2026 Georgia Institute:
Teaching Students to Evaluate Sources and Claims
Screenshot from Google Street View of Forsyth County Board of Education Professional Development Center![[creative commons]](/images/creativecommons_16.png)
Day 1
Logistics
Icebreaker & Introductions
- Icebreaker (Acrobat (PDF) 1MB Jun2 25)
Science in the News
How often do you see claims made in the news that seem to be backed by scientific evidence? How can you tell what is real and what is not? Analyze two sources to identify claims or models and the evidence that supports them.
- Activity 2: Science in the News (Acrobat (PDF) 849kB Jun24 26)
- Activity 2A Handout: What Can We Learn From These Sources (Acrobat (PDF) 84kB Jun2 25)
- Source #1: Measles Truth or Consequences (Acrobat (PDF) 237kB Jun24 26)
- Source #2: Global measles cases almost double in a year, say researchers (Acrobat (PDF) 127kB Jun24 26)
- Hurricane Helene Was Engineered (Acrobat (PDF) 136kB Jun2 25)
- Activity 2B Handout: What can we learn from these sources? (Acrobat (PDF) 45kB Jun4 23)
- Source #1: What to Know About the Study Linking a Popular Artificial Sweetener to Cardiovascular Disease (Acrobat (PDF) 153kB Jun24 26)
- Source #2: Debunking The Erythritol Study (Acrobat (PDF) 915kB Jun24 26)
- Science in the News Resources (Acrobat (PDF) 146kB Jun24 26)
Break
Break
- ....a little time for yourself
Disciplinary Venn Diagram
Consider how Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts practices overlap in each content area.
- Activity 3: Disciplinary Venn Diagram (Acrobat (PDF) 2.4MB Jun1 26)
- Disciplinary Venn Diagram (Acrobat (PDF) 77kB Jun5 23)
Website Introduction
Slides and Handouts from the workshop and other resources
- Activity 4: Project Website (Acrobat (PDF) 538kB Jun1 26)
Lunch
Lunch!
LR Activity: Conserving Attention with Lateral Reading
While students are able to quickly access vast amounts of information today, they often need help deciding what deserves their attention.
- Activity 5: Conserving Attention with Lateral Reading (Acrobat (PDF) 2.6MB Jun2 25)
LR Activity: Introduction to Credibility
What does it mean for a source to be credible? How do you decide whether to believe someone?
- Activity 6: Intro to Credibility (Acrobat (PDF) 1.1MB Jun24 26)
- Intro to Credibility Guiding Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 142kB Jun24 26)
Break
Break
- ....a little time for yourself
MEL Activity: Wetlands pcMEL
Use a pre-constructed MEL (pcMEL) diagram to investigate two explanations about how wetlands affect humans and the environment.
- Activity 7: Wetlands pcMEL (Acrobat (PDF) 2.5MB Jun3 25)
- Wetlands pcMEL Teaching Resources
Connections between LR and MEL Activities
Revisit your Disciplinary Venn Diagram posters. What connections exist between an LR lesson and a MEL lesson? What further connections can we make?
- Activity 8: Connections (Acrobat (PDF) 382kB Jun20 25)
Wrap Up
Feedback on two questions: 1) How do you feel after today? and 2) What questions do you have after today?
- 1) How do you feel after today?
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Day 1 Q1 GA How do you feel after today?
- 2) What questions do you have after today?
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Day 1 Q2 GA What questions do you have after today?
pcMEL Wetlands Activity at Georgia Worikshop
Day 2
Activity 10: Introducing Lateral Reading
What does it mean for a source to be credible? Why should we investigate whether a source is credible before we read it?
- Activity 10: Introducing Lateral Reading (Acrobat (PDF) 979kB Jun25 26)
- Lateral Reading Guiding Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 83kB Jun20 25)
Break
Take a break and take a little time for yourself.
MEL Activity: Soil and Food Security baMEL
Build a MEL (baMEL) diagram to investigate the role of soil in providing food for the world's growing global population. Choose from three models and eight lines of evidence.
- Activity 11: Soil and Food Security baMEL (Acrobat (PDF) 9.2MB Jun25 26)
- Soil and Food Security baMEL Teaching Resources
MEL Activity: Compare and Contrast pcMELs and baMELs
What are the instructional differences for students and teachers between pcMELs and baMELs?
- Activity 12a: Compare Contrast pcMELs and baMELs (Acrobat (PDF) 549kB Jun26 25)