US Unit 0 Lesson Plan Day 3 | Wolfingers Classroom

Day 3
What Happens When Sources Disagree?

Learning Target

I can contextualize and corroborate two or more accounts by identifying agreements, conflicts, additions, and missing perspectives.

LESSON OVERVIEW

On Day 3, students learn that disagreement between sources is not a problem to avoid; it is one of the main reasons historians investigate. Students revisit creator, audience, and purpose, then compare multiple local-history sources to identify where they agree, where they conflict, what each source adds, and what perspectives are still missing. Students practice chronology and context by placing evidence in time and place. They also use a corroboration matrix to test claims across sources. This day builds the habit that one source is never the whole story. The unit plan identifies Day 3 as Analyze → Discuss, with evidence of learning including a timeline/context note, corroboration matrix, and discussion evidence.

AT A GLANCE

In this lesson you will:

Review how creator, audience, and purpose affect usefulness.
Learn what context and corroboration mean.
Compare multiple accounts of a local-history topic.
Identify agreements, conflicts, additions, and missing perspectives.
Build a team timeline/context note.
Discuss the best-supported claim using evidence.

BELL RINGER

Yesterday we analyzed a source’s creator, audience, and purpose. Choose one of those features and explain how it affected the source’s usefulness.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

Explain how context shapes a source’s meaning.
Corroborate two or more accounts.
Identify where sources agree and disagree.
Identify what one source adds to another.
Identify missing perspectives or evidence gaps.
Discuss a best-supported claim using evidence.

I CAN STATEMENT

By the end of the lesson, I can:

I can explain why context matters.
I can compare two or more sources.
I can identify agreements, conflicts, additions, and missing perspectives.
I can explain what conclusion the sources support together.

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 Scenarios

Practice what to do for:

Chromebook care
headphones
10–10 restroom rule
movement
volume
CHAMPS transitions

Getting Acquainted: Three Connections

Find three connections with classmates around school, neighborhood, interests, or learning preferences.

Document

Mini-Lesson: Chronology, Context, and Corroboration

Learn how historians place evidence in context and compare sources when accounts disagree.

Document

Team Timeline and Corroboration Matrix

With your team, complete a matrix:

agrees
conflicts
adds
missing

Document

Team Presentation

Present your team’s best-supported claim and use one accountable-talk move.

Document

KEY VOCABULARY

Context: The time, place, events, and conditions surrounding a source.
Corroboration: Comparing sources to see where they agree, disagree, add information, or leave gaps.
Agreement: When sources support the same idea.
Conflict: When sources disagree or present different versions.
Addition: New information one source adds to another.
Missing Perspective: A voice or viewpoint that is not included.
Chronology: The order of events in time.
Account: A version or explanation of what happened.
Claim: A statement or answer that needs evidence.

ESL SUPPORTS

Context: contexto
Means: time, place, and situation
Say it: Context helps explain the source. / El contexto ayuda a explicar la fuente.
Corroboration: corroboración / comparar fuentes
Means: checking sources together
Say it: Corroboration helps test a claim. / La corroboración ayuda a comprobar una afirmación.
Agreement: acuerdo
Means: sources say the same thing
Say it: The sources are in agreement. / Las fuentes están de acuerdo.
Conflict: conflicto / desacuerdo
Means: sources disagree
Say it: The sources show a conflict. / Las fuentes muestran un desacuerdo.
Missing Perspective: perspectiva que falta
Means: a voice not included
Say it: A perspective is missing. / Falta una perspectiva.
Claim: afirmación
Means: an answer that needs evidence
Say it: The claim needs evidence. / La afirmación necesita evidencia.