Resources for Controversial Issue
Click the Arrow next to the Step to see the resources available.
Watch this quick video for an overview!
Step 1: Understanding Bias, Misinformation and Disinformation
When researching controversial issues, there is always going to be information that contains bias, misinformation and disinformation in an attempt to sway the opinion and minds of the researcher. Therefore, it is important to understand the way information is presented in order to find the best sources available.
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Watch How misinformation works on the brain, according to a psychologist 6 min video
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Review Understanding Disinformation and Media Literacy Presentation
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Complete the Disinformation and Media Bias Playlist
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Lateral Reading Challenge Google Form (This is part of the playlist above too)
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Play a game to learn more
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Bad News to become a Fake News Tycoon and Complete this Worksheet to understand the 6 Tenants of Bad Information 30 min activity
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Spot the Troll to identify real life Trolls that spread disinformation.
- Play the Game: Think Before You Share
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Step 2: Understanding Argumentative v. Persuasive Writing
- Watch this Argumentative v Persuasive quick video
- Review this handout: Argumentative v. Persuasive
- Review this: Argument v Persuasive Cheat Sheet
Step 3: Picking a Controversial Issue Topic and Creating a Working Thesis
- Review the following lists of possible topics: 50 Argumentative Topics
300 Questions and Images to Inspire Argument Writing - Use this handout to help you write a thesis: Thesis Statement Handout
Step 4: Finding and Evaluating Credible Sources
- Find a book in the library: Library Catalog link and Watch How to Use the Library Catalog Video
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Mining Wikipedia (but not using it as a source)
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Databases have primary & secondary sources: AHS Library Databases Log-in Info
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Escolar: Britannica School content in Spanish. Help Video
Check Your News Sources for Bias using AllSides Media.
Sources in the middle LCR are great. Sources on the far left or far right may be too biased for use in a research paper.
Step 5: Creating a Works Cited
- Noodletools is a Citation Creator that will build your Annotated Bibliography. It is free to all students through their school Gmail accounts. Go here to access Noodletools and here to learn how to use it and cite different sources.
- OWL Purdue also has tips for citing sources
Step 6: Putting it all together in an Outline, Essay, or Speech