STOP: At the beginning and at all times during the process, take the time to STOP and ask questions. What is the reputation and claim of the website or source of the information? Are you familiar with the source? If you are unsure, continue to the other steps to get an understanding of what you are looking at. Do not read or share it until you know what you are looking at.
INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE: Know what you are reading before you read it. Take the time to understand the expertise and agenda of the source you are looking at. Is what you are looking at worth the time and effort? Is the source significant and trustworthy?
FIND BETTER COVERAGE: While it is often easy to find any source on a topic, your goal is to find the BEST source you can, which requires looking at multiple sources to determine expert consensus. You want to find the more trusted and in-depth coverage. If you can not confirm this on your original source, seek other coverage.
TRACE CLAIMS, QUOTES AND MEDIA TO THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT: In these cases we’ll have you trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source, so you can see it in it’s original context and get a sense if the version you saw was accurately presented.
Also, pay attention to timeliness and motivation/purpose.
SIFT was created by Mike Caulfield and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Credit: Rutgers University Libraries
Grade 8 students may wish to search for additional information in a news database. The most useful news database for this topic is Access World News:
Tips:
Suggested Search String: Israel AND Gaza AND Hamas AND (war OR attack OR fighting)
Use the Date Search Filter: Limit the DATE to the most recent days (e.g. 10/07/23 - 10/13/23)
Limit to English language
Limit by Source Location: Use this filter if you are seeking news from a specific place (continent, country, region, city or state)
It is important to stay informed, but reading the news can be upsetting, frightening or overwhelming. Here are a few tips for taking care of yourself:
1) Read summaries that don’t involve pictures or videos
2) If you already know about what is being reported, there is no need to read or watch that story over and over.
3) Avoid social media, where inaccurate information can spread quickly.
3) Take time to care for yourself - eat, drink, relax and spend time with friends and family.