US Unit 0 Lesson Plan Day 2 | Wolfingers Classroom

Day 2
Can We Trust This Source?

Learning Target

I can source and close-read a historical document by explaining how creator, audience, purpose, and language affect its usefulness.

LESSON OVERVIEW

On Day 2, students learn that historians do not trust or reject a source automatically. Instead, they ask sourcing questions before deciding how useful a source is. Students study a short local-history source and identify its creator, audience, purpose, perspective, language, and limitations. The lesson also addresses a major misconception: bias does not automatically make a source useless. A biased source can still be useful if students understand what it can and cannot tell them. Students also practice course procedures, website onboarding, and a classroom scavenger hunt to build comfort with the learning environment. The unit plan identifies Day 2 as Investigate → Analyze, with evidence of learning including a priority rationale, sourcing organizer, and annotations.

AT A GLANCE

In this lesson you will:

Review observation and inference.
Study a historical source before trusting it.
Identify creator, audience, purpose, and perspective.
Close-read for claims, evidence, language, and omissions.
Practice website access and course procedures.
Judge one source’s usefulness and limitation.

BELL RINGER

Yesterday we separated observation from inference. Study today’s source.

Write:

One observation.
One inference.
One question you would ask before trusting it.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

Source a historical document before reading deeply.
Identify creator, audience, purpose, and perspective.
Close-read for claims, evidence, language, and omissions.
Explain how a source is useful for a historical question.
Identify what a source cannot fully tell us.

I CAN STATEMENT

By the end of the lesson, I can:

I can source a document before trusting it.
I can identify creator, audience, purpose, and perspective.
I can close-read for claims, evidence, language, and omissions.
I can explain one strength and one limitation of a source.

I CAN GUIDE

No understanding: Completely lost. Needs direct help.

Very little understanding. Struggling. Needs major support.

Partial understanding. Knows a little. Needs more practice or guidence.

Good understanding. Mostly gets it. Can worl with minor help.

Full understanding. Completely understands. Can work or explain it by themselves.

Procedure Practice

Review and practice:

on-time entry
late sign-in
posted agenda
submitting work
requesting help

Website Onboarding

Go to the class website. Bookmark U.S. History. Locate Unit 0, help resources, and login information. Protect passwords and personal information.

Document

Classroom Scavenger Hunt

With a partner, locate:

supplies
daily objectives
absent work
Chromebook area
exits
help locations

Document

Partner Source and Close-Reading Activity

With a partner, complete the sourcing organizer. Annotate the source for:

claim
evidence
important language
omissions
possible limitations

Document

Lightning Source Judgment

Decide: How useful is this source for our question? What can it not tell us?

Document

KEY VOCABULARY

Source: A document, image, object, map, interview, or text used to learn about the past.
Primary Source: A source created during the time being studied.
Secondary Source: A source created later that explains or interprets the past.
Creator: The person or group who made a source.
Audience: The people a source was created for.
Purpose: Why a source was created.
Perspective: A point of view shaped by experience, identity, position, and context.
Usefulness: How well a source helps answer a specific question.
Limitation: What a source cannot fully show, explain, or prove.

ESL SUPPORTS

Source: fuente
Means: something we study for information
Say it: This source helps us learn. / Esta fuente nos ayuda a aprender.
Creator: creador / autora / autor
Means: who made the source
Say it: The creator made this source. / El creador hizo esta fuente.
Audience: audiencia / público
Means: who the source was made for
Say it: The audience affects the message. / La audiencia afecta el mensaje.
Purpose: propósito
Means: why something was made
Say it: The purpose is to inform. / El propósito es informar.
Perspective: perspectiva / punto de vista
Means: a way of seeing something
Say it: Perspective shapes the source. / La perspectiva influye en la fuente.
Limitation: limitación
Means: what a source cannot show
Say it: This source has a limitation. / Esta fuente tiene una limitación.