Lesson 1: Finding Your Case

About 30 minutes — Activity-based lesson

What You Will Learn

This lesson covers:

Where to find data claims: news headlines, social media posts, advertisements, infographics
What makes a good case: a specific, verifiable claim with data behind it
Examples of good investigation topics
Activity: find 3 potential cases and choose the best one

Where to find data claims: news headlines, social media posts, advertisements, infographics

This section covers the key ideas about where to find data claims: news headlines, social media posts, advertisements, infographics. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

What makes a good case: a specific, verifiable claim with data behind it

This section covers the key ideas about what makes a good case: a specific, verifiable claim with data behind it. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Examples of good investigation topics

This section covers the key ideas about examples of good investigation topics. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Activity: find 3 potential cases and choose the best one

This section covers the key ideas about activity: find 3 potential cases and choose the best one. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Check Your Understanding

1. Where can you find data claims to investigate?

Answer: News articles, social media posts, advertisements, school announcements, political statements, health claims, and infographics. Data claims are everywhere once you start looking.

2. What makes a good case for investigation?

Answer: A specific claim with numbers or percentages, from a source you can check, about something that matters. Vague claims are hard to investigate.

3. Can you investigate any claim?

Answer: You can investigate any claim that references data. Some are easier than others. Start with something you can actually check — local claims or well-documented national ones.

4. How many claims should you investigate?

Answer: Just one, thoroughly. It is better to deeply investigate one claim than to superficially look at many.

Key Takeaways

Where to find data claims: news headlines, social media posts, advertisements, infographics
What makes a good case: a specific, verifiable claim with data behind it
Examples of good investigation topics
Activity: find 3 potential cases and choose the best one

Ready for More?

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Continue to Lesson 2: The Investigation

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