Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 9-10, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What SL.9-10.2 Means in Plain English
Ninth and tenth graders take in one topic through a chart, a photo and a radio interview, then combine them into one account. For each source they ask who made it, how that person knows, and whether its details hold up against the others.
Eighth graders (SL.8.2) asked why a chart or video was made and whose interest it served. Now students weigh each source’s credibility and accuracy and weave several into one answer. In grades 11 and 12 (SL.11-12.2), the combined sources inform a decision, and students note where the data disagree.
SL.9-10.2 I Can Statements
I can combine a chart, an image and an interview into one answer.
I can judge a source’s credibility by who made it and why.
I can check a source’s accuracy against the other sources I have.
SL.9-10.2 Worked Example
Three sources on one question and two answers to it, one that counts the sources and one that weighs them.
Prompt
Is a mountain lion living in the hills above town? Weigh three sources together. (1) A trail-cam photo posted on a neighborhood app, captioned “COUGAR on the ridge trail!!”: a tan animal at night, with nothing nearby to show its size. (2) The state wildlife agency’s map of sightings in our county over five years: 41 reported, 2 confirmed by biologists through tracks or DNA. (3) A local radio interview with a hiker who says she watched a big cat cross the trail “for a good ten seconds.”
Not YetYes, there is definitely a mountain lion. There’s a photo of it, the hiker saw it with her own eyes, and the state map shows 41 sightings in our county. That’s three sources that all agree.It counts the sources instead of weighing them. The photo has no scale, the hiker is sincere but unchecked, and the answer reports 41 sightings when the map itself separates 41 reports from 2 confirmations.
Meets the StandardProbably one has passed through, but the three sources aren’t equally strong. The wildlife agency map is the most credible: biologists check reports, and they confirmed only 2 of the 41. The photo is weak evidence. With nothing in the frame for scale, a bobcat or a big house cat could look the same, and the caption is the poster’s guess. The hiker sounds honest, but ten seconds on a trail is easy to misjudge, and her sighting isn’t on the confirmed list. So the evidence supports a lion moving through the county, not one living on the ridge.It weighs each source by who made it and how they would know, flags the photo’s missing scale and the caption as a guess, separates reports from confirmations on the map, and limits the conclusion to what the strongest source supports.
Moves to Use
Restate the question, then note what each source claims about it.For each source, ask who made it and how they would know.Check numbers and images for accuracy: the scale, the label, reported versus confirmed.Let the most credible source set the limit of your conclusion.
Common Mistakes with SL.9-10.2
Counting sources as votes
“Three sources say yes, so it’s true,” when two of the three can’t be checked
Try this: Have students rank their sources from most to least credible and write one reason beside each before drawing any conclusion.
Trusting the polished format
A slick chart with a logo is believed at once, while a plain government table is skimmed
Try this: Strip the design from two sources, retype the bare claims side by side, and ask which one says how it knows.
Treating honest as accurate
“The reporter seems sincere, so the numbers must be right.”
Try this: Teach credibility and accuracy as two questions, “Can I trust who made it?” and “Do the details check out?”, and answer both.
Random Name PickerFree ToolSpin for one student to argue that a source is credible, then spin again for a classmate to say how its details could be wrong.DefenderChallenger
Jeopardy Game MakerFree ToolBuild a review board with categories like Who Made It, How Do They Know and Does It Check Out, filled with sources from your unit.Source credibilityHigh school
Why is the wildlife agency’s map the most credible of the three sources?
Biologists check each report, and the map separates the 41 reports from the 2 sightings they confirmed with tracks or DNA.
What makes the trail-cam photo weak evidence?
Nothing in the frame shows the animal’s size, so a bobcat or a house cat could look the same, and the caption is only the poster’s guess.
Why does the strong answer stop short of saying a lion lives on the ridge?
The confirmed sightings show a lion has moved through the county, but no source shows one staying, so the conclusion goes no further than the strongest evidence.