Lesson 18: Flex Research: Corroborating What Sources Say About Propaganda

Quick Write

Teacher Guidance: Have students take out their Lesson 17 notes and the homework sentence they wrote about their strongest visual detail and next question.

Say these Directions: In Lesson 17, we read our posters like arguments and made an early claim about how they persuade people. Today, we are checking which parts of that claim we can actually verify by comparing sources. This matters because strong research depends on evidence you can trust, not just a first impression.

• Ask: What argument did you make about your poster in Lesson 17, and what part of that argument still needs to be verified?

  • In Lesson 17, I argued that my poster uses fear to make people reject communism. I still need to verify whether the poster was really aimed at students or at adults, because I only guessed the audience from the image.

Say these Directions: You have 2 minutes to write. Use your notes from Lesson 17 to remind yourself what you already think and what you still need to test. Begin.

Connection to Today’s Learning

Students have named the gap between an image-based claim and a verified claim; next, they will learn a routine for closing that gap.

Think-Pair-Share

Teacher Guidance: Maintain the teacher model topic WWII propaganda posters, continuing from Lesson 17. Use the We Can Do It! poster to model corroboration with the same topic students already know.

Display and read aloud this sentence from Animal Farm:

“Napoleon is always right.”

Say these Directions: In Animal Farm, Boxer repeats a claim because he trusts the speaker. Researchers do the opposite. We test a claim by checking other sources before we accept it.

Teach: Corroboration Routine

Display the following steps for the Corroboration Routine:

1. Read laterally by opening a second credible source instead of staying in one source.

2. Identify agreement by marking facts or interpretations that more than one source supports.

3. Interpret divergence by noticing where sources differ in focus, claim, or detail.

4. Judge usefulness by deciding what each source helps you verify.

Explain how to follow the routine using the We Can Do It! poster.

• Say: When I corroborate, I do not let one source do all the talking. First, I look at a museum record for the We Can Do It! poster because it can help me verify basic facts, such as the creator, company, and date. Then I read laterally, which means I open a second source beside the first one and compare what it says instead of staying stuck on one page. If both sources say the poster was created in 1943 for Westinghouse during World War II, I can mark that as agreement and treat it as more dependable. If one source focuses on factory morale while another focuses on the poster’s later meaning as a symbol of women’s empowerment, that divergence does not automatically mean one source is false. It means the sources may be answering different questions, so I need to name what I can verify now and what still needs more evidence.

• Ask: Which detail about the We Can Do It! poster could be verified quickly across two credible sources, and which detail might need more research?

  • The creator and date could be verified quickly because two credible sources can usually confirm those facts. The exact effect on viewers in 1943 might need more research because that is harder to prove from one object record alone.

Say these Directions: Turn to your partner. Partner A, name one detail you think would be easy to verify. Partner B, name one detail that would need stronger evidence. Then switch. You have 1 minute. Begin.

Connection to Today’s Learning

Students are ready to use the corroboration routine on their own poster research.

Part A: Find and Compare New Sources (W.8.6, W.8.7, W.8.8) (15 minutes)

Turn and Talk

Teacher Guidance: Students should research at least two additional credible sources beyond the image itself. Encourage them to search for museum records, archive entries, history sites, or articles focused on the poster’s campaign or historical context.

Say these Directions: Open your Lesson 17 notes and your selected poster. Today you will find at least two additional credible sources about that poster or its historical campaign. As you research, track where sources agree, where they diverge, and how useful each source is for verifying your claim.

Use the Research Notes graphic organizer to record your research question, source titles, evidence, agreement, divergence, and usefulness. Note that your first source should be the image you already have from your research.

• Ask: Which part of your poster claim are you trying to verify first, and what kind of source will help you do that?

  • I am trying to verify the audience first, so I want a museum record or history article that explains whom the poster was made for at the time.

Say these Directions: Tell your partner the first detail you are trying to verify and the kind of source you plan to search for. Then begin researching. Save or clearly label each source so you can return to it in Part B. Partner A begins.

Display this completed sample if needed for support and guidance:

Connection to Today’s Learning

Students now have compared sources; next, they will turn those notes into a short explanation of what they can verify with confidence.

Part B: Write What You Can Verify (W.8.7, W.8.8) (15 minutes)

Quick Write

Teacher Guidance: Students should write from their corroboration notes, not from memory. Encourage them to use source landmarks such as “In the museum record …” or “In the history article …” instead of vague phrases like “one website said.”

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

After comparing two credible sources, I can now verify that We Can Do It! was created in 1943 by J. Howard Miller for Westinghouse during World War II. In the museum record, the source confirms the date, creator, and company connected to the poster. In a history article about women war workers, the author also places the image in the wartime labor context, which supports the claim that the poster is tied to factory work during the war. The sources diverge in emphasis, though. One focuses on the poster’s original workplace setting while the other explains how it later became a wider symbol of women’s empowerment. Because the sources agree on the basic historical facts, I can verify the poster’s origin with confidence, but I still need more evidence before I can fully claim exactly how all viewers responded to it in 1943.

Say these Directions: Write a 6–8-sentence explanation of what you can now verify about your poster. Use at least two sources, name one point of agreement, describe one divergence, and explain what still needs more research.

• Ask: What can you now verify about your poster, and where do your sources diverge?

  • I can now verify that my poster was created during the Cold War and was meant to warn viewers about communism. In the museum description and a history article, both sources connect the poster to anti-communist fear. The sources diverge on audience, though, because one suggests it was meant for the general public while another focuses more on school use. That means I can verify the time period and message more confidently than the exact audience.

Say these Directions: Write quietly for the next several minutes. As you draft, keep your organizer open so your response stays based on evidence instead of memory. Begin.

Connection to Today’s Learning

Students have moved from gathering sources to making a careful, evidence-based judgment about what their research supports.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: In Lesson 17, we made a first interpretation by reading a poster closely. Today, we tested that interpretation by comparing sources and deciding what we can actually verify. That same move will strengthen your unit argument because strong writers explain not only what a message suggests but what evidence supports that idea.

• Ask: What changed when you moved from image analysis to corroboration, and what is your next research step? Use one verified detail from today’s sources and name one new inquiry question or process change for your next lesson.

  • What changed for me is that I became less sure about one part of my first claim and more sure about another part. I can now verify that my poster was made during the Cold War because two sources agreed on the time period, but I still need more proof about the exact audience. My next inquiry question is whether the poster was mainly used in schools or in public campaigns. In the next lesson, I want to search for an archive source that explains where the poster was displayed.

• Ask: Which corroboration move helped you most today—lateral reading, finding agreement, or interpreting divergence—and why?

  • Finding agreement helped me most because it showed me which facts were solid across more than one source. That made my writing more careful and more confident.

Say these Directions: The more we practice checking claims across sources, the easier it becomes to resist manipulation and build strong arguments of our own.

Review your Research Notes organizer. In your Journal, write:

1. One sentence beginning I can now verify …

2. One sentence beginning I still need to know …