A sixth-grade teacher plans a research project about Africa. Which approach best achieves goal 1: identify characteristics of reliable Websites?

• A. Reviewing with students the concepts of purpose, accountability, and reliability, on the internet
• B. Leading students through using a checklist to evaluate whether a website will make a good source
• C. Guiding students through a workbook about online safety
• D. Having students memorize checklists from a previous unit

Answer: (B)

The key idea is using a structured evaluation tool to determine if online sources are reliable. A checklist gives students concrete criteria—such as who authored the site, the publisher, date of publication, citations or evidence, bias, and accuracy—that they can apply to each website they consider. This turns general ideas about reliability into a practical, repeatable process, so students can compare sources, justify their judgments, and make informed choices for their Africa research.

This approach is stronger for achieving the goal because it moves students from understanding what reliability looks like in theory to actually assessing real sites. It promotes critical thinking, independence, and consistent evaluation across sources, which are essential for a solid research project.

By comparison, reviewing concepts alone offers useful background but doesn’t provide the step-by-step method students need to judge each site. A workbook on online safety focuses on protecting students rather than evaluating credibility. Memorizing a checklist from a previous unit doesn’t require students to apply criteria to new sources, so it won’t develop the same evaluative skills.