Purpose: To identify false or misleading
information found on the internet.
Success Criteria: Students will be able to accurately assess
the validity of various websites using strategies practiced in class.
Activate:
Display the webpage http://www.furbearingtrout.com/index.html
about Fur-Bearing Trout for your students.
Engage the students in a brief discussion on the plausibility of such an
animal existing. Discuss the fact that not
everything you see on the internet is real and ask students to brainstorm ways
they can determine what is and is not real.
Acquire:
Display the following ways to determine the authenticity of
a site for the students and try some of the strategies with the www.furbearingtrout.com website.
Question
|
Strategy
|
Outcome
|
Is the
information verifiable?
|
Look to
reputable sources to confirm information.
|
If you
can’t find credible sources to back up the information then chances are the
information is not true.
|
Are the
references legitimate?
|
Use the
reference links to check authenticity.
|
If they
don’t work, chances are the information is not true.
|
Do the
Links work?
|
Click on
the links.
|
Scam pages
often don’t have links that work.
|
Do the
claims make sense?
|
Think
about what you are reading and use your judgement to help you decide what to
believe.
|
If it
looks suspicious or too good to be true then the information may be false.
|
Is the
site authentic?
|
Check the URL
for spelling errors.
|
Many fake
sites try to duplicate real sites by changing just one letter in the URL or
by using common misspellings.
|
Is this a
personal site?
|
Does the
URL contain a person’s name?
|
A URL in
the name of a person indicates a personal site.
|
Who is
making the claim?
|
Does the
person making the claim have any credentials that you can verify?
|
Information
may be posted under an assumed name or by individuals not qualified to make
the statements.
|
Apply:
Have students research and test several sites for
authenticity. Be sure to include some
authentic sites in your list to see if students can tell the difference. Several sites may be found at:
Connect:
Have students discuss how learning to differentiate fact
from fiction on the internet can help them in their lives. Students could do a journal reflection of about
one paragraph at this point.
