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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 11

Compare Primary and Secondary Sources

Historians argue with one another, and their interpretations change. Learners study historiography through two classic American debates, Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis and Charles Beard's economic interpretation of the Constitution, and the historians who challenged them. They learn to dissect a secondary argument (thesis, evidence, citations, scope), evaluate how well evidence supports a claim, and compare two interpretations of the same event.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 135 minutes
  • Sources and interpretations check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order and sort into groups
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What learners will discover

  • Distinguish primary, secondary and tertiary sources, recognizing that a source's category depends on the question asked.
  • Explain why historical interpretations change, using the frontier thesis and the Beard debate as cases.
  • Analyze the structure of a secondary argument: thesis, evidence, citations and scope.
  • Compare two interpretations of the same event and evaluate their use of evidence.

Lessons

  1. Sources and historiography 4 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  2. The frontier thesis and its critics 5 steps3 practiceabout 34 min
  3. Beard and the Constitution 5 steps3 practiceabout 34 min
  4. Dissecting and comparing arguments 5 steps4 practiceabout 35 min
  5. Sources and interpretations check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 11th grade social studies

Guide for grown-ups