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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 8

Sources & Evidence

Primary and secondary sources, context and conclusions

What your child practices

Children practice choosing and judging sources, reading artifacts and art, comparing accounts and drawing conclusions from evidence.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: History 1 · analyzing primary and secondary sources and judging how reliable they are

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A primary source was created by someone who was there at the time; a secondary source was made later.
  2. When accounts disagree, compare them and ask who wrote each one and why.
  3. A clear research plan: choose a topic, write questions, find sources, take notes, then draw conclusions.

Example: Two accounts of the same battle disagree. What should a good historian do? Do not just pick the one you like. Ask who wrote each and why. Compare them with other evidence. Answer: compare them and ask why they differ

Sources & Evidence in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 6 of 8 in 8th grade Social Studies, after Maps, Graphs & Data and before Maine and the Nation.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    New information shows one of your assumptions was wrong. You should…

    • ignore the information
    • hide the evidence
    • change your idea and say why
    • argue louder

  2. Question 2

    Which is a primary source?

    • a modern textbook
    • a diary of a medieval monk
    • an encyclopedia
    • a documentary

  3. Question 3

    Historians' interpretations can change when…

    • new evidence is discovered
    • nothing new is found
    • everyone agrees
    • old evidence is ignored

  4. Question 4

    Which question helps you judge a source?

    • How long is it?
    • What color is the cover?
    • Who made it, when, and why?
    • Is it heavy?

  5. Question 5

    A secondary source is…

    • a coin
    • an account based on other sources, made later
    • a letter from the time
    • a photo from the time

  6. Question 6

    A museum shows a photo of a street from 1900. What can you analyze?

    • clothing, buildings and transportation
    • the weather in 2050
    • nothing
    • what people thought in 2024

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