This lesson will help you to sort through the myriad points of view offered on the Internet and evaluate the sources and purposes of the articles on the Websites. You will read several articles and answer questions describing each article’s source,purpose and viewpoint.
You will research the topic presented in an article of your choice and evaluate the resources you find. You will create checklists you can use in the future to evaluate articles, websites and other information.
Objectives
- read and answer questions about two articles, focusing on the articles’ purposes and point of view
- answer questions about a different article article of your choice
- find two additonal articles or Websites on the same topic you chose, and determine sources, purposes and viewpoints of these articles or sites
- create checklists to use when first reading new articles or websites
Procedure
Work individually. Choose one story and answer these four questions about it. The article should be a recent one, published within the last two months.
What is the article about? Summarize in two to five sentences.
What is the purpose of the article?
Which organization published this article`?
Does the article have a point of view? Can you tell how the author feels about the issue?
Answer the six basic journalistic questions: who, what, where, when, why and how.
Share the articles with the class. Discuss the differences between the articles or websites you have read. Did anyone feel the article expressed a strong viewpoint? If so, did it clearly state that it was an opinion piece? What organization produced this article? What was the article’s purpose?
Describe the reasons why it is a good idea to answer four questions for every article you read.
Assessment
In the future, when you see an article on the Web or in print, how will you decide whether or not to believe the information in it?
Create checklists that you can use when examining an article or website. Your checklist should pose questions you would ask yourself
when you read new articles in the future.