South Dakota ELA 8.W.8.b

ELA8th GradeWriting

The Standard

Assess the credibility and accuracy of each source.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students check who made each source, when it was published, and what evidence it gives. They check key claims against another reliable source before using them in their writing.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain why a named health agency page is more trustworthy than an unsigned blog post. They can check a claim against another source and decide whether to use it.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume a polished website or a .org address guarantees accuracy. They may trust a whole article because one fact in it checks out.
How to Assess It: Give students a CDC teen sleep excerpt, an unsigned blog excerpt, and an NIH fact sheet. For each excerpt, ask for one credibility clue and one claim checked against the fact sheet.

Lesson moves

Pairs mark author, date, and evidence on printed CDC and unsigned blog pages, then check one sleep claim against an NIH fact sheet.
Ask: If a blog quotes a scientist but gives no study link, would you use it in a report? Write two reasons.
Play Claim Check: teams match four claims from printed source cards to supporting or conflicting lines in an NIH fact sheet.
Show a shared teen sleep tip; students find its original publisher and check the main claim against a health agency page.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 8.W.8.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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