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History Detectives: Texas Edition

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Lesson Plan

History Detectives Lesson Plan

Students will practice sourcing, contextualizing, and corroborating primary and secondary sources on early Texas history to construct informed historical narratives.

This lesson builds critical-thinking and citizenship skills by teaching students how historians evaluate evidence—key for understanding past events and contemporary issues.

Audience

7th Grade Students (Middle School)

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Hands-on source analysis with guided worksheets and group collaboration.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Classroom Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Introduction and Hook

5 minutes

  • Activate prior knowledge: ask students what they know about Texas’s fight for independence.
  • Display a concise independence timeline to set context.
  • Explain today’s goal: think like historians by examining real documents.
  • Assign group roles (reader, recorder, presenter) and display sentence stems for support.

Step 2

Source Analysis

15 minutes

Step 3

Corroboration Activity

15 minutes

  • Groups compare findings using the Corroboration Chart.
  • Identify where the two sources agree, differ, and raise new questions.
  • Prompt deeper analysis: “What might explain any discrepancies?”
  • Tier 2 supports: provide additional sentence frames and mix skill levels so students can peer-mentor.

Step 4

Discussion and Reflection

10 minutes

  • Each group’s presenter shares one key insight and one question uncovered.
  • Highlight how sourcing and corroboration shape historical narratives.
  • Exit ticket on a sticky note: “How did analyzing these sources help you understand Texas’s decision to declare independence?”
  • Tier 2 supports: allow verbal or written responses and extra processing time.
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Slide Deck

History Detectives: Texas Edition

Think like historians by examining documents from early Texas history
Grade 7 | 45 minutes | Tier 2 Group Lesson

Welcome students and introduce the lesson. Explain that today they will act as “history detectives,” examining real documents to understand early Texas history.

Learning Objectives

• Practice sourcing primary and secondary sources
• Contextualize and corroborate evidence
• Build informed historical narratives

Point out the three objectives and tie each one to critical‐thinking and citizenship skills. Emphasize that these skills apply beyond history class.

Activating Prior Knowledge

What do you already know about Texas’s fight for independence?
Discuss with your group.

Use a quick think‐pair‐share. Give students 1 minute to jot down what they know, then discuss in groups.

Texas Independence Timeline

1821: Mexico gains independence from Spain
1835: Texas Revolution begins
1836: Texas Declaration of Independence signed
1845: Texas annexed by the United States

Display a visual timeline on the projector. Briefly explain each date, then transition to document work.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary Source: Original document or artifact from the time
Secondary Source: Interpretation or analysis based on primary sources

Ask students to define primary and secondary sources in their own words. Then confirm with the definitions on the slide.

Our Documents

Distribute copies of each document now. Explain the context of each source.

Sourcing Skills

Ask these questions for each source:
• Who is the author?
• When was it created?
• Why was it produced?
• Who is the intended audience?

Model a think‐aloud: read the first line of the Declaration excerpt and identify the author and purpose.

Source Analysis Activity

In pairs:

  1. Use the Sourcing Skills Worksheet
  2. Identify author, date, purpose, and audience
  3. Record your findings

Explain that students will work in pairs, using the worksheet to record each sourcing question.

Corroboration Activity

As a group:

  1. Compare your source analyses
  2. Fill in the Corroboration Chart
  3. Note where sources agree, differ, or raise new questions

Show an example chart entry on the board. Point out where to note agreements and differences.

Deepening the Analysis

Discuss:
• What might explain any discrepancies?
• How do these sources shape the historical narrative?

Circulate and prompt deeper thinking: ask why discrepancies might exist and how authors’ perspectives shape narratives.

Group Presentations

Each group’s presenter shares:
• One key insight
• One question that emerged

Invite each group’s presenter to share briefly. Record insights on the board to build a class discussion.

Reflection & Exit Ticket

On a sticky note, answer:
“How did analyzing these sources help you understand Texas’s decision to declare independence?”

Collect sticky notes at the door. Offer verbal responses or written notes as needed for Tier 2 supports.

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Worksheet

Sourcing Skills Worksheet

Instructions: In pairs, analyze each source below. Use the guiding questions and sentence starters to help you. Write your answers in the space provided.

Source A: Texas Declaration Excerpt

  1. Who is the author?
    Sentence starter: "I think the author is ___ because ___."


  2. When was it created?
    Sentence starter: "This was written in ___ because ___."


  3. Why was it produced?
    Sentence starter: "The purpose of this document is ___ because ___."


  4. Who is the intended audience?
    Sentence starter: "The intended audience is ___ as shown by ___."


  5. What clues in the document support your answers? Cite specific words or phrases.






Source B: Early Texas Secondary Article

  1. Who is the author?
    Sentence starter: "I think the author is ___ because ___."


  2. When was it created?
    Sentence starter: "This was written in ___ because ___."


  3. Why was it produced?
    Sentence starter: "The purpose of this article is ___ because ___."


  4. Who is the intended audience?
    Sentence starter: "The intended audience is ___ as shown by ___."


  5. What clues in the article support your answers? Cite specific words or phrases.






Reflection

Which source do you think is more reliable for understanding early Texas history? Explain your reasoning.
Sentence starter: "I believe ___ is more reliable because ___."





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Worksheet

Corroboration Chart

Instructions: In your group, compare Source A and Source B. Fill in the chart below, then use the reflection prompts to deepen your analysis. Use the sentence starters to help you organize your ideas.

CriteriaSource A: Texas Declaration ExcerptSource B: Early Texas Secondary Article
Main idea or claim







Key evidence or details











Agreements

Sentence starter: "Both sources agree that ___ because ___."





Differences

Sentence starter: "The sources differ on ___ because ___."





New Questions

Sentence starter: "A question that arises is ___ because ___."





Explaining Discrepancies

Sentence starter: "One possible explanation for the differences is ___ because ___."





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History Detectives: Texas Edition • Lenny Learning