7  Lesson 5: Source-Grounded Reading

Duration: 2 hours

TipYour Path

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Before this: Lesson 4

After this: Lesson 6

Save this: English AI Decision Toolkit/Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English.md

7.1 Start Here

A friend asks: “Can I return this item to the store?”

You see two answers.

Answer A:

Yes, you can return it within 30 days.

Answer B:

According to the store's return policy, items can be returned within 30 days with a receipt.

Which answer do you trust more?

Answer B is easier to check because it names the source. Answer A might be true, but it might be wrong.

7.2 Why This Matters

AI sometimes invents answers that sound correct but are not supported. We call this a hallucination. If you ask AI about school rules, store policies, public notices, work guides, or health information, a wrong answer can cause real problems.

Today you will give AI a short source text and ask for answers only from that source. This is safer AI use and good English reading practice.

7.3 Today You Will

By the end of this lesson, you will:

  1. Learn how to write a source-grounded prompt.
  2. Quote a short public text and paraphrase it in your own simple English.
  3. Practice saying I cannot answer from the provided source.
  4. Identify unsupported or hallucinated answers.
  5. Save: English AI Decision Toolkit/Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English.md.

Theme: AI answers must be checked with sources.

AI Focus: Source-grounded answers and hallucination awareness.

ESL Focus: Reading for details, paraphrasing, evidence language, and source titles.

Content Objective: Students will answer a question using only a provided source text.

Language Objective: Students will use evidence phrases:

The source says...
According to the text...
This means...
The answer is not in the source.
I need to check...

7.4 Core Idea

Sometimes AI gives an answer that sounds correct but is not supported by the source. We call this a hallucination. The words look fine, but the facts may be invented.

A safer way to use AI for reading is to give it a short source text and ask it to answer only from that text. If the answer is not in the text, AI should say so.

In simple English:

Do not guess. Use the source.
NoteResearch Note

This classroom routine is informed by work on AI factuality, hallucination, and retrieval/source-grounded generation. In this lesson, we practice a simple version: use the provided source, quote short evidence, and do not guess when the source does not answer (Maynez et al. 2020; Lewis et al. 2020).

7.5 Key Vocabulary

Word Simple Meaning Example Sentence
source The original text or information The source is a school policy.
citation A note that shows where information came from I need a citation for this answer.
evidence Words from the source that support an answer The sentence is evidence.
quote Exact words from a source I used a short quote.
paraphrase The same idea in your own words I paraphrased the rule.
hallucination An AI answer that may be wrong or unsupported The AI hallucinated a date.
unsupported Not backed up by the source This answer is unsupported.

7.6 Sentence Frames

My question was __________.
The source says __________.
According to the text, __________.
This means __________.
The source does not say __________.
I cannot answer from the provided source.

7.7 Lesson Agenda

Time Activity Purpose
15 min Warm-up: Which answer is better? Notice evidence in answers.
25 min Mini-lesson: source-grounded prompts Learn how to limit AI to a source.
30 min Guided practice: public rule or policy Read, quote, and paraphrase.
20 min Hallucination test Practice unsupported-question response.
15 min Independent practice Write one source-grounded answer.
15 min Pair speaking, reflection, and exit ticket Explain evidence in English.

7.8 Guided Practice

7.8.1 Source-Grounded Prompt

Use this template:

Use ONLY the source text below.
If the answer is not in the source, say:
"I cannot answer from the provided source."

Question:
[student question]

Source text:
[paste short source section]

Answer format:
1. Short answer
2. Evidence from the source
3. What is unclear
4. What I should check next
flowchart TD
  Q[Question] --> S[Source text]
  S --> E["Find<br/>evidence"]
  E --> C{"Answer<br/>there?"}
  C -->|Yes| Q2["Short<br/>quote"]
  Q2 --> P[Paraphrase]
  C -->|No| N["Do not<br/>guess"]
Figure 7.1: A safe routine for source-grounded answers.
NoteSource-Checking Note

For important answers, stop, check the source, look for better coverage, and trace the claim back to evidence (Caulfield 2019).

7.8.2 Practice Sources

Use a short public text selected by the teacher. The folder assets/sample-documents/ has safe practice sources:

  • assets/sample-documents/bus-route-notice.md
  • assets/sample-documents/community-event-announcement.md
  • assets/sample-documents/library-borrowing-rules.md
  • assets/sample-documents/product-return-policy-sample.md
  • assets/sample-documents/recycling-pickup-guide.md
  • assets/sample-documents/study-room-rules.md

Do not use private documents, school records, medical papers, immigration papers, work documents, or any document with names, addresses, or ID numbers.

7.9 Independent Practice

Use this student file:

# Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English

Source title:
[Write title]

Source link or location:
[Write link, file name, or teacher handout name]

Question:
[Write the question]

Key words in the question:
1.
2.
3.

Short answer:
[Write answer]

Evidence:
The source says: "[short quote]"

Paraphrase:
This means __________.

What is unclear:
[Write uncertainty]

What I should check next:
[Write next step]

Unsupported question test:
[Write one question the source does not answer]

Correct response:
I cannot answer from the provided source.

7.10 Pair Speaking or Presentation Task

Explain your source answer to a partner.

My question was __________.
The source title is __________.
The source says __________.
This means __________.
The source does not say __________.
I need to check __________.

7.11 Reflection

Today I learned:
[write one sentence]

One source phrase I can use:
[write phrase]

One thing AI should not do:
[write sentence]

7.12 Exit Ticket

Submit or save:

  1. One source-grounded answer.
  2. One short quote.
  3. One paraphrase.
  4. One example of I cannot answer from the provided source.

7.13 Homework

Estimated time: 30-45 minutes.

Tasks:

  1. Finish Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English.md.
  2. Add five source words to Vocabulary Log.md.
  3. Check that your quote is short and exact.
  4. Bring the same source to Lesson 6 for paraphrase practice.

What to save:

  • English AI Decision Toolkit/Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English.md
  • updated Vocabulary Log.md

Privacy reminder: Use public sample documents only. Do not paste private documents into AI tools.

Optional extension: Open the Lessons 5-6 Source-Grounded Lab with built-in sample sources.

TipOptional Colab Lab

This lab is optional. Use it only if your teacher asks or if you want extra practice. You do not need to complete the lab to finish your portfolio.

Open the Lessons 5-6 Source-Grounded Lab in Colab:

https://colab.research.google.com/github/zoni-group/E4A/blob/public-12db68dfaf5f/english-for-ai-course/interactives/class-03-source-grounded-lab.ipynb

Use the built-in safe sample sources only. Do not paste private documents.

The lab uses Colab AI automatically when it is available in the Colab runtime. Colab AI is asked to answer only from the source you load. If Colab AI is not available, the regular lab steps still work, and you can finish your portfolio without AI.

After any AI answer, say: “I checked the AI answer before I used it.”

ImportantRequired Portfolio Artifact

Save your work here:

English AI Decision Toolkit/Lesson 5 - Source-Grounded Answer in English.md