Eyewitness Bias

This worksheet helps students in Grades 5 and 6 strengthen critical reading, textual analysis, historical reasoning, and media literacy by examining a fictional eyewitness-style paragraph inspired by the Salem Witch Trials. Students identify words or phrases that reveal bias, fear, or exaggeration, then reflect on how emotional language affects reliability and consider ways to rewrite the account more fairly.

Learning Goals

• Identifying Bias and Loaded Language (Grades 5-6) – Students underline text that signals subjective or exaggerated reporting.
• Evaluating Reliability of Historical Testimony – Learners assess the credibility of eyewitness accounts and recognize how fear can distort facts.
• Textual Analysis and Revision – The activity encourages students to consider how to revise writing for accuracy and fairness.
• Distinguishing Fact from Exaggeration – Students analyze language to separate objective detail from emotional or sensationalized content.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Builds Media Literacy – Helps students evaluate perspective, bias, and reliability in historical texts.
• Supports Critical Thinking – Encourages reflection on the influence of fear and perspective in shaping testimony.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Works well for close reading, guided practice, discussion, assessment, or enrichment.
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready for classroom or homeschool use with minimal preparation.

This Eyewitness Bias worksheet helps students understand how subjective language can influence perception and distort historical accounts. By identifying biased or exaggerated words and considering revisions, learners strengthen comprehension, historical literacy, and critical thinking skills while evaluating credibility and perspective in eyewitness testimony.

This worksheet is part of our Salem Witch Trials Worksheets collection.