Corroboration and Paraphrase Practice — When Two Sources Agree (or Disagree)

Teacher shows two sources for one fact about Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech. Children compare: do they say the same? Different? Why might they differ?

• Project both passages
• Identify the matching fact
• Note differences in wording vs. differences in claim

Today you do two things: practice CORROBORATION (the 'CHECK-IT' move from lesson 2) by comparing two sources, and practice PARAPHRASE FIDELITY by re-paraphrasing one passage three ways. Corroboration: when two sources tell us the same fact, the fact is more credible. When two sources DIFFER on a fact, the researcher notes the difference — sometimes one source is wrong, sometimes both have part of the truth. Watch teacher compare two sources on Sojourner Truth's 1851 Akron speech. SOURCE A (Painter biography): 'Truth spoke in Akron in 1851, and her exact words were not transcribed at the time.' SOURCE B (online history site): 'Truth's famous speech included "Ain't I a woman?" in Akron in 1851.' BOTH sources agree she spoke in Akron in 1851 — CORROBORATED. The phrase 'Ain't I a Woman?' itself was added in a published version 12 years later — sources differ on whether she said the exact phrase. Note the corroboration AND the difference. Paraphrase fidelity: read a source passage. Write the paraphrase 3 ways — TIGHT (very close to source words), MEDIUM (some words changed), LOOSE (mostly your own words). Pick the BEST — usually MEDIUM. TIGHT risks plagiarism; LOOSE risks distortion. MEDIUM keeps the source's meaning in YOUR voice.

• Notice TIGHT keeps the source's word order. LOOSE loses precision. MEDIUM is the researcher's target.

  model ORIGINAL: 'Sojourner Truth was born in upstate New York and spoke Dutch as her first language because her enslavers were Dutch.' TIGHT: 'Sojourner Truth was born in upstate New York and spoke Dutch first because her enslavers were Dutch.' (too close) MEDIUM: 'Sojourner Truth was born in New York, and Dutch was her first language because the family that enslaved her spoke Dutch.' (good — meaning preserved, words changed) LOOSE: 'Sojourner started life in New York speaking another language entirely.' (too loose — loses key facts)

  prompt Teacher paraphrases one Sojourner passage 3 ways.

• When two sources corroborate, what does that mean for the fact's credibility?
• Why is MEDIUM paraphrase usually best?

M-4-S-RES-05-A Chart

11x17 anchor showing two source passages side-by-side on the same fact (Sojourner 1851 Akron). Matching claim highlighted green in both; differing detail highlighted red in one. Caption: 'CORROBORATED on Akron 1851; DIFFER on exact wording of speech.' Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

• Pick ONE fact from your research that you can find in TWO of your sources. Compare the two sources. Note: corroborated? Or do they differ? Record in your notes.

  scaffold MG-4 corroboration card; partner check
• Take ONE passage from one of your sources. Paraphrase it 3 ways (TIGHT / MEDIUM / LOOSE). Pick and star the BEST.

  scaffold MG-7 template; partner reads all 3 versions and helps pick

M-4-S-WR-05-B Illustration

Reference image of one original passage with three handwritten paraphrases beneath — labeled TIGHT (red marginal note 'too close'), MEDIUM (green marginal note 'best'), LOOSE (red marginal note 'loses meaning'). Print-ready 8.5x11.

• Show 1 corroborated fact (both sources named).
• Show 3 paraphrases of one passage with the best starred.

• Star your most corroborated fact.
• Predict: tomorrow we meet TIES — the informational body paragraph routine.

• Find one fact that appears in two of your home/library sources. Bring both citations on a sticky note.