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Lesson 9

We will determine the meaning of unknown words in the informational text “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.” We will trace the text’s main ideas and examine how they interact with and build on one another.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases in the report “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed”?

  • Can I determine the central ideas of the report and analyze how they interact with and build on one another?

  • Can I summarize the report?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed,” Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Galen Stocking, Mason Walker, and Sophia Fedeli, Pew Research Center, 2019

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will work in groups to review our answers to the guiding questions for the informational text “Many Americans Say Made Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.”

Work in groups, using the following questions to guide your discussion:

  1. What research findings aligned with your expectations?

  2. What research findings surprised you?

  3. Is there evidence of bias on the part of the authors? If so, where?

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will determine the meaning of Unknown words in the informational text “Many Americans Say Made Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.”

Work with a partner to determine the meaning of the words below. Write the words and their meanings in your Vocabulary Journal. You might need to use a range of strategies (e.g., context, morphology, reference material)

  • encounter (para. 4)

  • altered (para. 4)

  • emerge (para. 6)

  • counterparts (para. 6)

  • pessimism (para. 7)

  • inherent (para. 10)

  • skepticism (para. 15)

  • starkest(para. 17)

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will interact with the words we defined for “Many Americans Say Made Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed” to cement our understanding of their meaning.

Work with a partner to respond to the vocabulary exercises directed by your teacher.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will identify the main idea of each section and analyze how the ideas interact and develop in the text.

As we experienced with the report “Privacy and Information Sharing,” the authors use text features to draw readers’ attention to important ideas and details.

Using the Summarizing Text Tool, first identify the main idea of each section of “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.” Second, analyze how the main ideas develop and interact with one another to produce a complex analysis of the issue. Third, write a concise summary of the article.

Complete the tool for homework, if needed.