Evaluate the Source
A trending article is spreading fast, but something about it doesn't add up. Analyze the evidence, crack four locks, and decide whether the source can be trusted.
🎓 Assign in Google Classroom
Paste this link into a Classroom assignment or short-answer question. When students win, they get a completion code to turn in. Step-by-step guide · Check codes
The premise
Anyone can post anything online, so a sharp digital citizen investigates before they believe or share. Work through the case files, weigh the evidence, and open all four locks. Each lock carries a reason that shows exactly why the answer holds up.
How this breakout builds CLEAR thinking
Every Critical Thinking Online Breakout runs on the CLEAR process — Claim, Lens, Evidence, Alternatives, Response (full framework). Here is where students practice each step in this activity:
- Claim — for each lock, decide what answer it is really asking for, and make it specific.
- Lens — notice what you already assume before you choose.
- Evidence — weigh the six clues; “The Router” is true but off-topic, so it is not evidence for any lock.
- Alternatives — the multiple-choice and multi-select locks force a comparison of competing options.
- Response — the reason revealed after each lock models the justified answer to act on.
Standards alignment
Aligned to Texas TEKS Technology Applications, Grade 8, §126.19, Digital Citizenship strand — subsections (c)(10), (c)(9). Skills are paraphrased; read the official standard at tea.texas.gov. This page shows the reasoning focus of each lock — not the answers.
| Lock | Reasoning focus | DigCit substrand |
|---|---|---|
| Lock 1 Signs of a Reliable Source |
Evaluating source bias & reliability | (c)(9) Ethics & laws |
| Lock 2 Name the Slant |
Naming bias in a digital source | (c)(9) Ethics & laws |
| Lock 3 The Creator's Rights |
IP law when creating & publishing | (c)(9) Ethics & laws |
| Lock 4 Respond to the Breach |
Cybersecurity breach response | (c)(10) Privacy, safety & security |
In the classroom
- Warm up (5 min). Ask: “Become a Source Analyst” — what does this mean online? Surface prior experience before the activity.
- Model one clue. Open a single clue together and think aloud: what does this tell us, and which lock might it help?
- Reason, don’t guess. Require students to say why before checking a lock. After each solve, read the revealed reason and compare it to their thinking.
- Spot the decoy. One clue is true but useless. Debrief which one and how they knew — a core evaluation skill.
- Language support. The 🌐 picker offers 7 languages; pair newcomers to discuss clues in their home language, then answer.
- Extend. Have students write a new clue, or a real-life example, for the focus skill they found hardest.