Distinguish scholarly, popular, and sponsored sources with URL-suffix heuristics and database literacy (CCSS W.7.8)
Exercise Difficulty 2 ~7 min eng.g7.f.ex_09

Classify Source Type

Prompt

Classify these 8 sources as scholarly, popular, or sponsored. (1) Article in Journal of African History by tenured Ph.D., peer-reviewed. (2) NYT article on Mali Empire by journalist with history degree. (3) .org website by Climate Future Coalition. (4) Wikipedia entry. (5) National Geographic magazine article. (6) Company blog on sustainable agriculture. (7) JSTOR article on Maya astronomy. (8) Personal blog on Tumblr by an unidentified person.

M-7-F-RES-EX-09-A Manipulative Physical / non-image

Source-classification sort deck (8 cards) with sort piles. Print-ready card stock.

Answer criteria
type classification
correct
  1. scholarly
  2. popular
  3. sponsored (advocacy)
  4. neither (encyclopedia — useful for starting but not a research-paper citation)
  5. popular
  6. sponsored (commercial)
  7. scholarly
  8. personal (not citable as scholarly or popular journalism)
Hints
  1. Peer-reviewed = scholarly. Journalistic = popular. Has commercial/advocacy motive = sponsored.
  2. Wikipedia and personal blogs occupy a separate category — use as starting points, not citations.
Misconceptions to watch
  • Treats Wikipedia as scholarly.
  • Treats any .org as nonprofit-scholarly without checking the organization.
Used in lessons