Virginia SOL 9.R.1.C
The Standard
Analyze and evaluate the primary and secondary sources gathered for their credibility, reliability, accuracy, and usefulness that includes identifying their main and supporting ideas, points of view, conflicting information, and any misconceptions or biases.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students examine primary and secondary sources instead of accepting them at face value. They identify claims, evidence, viewpoint, conflicts, bias, and errors, then judge which sources are trustworthy and useful.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students identify each source’s central claim, supporting evidence, viewpoint, and purpose. They compare conflicting details, check claims against other evidence, and explain which source best fits a specific research need.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat a polished website or familiar organization as automatically trustworthy. They may confuse bias with falsehood, overlook missing evidence, or assume two conflicting sources cannot both contain useful information.
How to Assess It
- Give students two short sources on the same claim. Ask them to choose the more useful source and cite two details about authorship, evidence, accuracy, or bias.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs three printed sources on one event, then have them label claims, evidence, author expertise, publication date, bias, and missing information.
Ask students to write: Which source is most useful for a school report, and what specific evidence supports your choice?
Play Source Detective by awarding points when teams spot unsupported claims, loaded wording, outdated facts, unclear authorship, or conflicting evidence.
Choose a viral social media claim, trace it to its original source, and compare it with reporting from two established news outlets.
Free download
Printable 9.R.1.C Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 9.R.1.C, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- 8.R.1.C
Evaluate and analyze the relevance, validity, and credibility of sources (primary, secondary, digital, and print) identifying main and supporting ideas, conflic...
- 11.R.1.C
Objectively evaluate primary and secondary sources for their credibility, reliability, accuracy, usefulness, and limitations. That includes identifying their ma...
- 12.R.1.C
Objectively evaluate primary and secondary sources for their credibility, reliability, accuracy, usefulness, and limitations; that includes identifying the main...
- 10.R.1.C
Objectively evaluate primary and secondary sources for their credibility, reliability, accuracy, usefulness, and limitations, that includes identifying their ma...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.