Think like a historian: High school people & places
Reading like a historian: true stories, sources, evidence and argument. A free High school lesson plan with a hook, practice that links to free activities, and an exit ticket. Copy it and make it yours.
Lesson plan
Goal
- Students work toward: reading like a historian: true stories, sources, evidence and argument.
Hook (5 min)
- Ask the class: How can you tell if an old account is right?
- Take two or three answers and write them where everyone can see them.
Teach (15 min)
- Say the big idea in one plain sentence: think like a historian.
- Show one example, then one that is not an example, and ask how the two differ.
- Have students tell a partner or a small group the idea in their own words.
Practise (20 min)
- Choose one for the whole class or let groups pick:
- Read: The Broad Street Pump (https://peabody.kids/library/the-broad-street-pump)
- Read: The Top of Everest (https://peabody.kids/library/the-top-of-everest)
Exit ticket (5 min)
- On a slip or aloud: one thing I learned about think like a historian, and one question I still have.
- Sort the slips into: got it, nearly, not yet. Start tomorrow with the last pile.
Written by Peabody from its own skill pages. Free, no ads, no sign-in. Children can practise this on Peabody. More from teachers: teacher-shared resources.