top of page

INVESTIGATE

UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE CIVIC INFORMATION ONLINE,
CONSIDER WHAT INFORMATION YOU CAN TRUST

QUESTION four:

​

how do i investigate a topic and present what i have learned?

If you would like to engage your students in a hands-on research project where they put these ideas into practice, you could draw ideas from the following lesson plans written by Lisa Rothbard. Rothbard was a teacher in Oakland, CA who participated in the Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age Initiative.

 

Part 1: Selecting and Analyzing Evidence from Various Sources (link)

In this 2-3 day lesson, students select and analyze evidence from four different online sources all focused on their research question on a social issue.

 

Part 2: Source Credibility (link)

In this 2-3 day lesson, students analyze the credibility and relevancy of their online sources.

 

Part 3: Synthesizing Corroborating and Contradictory Evidence from Multiple Sources (link)

In this 1 day lesson, students synthesize and analyze the significance of corroborating and contradictory evidence from multiple sources when forming an argument in response to the research question.

​

Part 4: Creating an Infographic (link)

You can now ask students to plan out and then create their own infographic summarizing what they learned from their research project.

​

 

Extension Ideas:

 

You could also have students present what they learned through another visual format like PowToon or an Ignite presentation (also called a Pecha-kucha). Read these blogs to learn more about various tools to create more visual presentations in the classroom:

Students explore their identities and communities, identify civic issues that matter to them, and consider how they might use digital media for civic participation.

Students work to understand and analyze civic information online, and consider what information they

can trust.

Students navigate diverse perspectives and exchange ideas about civic issues in our inter-connected world .

Students consider how, when and to what end they can create, remix and otherwise re-purpose content that they share with others in online spaces.

Students consider a broad range of tactics and strategies for acting on civic issues. 

© 2018 by the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics

bottom of page