Learning Area ENGLISH Grade Level SIX

W6 Quarter FOURTH Date

I. LESSON TITLE Assessing Credibility of Sources of Information
II. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING
Assess credibility of sources of information
COMPETENCIES (MELCs)
III. CONTENT/CORE CONTENT Assessing Credibility of Sources of Information
IV. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
I. Introduction (Time Frame: 5 minutes)
Everyone and anyone can create content online. Today, it’s hard to determine whether an Internet resource you find is
authentic or not. If you’re looking for factual resources, search through newspaper publications, TV news, journals, official
pamphlets, books, and magazines. But, nowadays people opt to search for information on the Internet. They tend to believe
anything posted on the Internet without even checking for credibility.
Fake news sites publish incorrect data; people believe these sites because of their persuasive, believable nature. If you’re
looking for a credible resource, you should avoid hoax sites as this may affect the accuracy of your study.
In choosing information sources such as books, journal articles, and newspaper whether in print or electronic, you must
evaluate their credibility. This is also true of websites and other types of sources, including social media, videos, podcasts, etc.
Evaluating online resources is an important step in any research process. By assessing the credibility of the sources, young writers
like you can produce a research output more effectively when reliable and accurate sources were used. At the end of our
lesson today, you are expected to assess credibility of sources of information.
This lesson will surely help you check and validate the reliability and accuracy of the sources you are using, such as book
and articles, either print or online.
Before we proceed to our lesson, answer the following vocabulary words that we help you understand this lesson better.

F __ __ E N __ W __ (noun) false information or propaganda published as if it were authentic news

M I __ I N __ O R __ A T I __ N (noun) false or inaccurate information, especially that which is intended to deceive.
C R __ D __ B __ __ I T Y (noun) the quality of being trusted and believed in.
R __ L I A __ I L __ __ Y (noun) the ability to be relied on or depended on, as for accuracy, honesty or achievement
A C __ __ R __ C Y (noun) The condition or quality of being true, correct or exact; freedom from error or defect

D. Development (Time Frame: 15 minutes)

There are several aspects that you should look for in assessing the credibility of the sources of information. You should
check:
1. Who published the content? (Authorship)
2. Where was it published? (Publication)
3. When was it published? (Currency and Relevance)
4. The truthfulness and integrity of the facts? (Accuracy)
5. How is it written and presented? (Purpose and Objectivity)
6. And what references are cited in the article? (Links and References)
1. Authorship

The author of the content is a concern when

considering the eligibility of the content. First of all, the
author should be an expert on the subject discussed
in the article. He should have the credentials to back
up his knowledge of the subject matter.
Usually, the information about the author can
be found on the website along with the content. The
name of the author can be found below the title, on
the side of the article, or at the bottom. Sometimes,
more information on the author is found below the article, also known Source: Forbes contributor Ian Morris’ bio example
as an author’s bio. An author may be credited if he is oftentimes
mentioned in other authoritative websites.
IV. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

2. Publication

If the information about the author is not

present, the publisher of the resource article can
be checked for authority.

Take a quick look at the website. Are you

familiar with the publication name? Is the
publisher reputable and credible on the subject
matter? Look at the website name, its logo, the
URL of the website, and other indicators that can
prove its reliability on the topic. One quick look at
the URL can help you determine if it’s a reliable
source or not. Trustworthy websites end in .org,
.edu, .gov, or any recognizable web address.

Another way to check the publisher’s site is

via its About Us and Contact Us page. These
pages will contain information about the
Source: Screenshot from American Psychological Association Website
publisher. You can countercheck their details by
conducting another search.

Reliable websites publish content that is relevant or under the same scope as the resource page that you found. Check
how often do they publish content and if they published related content as well. News and publication websites (Inquirer,
Rappler, The Philippine Star, etc.), are authority sites for facts. Consider the resource’s credibility if the publisher has mentioned
or been mentioned by authority sites.

3. Currency and Relevance

In conducting research, the currency and

timeliness of data are important in making inferences
for data gathering and analyses.

Information changes throughout the years. On

the Internet, it is easy to get lost among the billions of
data available at your fingertips. Even academic
articles such as thesis and investigative reports can
have obsolete data. Out-of-date content has
information that is not relevant or applicable in
today’s time. Source: https://websitesetup.org/evaluating-online-resources

How can you determine if the content that you’re looking at isn’t outdated? How do you check if the data you have is
current and timely? Look for the date of publication. Oftentimes, it is located near the title of the resource. You can look for
the date at the side information of the article, and even at the end of the article.

4. Accuracy

In writing, accuracy refers to a writer’s correctness in using the language system. This means that the writer’s use of
grammar and vocabulary should be correct and as good as it could be. Minimal errors are virtually present in all kinds of
publications, but poor spelling and grammar can easily reflect how careless an author is, and this may result in distrust. Again,
web resources are prone to technical errors since not all web publications go under the scrutinizing eye of a copy editor.

Accuracy also refers to whether an online resource is correct with its facts. Online resources can be verified easily through
a quick search on the Internet. Other resources provide a reference list that can help in double-checking facts cited in the
article.

5. Purpose and Objectivity

An online resource should teach, inform, explain, or persuade. By reading the article, it should become evident what the
article aims to impart to its readers. The author should not be biased with his views reflected in the article unless stated
otherwise. You should comprehend whether the content is backed up with facts or based on opinion and propaganda. The
content should show its intended audience.
IV. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

6. Links and References

Links are used for citing and to credit references found on other websites. Links used on the content should be useful and
relevant to the topic of the content. Make sure you only link to timely, relevant content. Meaning, link to the sites from the first
page of relevant SERPs and perform a yearly link audit to check if the content is still relevant. For example, if the links within the
content proceed to a 404 page or “Not Found” the content may be outdated.

E. Engagement (Time Frame: 10 minutes)

Learning Task 1
Directions: Assess the credibility of the news article about the COVID 19 updates in the Philippines. Use the questions below.

Review the evaluation tool presented above. Assess the credibility of the article by answering the questions below:

1. Who published the content? ________________________________________________________________________________

2. Where was it published? _____________________________________________________________________________________
3. When was it published? ______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Are the facts from the article accurate? ______________________________________________________________________
5. How is it written and presented? _____________________________________________________________________________
6. Are references and links cited in the article? __________________________________________________________________
IV. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Now, you are ready for your research study output. The questions in assessing the credibility of the sources of information
will help you find reliable and accurate sources while working on your research study.
Learning Task 2:
Directions: This time, try to look for other resources available to support a research paper for you Social Studies class. Let’s say
your teacher ask you to study on the issues about the West Philippine Sea dispute. Now, look for possible books,
online articles, news, or other related resources. Assess the credibility of the materials that you found using the
checklist below. Have fun!
AUTHORSHIP YES NO
1. The author’s information is available on the content or publication.
2. The author is affiliated with an academic institution or credible organization.
3. The author is credible and shows qualification about the content subject.
4. The author is considered expert about the subject matter.
UP-TO-DATEDNESS AND RELEVANCE
1. The content and information are up-to-date and relevant.
2. The content shows “most recent changes and updates” on the content itself.
3. The content uses statistical information with title and date referencing.
4. The website is well maintained, with very minimal to no broken links.
ACCURACY
1. The content is free from spelling errors.
2. The content has been thoroughly edited and reviewed.
3. The content is well-written and grammatically correct.
4. The sources indicated on the content is reliable and verified elsewhere.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVITY
1. The content serves its purpose – teach, inform, explain, persuade, etc.
2. The author or publisher is not biased on covering any subject.
3. You understand that the content is covered with facts, opinion, or propaganda.
4. The publisher clearly owns responsibility on providing accurate information.
LINKS AND REFERENCES
1. Links on the content are useful and relevant to the topic of the content.
2. Links on the content are not dead or links to a 404 Page.
3. References are mentioned by the author.
4. The author cited other sources of information.
If you got 3 out of 4 YESES in each aspect, the resource material that you found can be considered credible as reference
for your research study. You can now use it in writing your research journal or article.

A. Assimilation (Time Frame: 5 minutes)

Before we move on, let us see what you have learned from your previous activities. This activity will show how well you
understand assessing the credibility of the sources of information when doing research tasks.
Directions: Fill in the chart with your understanding or what you have learned about our topic. Enjoy the activity!
ASSESSING THE CREDIBILITY OF SOURCE OF INFORMATION
Assess the credibility of you How can these help you assess the
What are they about?
source of information using its: credibility of your source of information?
1. Authorship and Publication

2. Currency and Relevance

3. Accuracy

4. Purpose and Objectivity

5. Links and References

1. In assessing the credibility of the source of information, it is important to:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. As a young writer, choosing the credible source of information is important because:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
V. ASSESSMENT (Time Frame: 10 minutes)

Assess the credibility of the article below using the checklist.

YES NO
1. The author’s information is available on the content or publication.
2. The content and information are up-to-date and relevant.
3. The content is well-written and grammatically correct.
4. The content serves its purpose – teach, inform, explain, persuade, etc.
5. The author cited the sources of information.

Can this article be considered credible? Why or why not?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IV. LEARNING PHASES AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
VI. REFLECTION (Time Frame: 5 minutes)
• Communicate your personal assessment as indicated in the Learner’s Assessment Card.
Personal Assessment on Learner’s Level of Performance
Using the symbols below, choose one which best describes your experience in working on each given task. Draw it in the column
for Level of Performance (LP). Be guided by the descriptions below:
 - I was able to do/perform the task without any difficulty. The task helped me in understanding the target content/ lesson.
✓ - I was able to do/perform the task. It was quite challenging, but it still helped me in understanding the target content/lesson.
? – I was not able to do/perform the task. It was extremely difficult. I need additional enrichment activities to be able to do/perform this
task.
Learning Task LP Learning Task LP Learning Task LP Learning Task LP
Number 1 Number 2 Assimilation Assessment

Joy in Learning English by Agnes P. Galapon, et. al. p. 247-248 Vibal Group, Inc. 2016
VII. REFERENCES https://websitesetup.org/evaluating-online-resources
https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/lessons/evaluating-online-sources

Prepared by: JOE ANTHONY L. BASCO Checked by: AGNES S. GARCIA

SAYRE M. DIALOLA
DR. ANICIA J. VILLARUEL
DR. LEONARA FE M. MALABONGA