Social Studies HS Guide

Crosswalk: Historical Thinking Skills & News Literacy Skills

Historical Thinking Skill/ News Literacy Skill

Prompts

Guiding Questions

Student Abilities

Example Application

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The author probably believes… I think the audience is… Based on the source information, I think the author might . . . I do/don’t trust this document… This source follows these standards of quality of journalism… This source is/is not biased because… Based on the background information, I understand this document differently because . . .

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A student evaluating a Civil War-era newspaper would consider its political affiliation, just as they would assess whether a modern news website adheres to journalistic standards. A student researching World War I propaganda posters would compare their sources to how social media influencers promote certain perspectives today. A student analyzing a 1920s political speech would consider Prohibition’s impact, just as they would verify whether a viral news image has been

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Identify the author’s position, intent, and credibility. Evaluate the trustworthiness of a source based on bias and reliability. Distinguish between high-quality journalism and sources that lack credibility.

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Who wrote this?

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What is the author’s perspective? Why was it written?

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Sourcing/ Source

Is it reliable?

Has it been confirmed by a credible source? Does this source follow journalistic standards? Is the source biased?

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When and where was this document created? How might the circumstances in which it was created affect its content? Is the context accurate?

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Understand how background information influences meaning. Recognize that both historical documents and news articles are

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Contextualization/ Context

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News Literacy Project. (n.d.). RumorGuard . News Literacy Project. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from https://rumorguard.org © 2025 Jodi Ide, Teacher Specialist, Canyons School District. All rights reserved. Sharing or reproduction permitted with author’s permission.