Activity 2: Deciding What’s Believable
Responses to the sentence starters from participants in a 1997 National Media Education conference workshop
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You can believe what you see when...
- you witness it yourself.
- it’s similar to something you’ve seen before.
- it reinforces something you know.
- you have others to confirm what you’ve seen.
- there are facts to support it.
You can believe what you read when...
- you know and respect the author.
- what you’re reading is the same as you’ve experienced yourself.
- you’ve seen the same account from other trusted sources.
- there is verisimilitude -- when it’s consistent with other known facts and with your world view.
- you intuit that it’s true.
You can believe what you hear when...
- it’s consistent with other things that you have heard that you know are true.
- you hear it clearly and completely.
- the body language is consistent with that which is spoken.
- it checks with other senses and previous experiences.
You can believe what you experience when...
- you are not under the influence.
- your heart beats faster.
- it touches all of your senses.
- it matches your past experiences.
- You can believe something once you experience it.
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Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted April 2001
© 2001 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232