Enhancing Literacy through Primary SourcesLibrary of Congress

Alternate Avenues for Literacy

• Book Trailers

Sarah Hale – Letter to Lincoln

Analyzing Images

Common Core Reading Standards Alignment with Image Analysis• Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to

make logical inferences from it• Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and

style of a text• Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and

formats . . . • Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings . . .

Reading Like a Historian

What this looks like in the classroom?

Battle of LexingtonEssential Question:

What really happened at the Battle of Lexington?

Reading strategies addressed: In this lesson, students practice sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization as they weigh competing accounts of who fired the first shots of the Revolutionary War.

Implementation• Download lesson plan from Reading Like a Historian website

(you will need to sign up for an account)• Teacher lesson plans are provided with:• Materials• Plan for Instruction• Ideas for guided practice• Modified primary source documents• Original primary source documents

Battle of Lexington

Essential Question:What really happened at the Battle of Lexington?To answer this question students were asked to compare three written accounts of this event:1. Textbook2. Dairy entry from a British Officer3. Sworn testimony of 34 minutemen

Working with Primary Documents

For each document students were required to:

1. Source the document2. Make predictions based on

previous knowledge3. Highlight main ideas and details4. Annotate text – Close reading5. Identify perspective and bias6. Contextualize information

presented 7. Corroboration – Compare texts to

come to a conclusion on which account would be more reliable

Student Example

Application

Students were then asked to apply what they learned by reading the three accounts of the Battle of Lexington to analyze two images (found at the Library of Congress website) published about this event. Students used the Primary Source Analysis tool to analyze each image and answer the following question:

Which of these images is probably more accurate based on our reading of the documents? (Use 2-3 details to support your answer.)

Image #1

Image #2

Student Example

Conclusion

After students analyzed both images, they came to the conclusion that image #1 was more accurate based on the text documents they analyzed the day before.Making connections: Students were then asked to complete a journal response answering the following questions:Image #1 is a copy of a stamp that was created and sold by the Government in 1859.

1. Why would the Post Office commission a stamp with an inaccurate image?2. Is it irresponsible for the Post Office to commission such a stamp?

Extensions

Performance Assessment You (students) will be responsible for creating a 2-3 minute newscast reporting the main events of the Battle of Lexington. Your newscast needs to be historically accurate and only contain the facts we know. Your newscast will need to include eye witness accounts & interviews as well as a broadcaster.

Battle of LexingtonA Historical DebateCommon Core State Standards

Skills Targeted• Analyzing images• Distinguishing between visual and historical accuracy• Contextualizing sources• Corroborating sources• Evidence-based thinking and argumentation

Common Core State Standards• English/Language Arts (8): • Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text,

assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

• Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

CCSS (continued)• History/Social Studies (6 - 8)• Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or

secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

• Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

• Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Students Speak Out• Video: Students sharing opinions about using primary sources

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