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In order to deepen your understanding of how to think critically about multiple sources in science, explore the following slideshow.  You will learn how to read the text to identify the central idea and key details related to the content you are learning.  You will then have an opportunity to view a video and think about similarities and differences between the two.  By staying focused on the central idea and key details in both, you will make sure that you target the most important content.  You will evaluate the information that is consistent or conflicting between the text and video as you build your knowledge of the content you are learning.


Speaker plays audio

Comparing Multiple Sources

The words Central Idea and Author's Purpose appear on a photograph of a student working on a computer.

Begin by reading the text and identifying the central idea. The central idea is the most important idea that the author wants you to gain. Read the entire text one time through in order to identify the central idea. If the content is challenging, you may need to read it more than once to clarify your understanding.

Ask yourself:

  • What is the author's overall purpose?
  • What is the most important idea?
The phrase Title of the Text appears on a photograph of a student working on a computer.

Notice the title of the text. Oftentimes, the title helps you to identify or clarify the central idea in the text. This will help you later when thinking about the similarities and differences between this text and a video on the same topic.

Ask yourself:

  • How does the title help me to better understand the central idea?
  • How does the title represent the author's overall purpose?
The words Key Details appear on a photograph of a student reading from a computer.

Now that you have found the central idea, look for the key ideas that help you better understand the central idea of the text.

Ask yourself:

  • What are the key details that support the central idea?
  • How do the key details help to illustrate the author's overall purpose?
The words Central Idea appear on a photograph of a student reading from a text.

Keeping in mind what you learned from the text, prepare to watch the video. Before viewing, ask yourself:

  • How does the title of the video give you clues about the central idea in the video?
The words Compare and Contrast appear on a photograph of a student reading from a book.

While viewing the video, compare and contrast the information gained in the text with what you are viewing in the video. Ask yourself:

  • What is the same in both the text and video?
  • What is different?

If the content is challenging, you may need to reread the text and/or view the video a few times in order to clarify how the video confirms or contradicts the central idea and/or the key details in the text.
The words Similarities and Differences appear on a photograph of a student reading from a book and referencing a computer.

After reading both the text and viewing the video, think again about the similarities and differences between the two. Consider the questions on the following slide.
The words Similarities and Differences appear on a photograph of a student reading from a computer with several books in front of her.
  • How is the central idea in the video similar to that presented in the text? How is it different?
  • How are the key details in the video similar to those presented in the text? How are they different?
  • What key details are presented in the text that are not evident in the video?
  • What key details are presented in the video that are not evident in the text?