Texas TEKS 6.19.F

Social Studies6th GradeSocial studies skills

The Standard

evaluate a variety of historical and contemporary sources for validity, credibility, bias, and accuracy

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students check who created a source, when it was made, its purpose, and what evidence supports its claims. They compare sources to judge trustworthiness, bias, accuracy, and whether the evidence fits the claim.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can rank several sources by reliability and support their ranking with specific details. They can spot loaded language, verify claims across sources, and explain that a biased source may still contain accurate facts.
Common Misconceptions: Students may trust the first search result, a polished website, or any site ending in .org. They may assume primary sources are always accurate or that bias makes every claim false.
How to Assess It: Give students two conflicting reports about one event. Ask them to choose the more credible report and name two source details that support their choice.

Lesson moves

Give groups printed source cards to sort from most to least reliable, then require one written reason for each placement.
Ask students to write: Can a biased source still be useful, and what checks would you use before citing it?
Play Source Detective by revealing an author, date, publisher, evidence, and wording one clue at a time before students rate credibility.
Compare two online reports about a local weather event, then verify one shared claim using a government weather record.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.19.F, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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