three

Little Pigs. They then will have formulated an opinion on which version they believed to be true

and identified their reasons using key details to support which one was real or credible. This

just-in-time lesson builds off of this prior learning, connects reading to writing and integrates the

ISTE standards in a culturally-responsive format by providing age-appropriate content meant as

a building block towards effective online research (rationale following lesson).

Standard(s):

1. Knowledge Constructor-Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital

tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning
experiences for themselves and others.
3b: Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of
information, media, data or other resources (ISTE Standards for Students, 2017).
2. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.1-
Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing
about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of
closure (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012).
3. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8
Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text (Common Core State
Standards Initiative, 2012).

Essential Question: How can we determine whether a source is trying to persuade or teach us?

Learning Target: I can identify content that is trying to persuade others with their opinion, in
order to determine its credibility.

Focus Questions:

1. What are commercials and reviews?

2. What are they trying to do?

Vocabulary: opinion, persuade, credibility, information

Approximate time: 30 minutes

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Introduction:

1. So, we just finished reading and discussing two different versions of the Three Little
Pigs to determine which story you believe is the true version. What were some of the
clues that helped convince you which version of the story was true?
2. Have students turn-and-talk to reflect on prior learning (i.e. the wolf provides a more
detailed timeline and explains why he was at their house in the first place/how he found it
OR wolves are bad and eat pigs [predators], so he was lying).
3. Just like we need to read critically in order to identify an authors purpose, we need to
take a careful look at what the things around us are trying to convince us of and whether
we should believe it or not. This is sometimes called "credibility." (Have students revoice
vocabulary word.)
4. Show slide 1 and go over essential question and definitions of facts and opinions. What
do students think will help us determine whether a source is trying to persuade us or teach
us or is completely made up?
5. Not everything we see and hear can be trusted. For example...(Provide anecdotes as
needed, such as Chicken Little or would you trust me to teach you how to fly in outer
space if I said I couldor an actual astronaut?)
6. Slide 2: Read and unpack learning target.
7. Show a series of commercials (slide 3)-What we're those? What were they trying to do?
Did they convince you of ....? Do you believe what they said?

Task: (Slide 4) Let's try this one last time with a series of news facts: some true and some
that are made up. I want you to think carefully and identify what clues helped you...

Summary/wrap-up:

1. Slide 5: Use questions on slide to guide discussion of learning.

2. Chart student responses for how to be a critical thinker to create an at-a-glance resource
for students (and parents) to refer to as needed. (See slide 6 for an example of what the
chart should look like.)
3. Introduce new unit-You're going to get the chance to try your hand at
persuading/convincing others and we'll get to assess/judge whether we believe/are
convinced based on your reasons and examples....and later in the year, we will write
teaching books that will need to be based on facts in order to be factual.

Rationale:

This assignment addresses the ISTE standard of Knowledge Constructor, specifically

sub-standard 3b: Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of

information, media, data or other resources (ISTE Standards for Students, 2017). Through their
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work with determining whether something is fact or fiction using the National Geographic Kids

site and inquiry into an individuals or companys purpose, students are engaging in critical

thinking and laying the foundation for later research perspective and credibility (ISTE

Standards for Students, 2017). This lesson is geared towards first grade learners, who are just

beginning to explore technology as an educational resource. Being that these learners do not

have much background knowledge on what internet researching is, the ISTE standard has been

adapted to align with their needs and interests.

The at-a-glance resource on slide 6, as well as the guidelines produced with students were

identified with the help of the online article How Can I Tell if a Website is Reliable? and

developed to meet the needs and interests of primary learners; thus, also supporting a culturally

responsive environment. By teaching kids to be critical of content they encounter, students are

also reinforcing their position as digital citizens. Joseph Kahne, Davidson professor of education

at Mills College in Oakland, CA, and chairman of the MacArthur Network on Youth and

Participatory Politics, stresses the need for the idea of digital citizenship to be seen as more than

just being safe and responsiblehe states that we should be also talking about young people as

producers and managers of information and perspectives (as cited by Waters, 2012, para. 4).
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References

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2012). English language arts standards. Retrieved

from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy.

Fake news. (2017). National Geographic Kids. Retrieved September 10, 2017, from

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/ngk-sneak-peek/april-2017/fake-news/

How can i tell if a website is reliable? [PDF]. (n.d.). Lee College. Retrieved September 9, 2017,

From https://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/Legacy_Cycle/mf_jm/Challenge%201/

website%20reliable.pdf

ISTE standards for students. (2017). Retrieved August 23, 2017, from

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students

Waters, J. K. (2012). Turning students into good digital citizens. Retrieved September 10, 2017,

from https://thejournal.com/articles/2012/04/09/rethinking-digital-citizenship.aspx