Reading a primary source

The complete lesson

Materials needed

One primary source (a letter, photograph, diary page, newspaper clipping, poster, or map) that the class has not seen before -- chosen and previewed by the teacher ahead of time.
One copy of the student handout per student (printed, or shared as a document students can type into).
A way to display the source to the whole class for the hook step (a projector, a printed copy passed around, or a read-aloud if the source is text).
Pencils or pens; no other supplies required.

Teacher guide

This is a one-lesson unit built around a single skill: reading any primary source with a plan instead of skimming it. It works with a letter, a photograph, a diary page, a newspaper clipping, a poster, or a map -- you supply the source, the worksheet supplies the questions. Plan on one 45- to 55-minute class period, or two shorter periods if you split the sourcing step from the close-reading step.

Before class

Pick one primary source tied to whatever your students are already studying. A local library, museum, or government archive site is a reliable place to find one that is free to use in the classroom; a family document works too, if a student offers one.
Read the source yourself first and fill out the student handout as if you were a student, so you know where it runs short of information (many real sources do not name their creator, and that is a fine, teachable answer on the handout).
Make one copy of the student handout per student, or share it as a document students can type into.

Running the lesson

Hook (5 minutes). Show the source with no context -- no title, no caption, no date. Ask students what they notice and what they guess, before telling them anything. Write a few guesses on the board.
Guided practice (15 minutes). Reveal the source’s basic facts (what it is, roughly when it is from) and work through Part 1 of the handout together as a class, thinking aloud about how you would answer each sourcing question from the source itself.
Independent or paired practice (15-20 minutes). Students complete Parts 2 and 3 on their own or in pairs: the close reading and the questioning sections.
Discussion and response (10 minutes). Students share one answer and one open question each. As a class, compare which questions came up more than once -- those are usually the source’s real gaps. Students finish Part 4, the short written response, for homework or the last few minutes of class.

Choosing a good source

The worksheet works best on a source that is short enough to read closely in one sitting (under a page of text, or one image) and that raises at least one honest question a student cannot answer just by looking -- who made it, why, or for whom. A source that answers every question already leaves nothing for Part 3.

Common trouble spots

“I don’t know who made this.” That is a valid, complete answer on the handout -- have the student write exactly that, plus their best guess and why, rather than leaving the line blank.
Students confuse fact and opinion in Part 2. Model one example together first: point out one sentence that is a fact (something the source states) and one that is the creator’s opinion or point of view (something the source implies or argues).
Part 3 questions come out too broad (“why did this happen?”). Ask the student to name what specific new fact would answer their question, then rewrite it -- this usually sharpens it into something answerable.

Student handout: reading a primary source

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________________

A primary source is something made by a person who was actually there -- a letter, a photograph, a diary page, a newspaper clipping, a poster, a map, or an object. Your teacher will give you one to work with. Read it slowly and work through the four parts below in order.

Part 1: sourcing

Answer each question using only what the source itself tells you, or your best-supported guess. Write “the source doesn’t say” where it truly doesn’t, and explain your guess.

What kind of source is this (letter, photograph, diary, newspaper, poster, map, other)?
Who created it, and how do you know (or what is your best guess, and why)?
When was it made, and how do you know (or what is your best guess, and why)?
Who was the intended audience -- who was this made for?
What was the creator’s purpose in making it? What did they want the audience to think or do?

Part 2: close reading

Reread the source slowly. Fill in three rows of this observe-question-connect chart.

Observe: Write one thing you notice in the source (a word, a detail, an image).
Question: Write one question that detail raises for you.
Connect: Write one thing that detail reminds you of, or connects to, from what you already know.
Observe: ______________________
Question: ______________________
Connect: ______________________
Observe: ______________________
Question: ______________________
Connect: ______________________

Now separate fact from opinion. Write one sentence or detail from the source that is a plain fact, and one that shows the creator’s opinion or point of view.

A fact the source states: ______________________
An opinion or point of view the source shows: ______________________

Part 3: questioning

Write three questions you would still want answered -- questions the source itself cannot answer for you. Good questions are specific: not “why did this happen”, but naming exactly what fact would answer it.

______________________
______________________
______________________

Circle the one question above you would most want to research next.

Part 4: written response

In two to three complete sentences, answer: what does this source tell you, and what does it leave out? Use at least one piece of evidence from the source (a word, phrase, or detail) to support your answer.

______________________________________________________________

Scoring rubric

Score each of the four criteria on a 1-4 scale using the descriptions below, for a total out of 16. Share this rubric with students before they start Part 1, so they know what a complete answer looks like.

Sourcing (Part 1): 4 -- Thorough: answers all five sourcing questions, and every guess is backed by a specific detail from the source.; 3 -- Solid: answers all five questions; most guesses are backed by a detail from the source.; 2 -- Partial: answers most questions, but guesses are unsupported or one question is skipped.; 1 -- Beginning: answers fewer than three questions, or answers do not connect to the source.
Close reading (Part 2): 4 -- Thorough: all three observe-question-connect rows are specific and complete, and the fact/opinion pair is clearly correct.; 3 -- Solid: most rows are specific and complete; the fact/opinion pair is correct.; 2 -- Partial: rows are vague or incomplete, or the fact/opinion pair is confused.; 1 -- Beginning: rows are mostly blank or unrelated to the source.
Questioning (Part 3): 4 -- Thorough: all three questions are specific, answerable, and cannot be answered by the source itself.; 3 -- Solid: at least two questions are specific and unanswerable from the source.; 2 -- Partial: questions are present but vague or already answered by the source.; 1 -- Beginning: fewer than two questions, or questions unrelated to the source.
Written response (Part 4): 4 -- Thorough: two to three complete sentences that name both what the source shows and what it leaves out, with specific evidence quoted or paraphrased from the source.; 3 -- Solid: complete sentences that address what the source shows and leaves out, with some evidence.; 2 -- Partial: addresses only one side (shows OR leaves out), or evidence is missing.; 1 -- Beginning: response is missing, off-topic, or not evidence-based.

Assessment / mastery check

A student has met this lesson’s objective when their completed handout scores 12 or more out of 16 on the rubric above, with no single criterion scored at 1.

For a quick formative check without full scoring, use this three-question check instead:

Can the student name what kind of source it is, and its creator or their best-supported guess?
Can the student point to one specific detail in the source and explain what it tells them?
Can the student write one question about the source that the source itself does not answer?

A student who answers all three has met the objective for that day, even if the full written handout is not yet finished. A student who cannot yet answer the third question usually needs one more modeled example of the difference between a fact the source states and a question it leaves open -- reteach that distinction before moving on.

Differentiation

English language learners

Pre-teach the handout’s key words before reading the source: creator, audience, purpose, fact, opinion, evidence.
Let students answer Part 1’s sourcing questions with short phrases or bullet points rather than full sentences; save full-sentence writing for Part 4, where you can offer a sentence starter such as “This source tells me ___, but it does not tell me ___.”
Pair students with a partner for Parts 2 and 3 so they can talk through an observation before writing it.

Students with an IEP or 504 plan

Reduce Part 2’s observe-question-connect chart to one row instead of three, and Part 3’s questions to one instead of three, if a student’s plan calls for a reduced workload -- score the reduced version against the same rubric, prorated.
Read the source aloud, or provide an audio recording of it, for a student whose plan calls for text read aloud.
Offer extended time as the plan specifies; this lesson has no timed component built in, so extending it changes nothing else about the task.
For a student who needs a lower-language-demand response mode, allow Part 4’s written response to be given orally and scribed, or recorded and transcribed later.

Advanced students

Ask students to find a second, different source on the same topic or event, and add a fifth part to their handout comparing what the two sources agree and disagree on.
For Part 3, require that at least one question be answerable through independent research, and have the student spend ten additional minutes trying to answer it, citing where they looked.
Challenge students to rewrite the source’s main point from a different point of view than the one it was written from, using only details the source itself provides.

Low-tech / no-tech classrooms

The handout is designed to be printed and completed by hand; nothing in this unit requires a device, an account, or an internet connection during class.
A primary source can be a physical object brought from home, a photocopy from a library book, or a source read aloud by the teacher -- a screen is not required to choose one.