Who Wrote It? When? Can We Check It? — Source Evaluation with the WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT Card

Teacher shows 3 candidate sources for a sample research question (Sojourner Truth): a recent biography by a historian, an old encyclopedia from 1950, and a random blog post. Children predict which is most credible.

• Hold up each source visibly
• Ask 'who, when, can we check?'
• Affirm specific evaluations rather than gut-feel

M-4-S-RES-02-C Photograph

Photo grid showing 3 candidate sources side-by-side: a current scholarly biography with author photo and credentials, an old yellowed encyclopedia volume from 1950, and a webpage screenshot of an anonymous blog post with no author byline. Print-ready 8.5x11.

Today you meet the WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT card — the researcher's first move on every source. WHO wrote this source? What are their qualifications? Are they a researcher, a journalist, a participant, or someone repeating others' work? WHEN was the source written? Is it current enough for the topic? Has anything important happened since? CHECK-IT: Can the claim in this source be verified against another source (corroboration)? A credible source passes ALL THREE. Watch teacher apply the card to 3 candidate sources for the sample research question: (1) Patricia McKissack's 1992 biography of Sojourner Truth — WHO: children's lit historian, qualified. WHEN: 1992; the events are historical so currency does not change. CHECK: yes, multiple other biographies corroborate. CREDIBLE. (2) 1950 encyclopedia entry — WHO: encyclopedia editor, not specialized. WHEN: 1950; older research; scholarly understanding has updated. CHECK: claims need verification against newer sources. USE WITH CAUTION. (3) Random anonymous blog post — WHO: unnamed author, no qualifications visible. WHEN: undated. CHECK: claims could not be verified. NOT CREDIBLE FOR RESEARCH REPORT. The point: the card is a routine, not a gut-feel. Apply on EVERY source.

• Notice: an OLD source can still be credible if the events are historical and other sources corroborate. A NEW source can be NOT credible if the author lacks qualifications. WHEN is one factor; WHO and CHECK-IT are also required.

  model See narrative — 3 sources evaluated and ranked.

  prompt Teacher applies WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT to 3 candidate sources.

• What 3 questions does the WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT card ask?
• Why might a 1950 source still be useful for some research questions?

M-4-S-RES-02-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-4 at 11x17: 3-question vertical card (WHO red, WHEN orange, CHECK-IT green) with worked example panel showing 3 candidate sources for Sojourner Truth research (McKissack 1992 = CREDIBLE; 1950 encyclopedia = USE WITH CAUTION; anonymous blog = NOT CREDIBLE). Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-4 Chart

Source-evaluation 'WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT' anchor: 3 questions arranged on a vertical card with example responses. WHO (red, top): 'Who wrote this source? What are their qualifications? Are they a researcher, a journalist, a participant, or someone repeating others' work?' Example: 'Patricia McKissack — a children's literature historian who has researched African-American history for 30+ years. QUALIFIED.' WHEN (orange, middle): 'When was this source written? Is it current enough for the topic? Has anything important happened since?' Example: 'Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? — 1992. The book is about historical events that have not changed; the source remains valid.' CHECK-IT (green, bottom): 'Can the claim in this source be CHECKED against another source? Does another source say the same?' Example: 'Yes — the date of Sojourner's first speech is confirmed in multiple sources.' Bottom rule: 'A credible source passes ALL three. Use the card on every source before you cite it.' Print-ready 11x17.

• Apply the WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT card to 3 candidate sources for YOUR research question. Rank them by credibility. Cross out any that fail all three.

  scaffold MG-4 anchor; source-evaluation worksheet; 3 sources pre-pulled from teacher's curated folders
• Share your evaluation with a partner. Partner asks: 'Did you check WHO? Did you check WHEN? Can you actually verify the claim?'

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'My source 1 is ___. WHO: ___. WHEN: ___. CHECK: ___. Verdict: ___.'

• Name your 3 evaluated sources with one-line verdicts.
• Move status-tile to SOURCES.

• Star your most credible source.
• Predict: tomorrow we meet two-column note-taking.

• Find one source at home (a book, magazine, or print-out). Apply WHO-WHEN-CHECK-IT. Bring evaluation on a sticky note.