Information Sorting Lesson Plan

Level: Grades 4-8

Duration: 75 minutes, plus time for students to complete the research activity

About the author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts

This lesson plan is part of the Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum program. Funding provided by the Government of Ontario.

 This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

This is the second lesson in the Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum series, though it can also be delivered independently. In it, students are introduced to the idea of using information sorting to determine whether sources are worth their attention and then to do critical close readings of those that are. After learning and identifying the differences and similarities between the two steps, they learn the characteristics of a reliable source and make a list of companion texts that can be used to determine if a source has those characteristics. After practicing that process, they learn some examples of critical close reading skills and use a possibility grid to do a close reading of a news article. Finally they plan, carry out, and reflect on an information sorting process to make sure they are getting a full and accurate picture of the news story’s topic.

This lesson is intended as an introduction to information sorting. The following lessons explore its elements in more detail:

Companion reading:

• Break the Fake: What’s real online? (Grades 3-5)
• Break the Fake: Verifying Information online (Grades 6-9)
• Mixed Signals: Verifying Online Information (Grades 7-9)
• Stay on the Path Lesson One: Searching for Treasure (Grades 5-6)
• Stay on the Path Lesson Two: All That Glitters is Not Gold (Grades 5-6)
• Stay on the Path Lesson Three: Treasure Maps (Grades 5-6)
• Stay on the Path Lesson Four: Scavenger Hunt (Grades 5-6)

Close reading:

• Do Sharks Love Ice Cream? (Grades 7-9)
• Teaching Media: Critically Evaluating Media (Grades 1-6)
• Teaching Media: Frame as Story Teller (Grades 1-6)
• Writing the News (Grades 6-9)

Learning goals

Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…

Digital media are networked: Because it is easy to make and share content online, we need to determine whether sources are reliable before we read them closely

Frequent misconceptions to correct: 

The best way to tell if something is reliable is to read it carefully

Essential knowledge: Students will learn that…

Finding and Verifying: Methods for identifying reliable sources and reading them critically

Key vocabulary: Information sorting, companion reading, companion text, close reading, possibility grid, biodegradable 

Performance tasks: Students will be able to…

• Access online information
• Identify when information sorting is and is not needed
• Identify examples of companion texts
• Use information sorting to investigate a topic 
• Use companion texts to determine a source’s reliability
• Use close reading techniques to read a text critically
• Understand the process of information sorting
• Identify similarities and differences between companion reading
• Identify characteristics of a reliable source
• Engage with the implications of which voices are and are not included in a work

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.