Fairport teachers introduce SIFT framework to address misinformation in social studies and ELA

Kevin Sachs, the Fairport High School social studies lead teacher, and Lauren Romanola, the high school English lead teacher, described classroom training on the SIFT framework during the Fairport Central School District board workshop.

Sachs told the board that SIFT — “stop, investigate, find the source, and trace it back” — is a four-step protocol the district brought back from a regional professional-development cadre run through Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES and the University of Rochester. “This gives a practical framework” for teachers to handle controversial topics and information students bring to class, Sachs said.

Board members were shown how the training modeled observation and repeated review of a short news video, followed by group discussion about language and headlines. Romanola said the approach translated to English classes because literature discussion often raises controversial or emotional responses that students need tools to manage. “We want to get them to pause, think about things,” Romanola said, “and before I perpetuate this lie, let’s make sure that it is accurate.”

A six-minute video used during the session explained why SIFT prioritizes pausing and checking emotional reactions before searching for sources and tracing claims back to original context. The video presenter argued that teaching students to check confidence against accuracy and to seek corroboration makes classroom practices of verification part of civic learning.

Sachs and Romanola said the cadre’s prior year focus on misinformation and disinformation produced concrete classroom practices that they and other teachers used on superintendent’s conference day. Teachers watched material multiple times, identified the language that makes a narrative “spreadable,” and practiced distinguishing between misinformation (incorrect information that may lack malicious intent) and disinformation (deliberately deceptive material).

Romanola said teachers received classroom posters and take-away materials and that the district’s cadre work will continue this year with a focus on “depolarizing our classrooms” and strategies for civil engagement. Board members asked about how headlines and social-media summaries fit into SIFT; Sachs said some students stop at the headline and that teachers are working to get them to read further and assess speaker, purpose and audience.

The presentation included examples of AI-generated images and social posts to highlight how content that “represents what people are feeling” can spread even after corrections. Both presenters said the goal is to habituate students to at least the first SIFT steps — stop and investigate — so they routinely check context and source rather than accept viral claims at face value.

Teachers who attended conference-day sessions were given posters and practice activities to bring back to classrooms. Board members praised the training and several said they looked forward to seeing students apply the skills in leadership and journalism classes.

The district presentation emphasized that the SIFT protocol is a classroom tool and that implementation is ongoing; teachers noted they were expanding participation among English and social studies staff this year.