The Friday Paper · ages 9-14

The Fountain Rumour

The idea: many voices repeating one claim are still one source.

Danya decides on the front page in the print shop while Beto reads an email, with Source and Verify on the desk.

Read it

Who is in this book

Bandwagon Bran Truth by popularity (the friendly, flawed source) from LogicQuest
Beto a child of the Green Takes things apart
Source Who would actually know this, and how many people really said it first? from NewsForge
Verify Open four tabs, never one; check what others say about the claim from NewsForge
Danya a child of the Green Asks "how do we know?"

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

When many people repeat a claim that all came from one person, it is still one source. Fact-checkers call this circular reporting. Source
SIFT is a fact-checking habit: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims to their original context. Source

Stretched

The parks office answers a school reporter's email within a day. What we simplified: Real offices can take days to reply; a newsroom often has to hold a story while it waits.

Made up

Brightfield School's paper, the fountain, the cousin and the print shop are made up. Source and Verify come from NewsForge, and Bran from LogicQuest.

Tell it back

Tell the story in your own words: who was there, what went wrong, and what they found out. Then the front page that went to print, the first of the term's four goes on your belt.

Ring the hammer for someone

Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.

Across the Table → For the grown-up: the story in three lines, one question to ask, and one thing to do together.