Print to make the pack (File → Print → Save as PDF, Letter). Print the worksheet page once per student; keep the key for the mentor. Examples use real, checkable, non-political facts so students can actually trace them.
Civics Lab · Teen Activity
Trace the Claim
A claim isn't true because it's loud, shared, or confident. It's trustworthy when you can follow it back to a real, primary source — and the source actually says what the post claims. This is lateral reading: the move real fact-checkers use.
How to run it (25–35 min):
- Explain lateral reading, then model one trace live on the board.
- Give each team an example claim card and a worksheet.
- Teams trace the claim to a primary source and fill the worksheet.
- Debrief: where did meaning drift? What made a source trustworthy? Use the key.
Lateral reading, in one line: don't judge a claim from the page it's on — open new tabs, find out about the source and the original document, then come back and decide.
Non-partisan by design. These examples are deliberately non-political. The skill is the point; the topic is just practice.
Print one per student
Worksheet
The claim:
1. Who is making this claim? (the immediate source)
2. Is that source named and trustworthy? How can you tell?
3. What is the ORIGINAL / primary source? (the study, document, or first report)
4. Does the original actually say what the claim says? (match, or did the meaning drift?)
5. Your verdict:
[ ] TRUE[ ] FALSE
[ ] MISLEADING[ ] NEEDS MORE
6. Confidence & why:
[ ] Low[ ] Medium[ ] High
Assign one per team
Example Claims
A"The Eiffel Tower can be about 15 cm taller in summer than in winter."
B"Goldfish only have a 3-second memory."
C"The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye."
D"Humans only use 10% of their brains."
E"Napoleon was extremely short — well below average height."
F"Lightning never strikes the same place twice."
Tip: don't tell teams the verdict. Let them trace. Two of these are actually true, which is the point — surprising isn't the same as false.
Mentor only
Facilitator Key
ATrueEiffel Tower taller in summer
Trace: the tower is iron; metal expands with heat (thermal expansion). Confirmed by engineering references and the official tour operator. The ~15 cm figure is widely cited.
Lesson: a surprising claim can be true — check it, don't dismiss it.
BFalseGoldfish 3-second memory
Trace: a long-repeated myth. Studies show goldfish remember for weeks to months. No primary source supports "3 seconds."
Lesson: repeated a million times ≠ true. Find a study, not a saying.
CFalseGreat Wall visible from space (naked eye)
Trace: debunked by space agencies and astronauts; it's not visible to the unaided eye from low Earth orbit. The claim predates spaceflight.
Lesson: a "fact everyone knows" can still be wrong. Go to the expert source.
DFalseHumans use only 10% of their brains
Trace: neuroscience shows we use virtually all of the brain; imaging contradicts the 10% figure. The myth has murky, non-scientific origins.
Lesson: check claims against actual science, not pop culture.
EMisleadingNapoleon extremely short
Trace: he was around average height for a Frenchman of his era; confusion came from differing French/English measurement units and hostile propaganda.
Lesson: units and context matter — and some "facts" started as spin.
FFalseLightning never strikes twice
Trace: meteorology sources show lightning can and does strike the same spot repeatedly (tall structures get hit often). It's a saying, not a source.
Lesson: idioms aren't evidence.
Trace the Claim · Civics Lab teen activity · non-political, verifiable examples · Born Between 2 Generals, LLC · working draft — verify each with a primary source before teaching