Sixth Grade · Writing · week 2

Evidence You Can Trust

Evaluate sources for credibility and select strong evidence to support an argument claim.

A claim needs evidence -- facts, statistics, and expert statements that back it up. But not all evidence is equally trustworthy. A credible source is written by someone qualified to speak on the topic, published by a reliable organization, and current. A city arborist's report on street trees is more credible than a stranger's comment on social media, even if the comment sounds confident.

Before you use evidence, check it: Who wrote this, and are they qualified? Who published it -- a university, a government agency, a company selling something? When was it written? A source that fails these checks might still contain a true fact, but you cannot be sure, so a careful writer looks for a better one.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Model the three-question check out loud on a source before your child even reads it for content.
  • Point out persuasive language that sounds confident but names no evidence ("everyone agrees," "obviously") -- confidence is not credibility.
  • Library databases, government sites, university sites, and established reference sources are good starting points for reliable evidence.
  • It is fine for a source to have a point of view -- the question is whether it is honest about evidence, not whether it is neutral.
Talk about it:
  • What three questions do you ask before trusting a source?
  • Why might a confident-sounding comment still be a weak source?
  • Where did you find your strongest piece of evidence, and why do you trust it?

Mastery looks like: They can apply the who/published-by/how-current test to a source and explain in their own words why one source is more credible than another.

Common stumbles: Trusting a source because it sounds confident or matches what they already believe, rather than checking who wrote and published it.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Persuasive AppealsBuild an argument with ethos, pathos, and logos.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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