Lesson 32: Research, Part 3, Can I Trust This Source?

Turn and Talk

Display a four-source comparison set on a topic such as employment opportunity. Place students with a nearby partner, and make sure both students can see the source set.

• Say: In the previous lesson, we moved from a big topic to a better inquiry question. Today, we are checking whether the sources that answer those questions are strong enough to trust. This matters for your final research argument because a powerful claim needs evidence from credible sources.

Say these Directions: With a partner, look at the four source options. Think about which one you would trust most if you were researching barriers to employment, and be ready to explain your reason using because or while. Partner A, share first for 30 seconds. Partner B, build on or challenge that idea with one reason.

• Ask: Which of these sources would you trust most, and why?

  • I would trust the news article most because it lists a reporter, includes a date, and uses interview quotes and statistics, while the personal blog only expresses one person’s opinion.

Use this brief partner exchange to connect Lesson 31’s question work to today’s focus on source trustworthiness.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you have named what makes a source more or less trustworthy, you are ready to learn the word that researchers use for that idea.

Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Use morphology to build the meaning of credible and credibility, then connect that meaning directly to students’ research choices. Have students open their Personal Dictionaries and leave space for two related words.

Say these Directions: Today’s key word is credibility. We are going to break the word into meaningful parts so we can use it accurately when we judge whether a source belongs in our research.

Teach: Unlocking Credibility

• Say: When I see the word credibility, I look for a smaller part I already know. I notice cred, which is connected to belief or trust, and I also notice credible, which means “believable.” Then I notice the ending -ity, which turns an idea into a noun, so credibility means “the quality of being believable or trustworthy.” I can connect this root to words like credit, credentials, and even incredible, which all relate to belief in some way.

Say these Directions: The word credible is related to the Latin credibilis, meaning "worthy of being believed.” In your Personal Dictionary, write credible and credibility. Next to each word, write a student-friendly meaning in your own words.

• Say: I am going to hide the words now. Write the word credibility from memory in your Personal Dictionary.

• Say: Check your spelling against the displayed word, and correct it if needed.

• Say: Circle the root cred, and underline the ending that helps change the word’s form (-ible indicates the adjective form, and -ibility indicates the noun form).

• Ask: Which part of the word helped you remember how to spell it?

  • The root cred helped me because I connected it to credit and credible, so I remembered the first part of the word.

• Ask: When do we say a person or source is credible?

  • We say a doctor is credible when they have training and can explain where their information comes from.

  • We say a source is credible when it has an author, evidence, and clear information about when and where it was published.

Verify Meaning: Prompt students to use a dictionary or other reference material to confirm the meaning of the word they have constructed or inferred.

• Say: Check your definition using a dictionary or other reference material. Does the definition match what we figured out? Revise as needed.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you have the language to judge a source, you are ready to record source information in a way that you can use in your essay.

Learning in Action Part A: Building a Works Cited Entry (W.7.6, W.7.8) (15 minutes)

• Say: Now that you know how to consider whether a source is credible, it's time to make that work visible to your reader. When you cite your sources in a Works Cited section, you’re not just following a rule; you’re showing your audience exactly where your evidence comes from and giving them the chance to verify it themselves.

Use the teacher-maintained model topic of employment so students see the research process staying consistent across lessons.

Display the following citations if needed for support and guidance, or use citations for the materials students investigated in the lesson Launch:

• Patel, Rina. “Why Hiring Bias Still Matters.” NPR, 18 Jan. 2024, www.npr.org/example.

• U.S. Department of Labor. “Understanding Employment Discrimination.” U.S. Department of Labor, 2024, www.dol.gov/example.

Teach: Building a Citation Piece by Piece

• Say: When I make a Works Cited entry, I do not start by worrying about every comma. First, I gather the parts that help another reader find the same source. I look for the author, then the title, then the publication or website name, then the date, and finally the URL if it is digital. If a source has no named author, I start with the title and keep going with the information I do have.

• Say: This matters because research is not only about using evidence; it is also about being transparent about where that evidence came from. This information allows the reader to look at the same source I used, either to get more information or to evaluate whether I used the information accurately.

Modeled Writing

Say these Directions: Take out your Research Notes graphic organizer and one digital source you have already gathered. Use the model to find the five key parts of your source: author, title, publication, date, and URL.

Say these Directions: In your journal, Student Edition, or notes file, draft one Works Cited entry for that source. If one part is missing, leave a blank and mark it with a star so you know what to look for next.

• Ask: Which part of the Works Cited entry tells readers most clearly where the information came from?

  • The publication and URL help readers see where the information came from because they show the website or organization that published it and where to find it.

• Ask: What should you do if a source does not list an author?

  • If there is no author, I should start with the title and still include the publication, date, and URL so the source can still be identified.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Learning in Action Part B: Checking Credibility with a Partner (W.7.8, W.7.7) (15 minutes)

Students continue their research by drafting additional entries, then use partner talk to test whether each source is credible enough to keep.

Turn and Talk

Say these Directions: Continue working with your own research sources. Add Works Cited information for at least one more source, and write one sentence explaining whether your newest source is credible or still needs checking.

While students work, circulate and use Research Reflection Prompts to support self-regulation.

• Ask: What new information did you learn today about your source set?

• Ask: What new inquiry questions arose from today’s work?

• Ask: What changes, if any, do you need to make to your research process?

• Ask: What are your next steps for reaching four strong sources?

• Say: Now, share one citation and one credibility judgment with a partner. Your partner should listen for missing parts and ask one question that helps you decide whether to keep the source.

• Ask: Is your newest source credible enough to keep using? What makes you say that?

  • My newest source is probably credible enough to keep because it lists the author, includes statistics from a recent report, and comes from a government website, although I still want to check whether the data is current for my exact question.

• Say: Partner A, read your citation and your credibility sentence. Partner B, ask one follow-up question. Then switch roles.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Identify one additional source you found or added for your research. Write one sentence explaining why it is or is not credible. Then answer this reflection question:

• Ask: What are your next steps for reaching a total of four sources?

  • I added a U.S. Department of Education webpage about school funding, and it seems credible because it lists the agency, date, and published data. My next step is to find one article from a news organization and one print source so I have four sources that show different perspectives on my topic.

• Say: As you finish, underline the words that explain your reasoning, like because, since, or although. Those words help show that your decision was thoughtful, not random.

Optional Sentence Starter:

I added ___, and it is credible because ___; next, I need to ___.

Scoring Rubric

Consult the Rubric on the Second Page of the Performance Task Handout:

Provide students with possible print sources as well as access to sources online. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read:

• Identify at least two more sources so that you have a total of four possible sources for your research topic.

• Record the author, title, publication, date, and URL or print-source information for each one.

• Be prepared to explain why each source is credible.