Argument Unit - Credible Sources

The internet seems infinite. Even if you spent every second of every day viewing as much as you possibly could, you'd never get to the end of the internet. The amount of new content added to the internet today alone would be too much to view in a lifetime. Isn't that insane?

And ANYONE can add content to the internet at any time. Even me! All I had to do was provide an email address and a few personal details, and some fools gave me a free blog that I now use to mold the minds of the future leaders of our country. Scary, huh?

Luckily for you, I am a (mostly) sane person with (mostly) sane goals. I use this blog for good, not evil, but the same can't be said for everyone who adds content to the great and powerful World Wide Web. There are a lot of people out there with questionable motives, and sometimes it's hard to know what you can and can't believe on the internet.



Honest Abe sure knows how to drive home a point, doesn't he? ;)

As you're researching on the vast, infinite information highway, it's important to remember that not everything you click on is going to have the most rock solid information. You're going to come across a lot of information that is based purely on opinion instead of facts. OR, information that is stated as fact, but no facts are cited. Beware of the article (or video or infograph) that doesn't provide sources!



How about some examples, eh?

Unreliable sources:

• Wikipedia.org - Wikipedia is a great website, chock full of information on just about any subject you could think of, BUT it can be edited by anyone, so watch out for it. The folks who run Wikipedia do their best to fact check everything, but sometimes misinformation slips through the cracks. Your best bet is to check the links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page - a lot of times that's where the author got their information, and it's where you can get information, too.
• Debate.org - Great site for forming opinions and seeing what the public thinks about an issue, but that's about it. Please don't use debate.org as a source of information, because it is impossible to know if what anyone says there is true. 
• TheOnion.com - This is a satirical website, meaning all of the articles written here are a joke - usually a joke that pokes fun at a real issue. The thing is, they can sometimes sound serious, and people are fooled by satirical websites like The Onion all the time. If you think something that you're reading is satire, let us know, and we'll help you figure it out.
• Anything that seems too one-sided may not be credible. 
• Anything that doesn't site sources is unreliable.
• Anything that's out of date (more than a few years) is questionable. 

Credible sources:

• Newsela.com - We like it, and we want you to use it whenever possible. The articles are taken from newspapers around the world, which means the stories have been fact checked. See if they have anything about your topic!
• Local newspapers/news stations - They all have websites, and are usually a little less biased than national news channels.
• Websites that end in .gov (government) have information that has been thoroughly researched.
• National newspapers like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today also have information that has been thoroughly researched. 
• Websites that are CURRENT usually have more accurate information than those that are outdated.
• Websites that have links to their sources are usually more trustworthy.
• Websites that are objective (unbiased) tend to be more reliable than those that are biased.

Here is a handy checklist to use when checking the credibility of your sources. If you have any questions about whether a source is credible or not, please let me know!


Once you have finished this lesson and the Media Bias lesson, head on over to Google Classroom and start part two of the scavenger hunt. Good luck!

Argument Unit - Media Bias

As you are researching for your final project, you have probably come across some pretty biased information. What's bias? I'm so glad you asked! Allow me to illustrate bias with an example.

Right now, kids from both Team J and Team S are reading this lesson. So, let me ask you this: Who do you like better - me or Miss Mosher?

This is a hypothetical question - I don't need or want to know the answer. :) BUT I can guess what the results will be. By and large, Team J kids probably chose me and Team S kids probably chose Miss Mosher. And why? Because you're biased. Bias, more simply put, is favoritism. It would make sense for Team J kids to like me better because they see and interact with me every day. Likewise, Team S kids like Miss Mosher better for the same reasons. Most people like what they know.

What does this have to do with your research? Everything! The internet is media, and media is full of bias.

Typically, media is divided up into two major camps: liberal or conservative. Most media outlets fall somewhere between those two extremes. MSNBC is typically viewed as more liberal leaning, whereas FOX News is seen as more conservative.

But how do you know the difference? Student News Daily has a really great (and unbiased!) article that you can read here: http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/conservative-vs-liberal-beliefs/ Many of you chose controversial topics such as abortion, gun control, or marriage equality - each of which is discussed from both perspectives in the link above. It's a great read if you're wondering which side of things you typically fall on - liberal or conservative?

To help you understand bias more deeply, please view this prezi: https://prezi.com/o9ovcyvm8x28/media-bias/ The author of this prezi talks about different types of bias and provides great examples. Pay special attention to the blue underlining in the examples. This is something that will really help you determine whether your sources are biased or not, so view it more than once if you need to!

Once you've completed this lesson and the Credible Sources lesson, head back to your Google Classroom page, open part two of the scavenger hunt, and get searching!