Primary Sources Lesson Plan

Lesson objectives: Skills objective• Understand how the historical thinking practice of sourcing is critical for interpreting historical documents.

Description:In this introductory lesson on historical sourcing, students begin by evaluating a series of statements about primary and secondary sources to dispel any misconceptions they might have about these terms. Then, they’ll complete the Sourcing—Introduction activity to learn about the “HAPPY” categories of historical source analysis. Students will also complete the Three Close Reads for Graphic Bios—Introduction activity and learn how to analyze graphic biographies. The lesson concludes with a quick-write exit ticket that asks students to decide which “HAPPY” aspect of sourcing they think is the most important.