Social Studies Middle School Guide

altered to mislead audiences.

how politicians frame information in present day international conflicts.

• This document might not give me the whole picture because . . . • The original context of the information is verifiable/not verifiable because… agree/disagree about… • Another document to consider might be . . . • The following evidence proves/disproves this claim…. • The author agrees/disagrees with… • These documents all

• A student comparing different accounts of the Boston Massacre would apply similar skills to verifying whether multiple news outlets report a breaking story consistently. • A student examining JFK assassination conspiracy theories would analyze different perspectives, just as they would evaluate modern political fact checking sites. • A student analyzing propaganda in WWII posters would also assess whether a modern news article uses emotionally charged language to push a particular narrative. • A student evaluating McCarthy-era speeches would compare the use

• What do other documents say? • Do the documents agree? • What additional

• Cross-check multiple sources to verify reliability. • Recognize disparities between different accounts of the same event. • Evaluate the strength of

Corroboration/ Evidence

sources confirm or refute this claim? • Is there evidence that proves or disproves this claim?

evidence used to support a claim.

• What claims does the author make? • What evidence does the author use? • How does the author’s language indicate their perspective? • Is the claim based on solid reasoning? • Does it contain logical fallacies or conspiracy theories?

• I think the author chose these words in order to…. • The author is trying to convince me . . . • The author claims . . . • The evidence used to support the author’s claims is . . . • The information is free of/contains:

• Identify persuasive techniques and loaded language. • Recognize logical fallacies and misinformation strategies. • Evaluate how language shapes perspective and argumentation.

Close Reading/ Reasoning

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.