Home›Lesson Plans›English Language Arts›Media Literacy · Grade 6

Lateral Reading

Sixth graders learn how professional fact-checkers really work — lateral reading. Instead of staying on a page and trusting what it says about itself, they LEAVE the page, open new tabs, and check what trusted sources say about it.

Grade 6Lateral Reading50 minutes1 class periodMedia Literacy · CCSSExplicit teaching4 StandardsCCSS / NAMLE
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson
Share to Google Classroom Share to Microsoft Teams

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain lateral reading.
  • ✓Leave the page to check.
  • ✓Order the steps.
  • ✓Fact-check like a pro.
Essential Question

How do professional fact-checkers judge a website fast? They don’t stay on it — they read laterally. What are the steps?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Put in Order · Interactive

Order the Lateral-Reading Steps

Project this and have students put the steps of lateral reading in order.

🔎 Put the lateral-reading steps in order!Try it
Tap the first step!
The Lesson · Literacy Flow (Hook · Explore · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Read Like a Fact-Checker

6 min

Pros don’t stay on a page to judge it — they read laterally. What are the steps?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a slick but unknown site.
  • Ask how to check it.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Wonder.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Lateral Reading

13 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present the steps.
  • Note leave the page.
  • Note check others.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Note it.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Order It

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Order the Steps.
  • Put it in order.
  • Explain.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Order.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Apply — Apply

12 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Lateral-read a real site.
  • Open new tabs.
  • Share your verdict.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Read.
  • Check.
  • Share.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Define lateral reading.
  • Name a first step.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Name it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core ELA Standards (informational literacy) & NAMLE media-literacy competencies.

CCSS
W.6.8

Assess source credibility.

CCSS
RI.6.1

Cite text evidence.

NAMLE
Evaluate

Verify sources.

CCSS
RI.6.9

Compare across sources.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Step cards.
  • Sentence frame: “First ___, then ___.”
  • Use a sample site.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with “leave the page.”
  • Order two at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Lateral-read three sites.
  • Compare to “staying” on the page.
  • Explain the method.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🔎A sample site
  • 💻Order the Lateral-Reading Steps
  • 📚Fact-checker sites
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

lateral readingchecking a site from OTHER tabsclaimsomething stated as truesourcewhere info comes fromverifyto check itfact-checkera pro who checks claimstabsbrowser windowsreliablecan be trustedevaluateto judge
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is lateral reading?
Leaving a page and checking what OTHER trusted sources say about it.
QUESTION 2
Why not just trust what a site says about itself?
Any site can claim to be trustworthy — you need outside confirmation.
QUESTION 3
What do fact-checkers open to read laterally?
New tabs to search what others say.

Reflect: lateral reading.

Have students explain how a fact-checker would use lateral reading to judge a new website. A printable lateral-reading sheet is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Lateral ReadingFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Lateral ReadingQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Lateral ReadingPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: claim, evaluate, fact-checker, lateral reading, reliable, source, tabs, verify
  1. to check it
  2. browser windows
  3. something stated as true
  4. checking a site from OTHER tabs
  5. to judge
  6. where info comes from
  7. a pro who checks claims
  8. can be trusted

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is lateral reading?
  2. Why not just trust what a site says about itself?
  3. What do fact-checkers open to read laterally?
Answer key — Part A: 1) verify · 2) tabs · 3) claim · 4) lateral reading · 5) evaluate · 6) source · 7) fact-checker · 8) reliable
Part B: 1) Leaving a page and checking what OTHER trusted sources say about it. 2) Any site can claim to be trustworthy — you need outside confirmation. 3) New tabs to search what others say.