Student Teaching edTPA Lesson Plan

Subject: Social Studies Central Focus: Primary and secondary sources

Essential Standard/Common Core

Objective:

3.H.2.1 Explain change over time

through historical narratives (events,
people and places)

Daily Lesson Objective:

Performance: Students will be able to independently analyze and categorize primary and secondary sources.
Conditions: The objective will be completed independently and in small discussion groups
Criteria: The students will sort scenarios and types of sources in small groups and have discussion about how
they sorted their sources. Then, students will complete a worksheet to have them tell whether something is a
primary or secondary source. This will be taken up and graded for accuracy. Students are expected to earn 12
out of 15 pts.
21st Century Skills: Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
Collaboration, social skills, and problem Vocabulary): Primary source, secondary
solving Language Function: Analyze, categorize
Vocabulary: primary source, secondary source,
history
Discourse: whole group, small group, independently
Syntax: group sorting and independent worksheet at
the end.

Prior Knowledge: Students should know that we can read things such as old letters, documents, and look at
pictures to find out information from the past.

Activity Description of Activities and Setting Time

1. Focus and Review
2. Statement of Objective
for Student
3. Teacher Input
Start lesson by asking students “why is history important?” and 5 minutes
“ what does history teach us?" Show slide show with a
summary of why history is important and some things that
history teaches us. Also tell students about having a job as a
historian and how they investigate the past and that they use
primary and secondary sources.
Today you will analyze primary and secondary source documents to
be able to categorize them.
Today we are going to be learning about Primary and 20
secondary sources. Ask students if they have any ideas of what minutes
each of those are. After students have shared, tell students
“Primary sources are first hand original accounts, records, or
evidence about a person, place or event.” Ask students “Can
anyone think of something that would be a primary source?”
 Allow student responses. Tell students “ Primary sources can
be letters, photographs, diaries, inventories, and census
records”
A secondary source is created by someone either not present
when the event took place or removed by time from the event.
Sources such as textbooks, journal articles, and encyclopedias.
Lets see if you can tell the difference!
Shows pictures of the movie pocahontas, diary of anne frank,
encyclopedia, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and has students tell
if they are secondary or primary and why.

Ask the students “ Since we know what some examples of

primary and secondary sources are, what are the differences
between them?”
“Why would primary sources be better to use than secondary
sources?”
Allow students to answer.
Now it’s your turn to see if you can tell the difference between 20
primary sources, such as photographs and dairies, and minute
secondary sources, which are things like encyclopedias. I’m
going to ask you to work with the people at your table. The
worksheet I am going to give you has different scenarios
written on them. It is going to be you and your groups job to
decide whether these are primary or secondary sources. I want
4. Guided Practice you to put the examples into separate piles; one pile is for
Primary source, and the other pile for secondary source.
Remember to reread the scenarios and pick out keywords that
can help you determine which it is. Talk it out with your group.
Ask each other is this book an primary source? How do you
know? Is it a secondary? How do you know?
After students have completed this activity, we will go over the
correct answers as a class.
 10
Students will independently complete “Identifying primary and minutes
5. Independent Practice secondary sources” handout. Teacher will collect at the end for
grade.

Informal: I will check for understanding by asking questions during the

lesson.
6. Assessment Methods of
all objectives/skills: Formal: Students can earn up to 15 points for independent practice.
1 point - Each correct answer up to 15 pts
 Students are expected to earn at least 12 out of 15 points.

To wrap up the lesson, teacher will ask the students once again 3-5
what makes a source primary and secondary source and how minutes
7. Closure
they know.

Students did well on their exit ticket. Out of the 20 students in my class,
10% of the class got 15/15, 25% of students got 14/15, 15% of the class got
8. Assessment Results of
13/15, and 15% of the students got 12/15. The rest of the students mostly
all objectives/skills:
missed 11/15, and one of the students made 5/15.

Targeted Students Modifications/Accommodations: Student/Small Group

Modifications/Accommodations:

English language learners: Pictures and images will be used to show
examples of primary and secondary source documents.
EC students would be allotted more time, and could have help
reading the passages. Teacher will be circulating for additional
help.
Early finishers: Students or groups who finish
early will play take this quiz on quizizz
Sources Quiz
Students who need more time: these
students will have an extended amount of
time to finish. They can do this while the
others are playing quizizz.

Materials/Technology:
● identifying Worksheet
● scenarios worksheet
● powerpoint with pictures and examples of the document
Reflection on lesson
- Overall, I think this lesson went very well. During the guided practice portion of this lesson, I gave my
students scenario cards and had them work in groups to separate them into primary and secondary
sources. I walked around the room and facilitated conversation and helped as needed. Students seemed
to really enjoy this, and enjoyed sharing out their answers and a reason to back them up. Having the
students connect these sources to their everyday lives allowed them to have a more practical use for the
information they had been given. After the guided practice was discussed, I then gave a few more
examples and had the students decipher which were primary, and which were secondary. Once that was
complete, I gave students an exit ticket to be completed independently. I took those up and had the
students work on a quizizz until everyone was complete. The majority of the students did really well on
the exit ticket, which made me feel that the lesson was successful.