Media Literacy: Evaluating News Sources

Skill focus: Evaluating News Sources

For the parent

Today we'll work on evaluating news sources. Read the passage closely, with a pencil. Identify the thesis. Mark moves the author makes — diction, repetition, structure. Strong readers question the text instead of just consuming it.

What you'll need

pencil
paper
highlighter (optional)

Warm-up

Read any short paragraph you have nearby. Identify the verb in the first sentence. Verbs reveal an author's stance.

Vocabulary

convenience

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

price

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

disposable

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

rushed

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

Sentence frames

The central claim of this passage is .

The author supports this with .

I would push back on this by .

A reasonable counter-argument would be .

Guided practice

1
Read this passage: "Convenience often hides a price. Each disposable cup, each rushed delivery, each click-to-buy moment chips quietly at supply chains and ecosystems few of us ever see. The package on your doorstep is not the start of the story; it is the very end. Before it arrived, raw materials were extracted, sometimes from forests that took a thousand years to grow. Workers were paid wages many in wealthier countries would not accept for an hour, let alone a day. Trucks burned diesel; planes burned jet fuel; servers spun in cooled warehouses to route the order; and at every step, a small fraction of the convenience was paid for in something — air, water, time, or somebody else's labor. Consumers rarely see these trade-offs because the cost is paid elsewhere — by workers, by oceans, by future generations. The author of this passage is not arguing that you should never order anything. The argument is more careful: that what looks 'free' or 'easy' rarely is, and that the maturity of an economy is not measured by how quickly things arrive, but by how honestly its prices reflect what those things really cost." Q: Restate the author's thesis in your own words.
Parent tip: Read aloud once, then ask your child to read it back. Underline answers together.
2
Using the same passage, answer: Identify three pieces of evidence the author uses.
Parent tip: Point back to the line in the text that proves the answer.

Your turn

1
What is the rhetorical effect of the line 'by oceans, by future generations'?
2
Where does the author signal that the argument is balanced rather than absolute?
3
How does the final sentence redefine economic 'maturity'?
4
Could a reasonable person disagree with this argument? On what grounds?
5
Why do you think the author wrote this?
6
What is one word from the passage you didn't know? Look it up and write a kid-friendly definition.
7
What feeling does the passage give you? What word in the text supports that feeling?
8
Find one verb in the passage. Write it here.
9
What is one detail you remember? Write it in a complete sentence.
10
Draw a picture of one moment from the passage.

★ Challenge

Write a 3-sentence summary of the passage in your own words.

Reflection

What is one thing you'll remember from this passage tomorrow?

For the parent

Answer key

guided #1Convenience has hidden environmental and human costs that are paid by others.

guided #2Disposable cups; same-day deliveries; click-to-buy purchases; raw-material extraction; underpaid workers; fuel use; cooled data warehouses (any three).

independent #1Parallel structure that emphasizes the scale, range, and time of harm.

independent #2In the lines 'The author of this passage is not arguing that you should never order anything' / 'The argument is more careful.'

independent #3By how honestly an economy's prices reflect actual social and environmental costs, not by speed.

independent #4Yes — convenience can also raise living standards, support trade, or free up time for other valuable work.

independent #5Open response — author's purpose.

independent #6Open response — vocabulary lookup.

independent #7Open response — reader response with text evidence.

independent #8Open response — varies by passage.

independent #9Open response — supporting detail.

independent #10Open response — visual response.

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