How does the validity of a source strengthen or weaken an argument?
Focus: How does the validity of a source strengthen or weaken an argument?
Suggested length: 1 hour
Learning objectives:
- To understand the importance of supporting claims with evidence.
- To strengthen claims with sources.
| Approaches to Learning | Vocabulary | Reflection Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Research Skills Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of information from various sources. | claim counterclaim source evidence evaluate | How do you decide whether a source you find online is trustworthy? When someone doesn’t back up a claim with evidence, how does it affect how much you believe or trust what they say? |
Resources and Preparation
Clone the following discussion and share it with students: Should we keep animals in zoos?
Homework Preparation Task
Students may benefit from building their knowledge on research and citation by exploring the resources at Purdue OWL.
Introduction
Remind students that a strong argument will refer to supporting evidence.
Discuss different types of evidence that can be used to support claims.
A useful guide can be found here.
Open the discussion Should we keep animals in zoos? that students will use in today’s lesson.
Select a claim that would benefit from the addition of a supporting source.
As a class, find a suitable supporting source.
Model how to add the source to the claim.
Main Activity
Students should work in small groups.
Clone and share the discussion Should we keep animals in zoos? with each group.
Ensure all groups have Admin permissions ready for the reflection activity. (Students will need to be able to use the discussion features responsibly.)
Use Tasks to specify how many claims you would like groups to add sources to. (There are 52 claims in total.)
Students should then collaborate to research sources and link them to their claims, adding a relevant quote or note.
Students should develop and write out a checklist by which they determine whether a source is “good” or “bad”.
Reflection Activity
Each group will reflect on another group’s choice of sources.
Ask each group to swap their device with another group.
Students will then use Grading and Feedback to grade five of their partner group’s claims and sources based on their checklists and add feedback to justify their grading.
Close the session with the following reflection questions:
- How do you decide whether a source you find online is trustworthy?
- When someone doesn’t back up a claim with evidence, how does it affect how much you believe or trust what they say?
- Why is it important to apply a checklist or set of criteria when choosing sources — especially in a world with so much misinformation?
