Idaho Social Studies 6-12.HT1.9
The Standard
Evaluate the credibility of sources about a historical event found on the internet by determining (if possible) how and why the sources were created, how they were circulated, their intended audience, and whether the source contains valid citations.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students inspect web pages about a historical event. They find out who made each page, why it was made, who it was meant for, how it was shared, and whether its citations support its claims.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can compare two pages about the same event and explain which claims have stronger evidence. They can trace a repost to its source, check a citation, and say when the creator or purpose is unknown.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume a .gov or .edu address makes every claim correct. They may count any link as evidence without checking what it says. They may mistake a repost for the original source.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Find a webpage about the 1918 flu. Name its creator, likely purpose and audience, note any visible reposts, and check whether one citation supports a claim, or write "no citation."
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Print a museum page and an anonymous blog post about the 1918 flu; students highlight bylines, dates, citations, and clues about the audience.
Ask students to write: "Who was meant to read this page, and why might its author have posted it?" Require two clues.
Play citation detective: teams open one cited source from a history webpage and earn a point if it supports the page's claim.
Show a social media repost of a historical claim beside its original page; students mark who shared it and what changed.
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Printable 6-12.HT1.9 Worksheet
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