Lesson Title: Evaluating Perspectives on Historical events through Inquiry

Lesson Abstract: In this lesson, students will be looking at the Battle of Lexington and Concord
and the historical reporting that took place around the event. As we know, it is unknown which
side of the skirmish shot first, but many speculations and theories have been presented
throughout time. Students will first engage in activities that open their minds to the idea of
subjectivity: based on the background information you have, and the background you come
from, you may see something from a particular bias. Then students will engage in a line of
inquiry about a hypothesis they form about who shot first at the battle of Lexington and Concord.
The idea is that students will learn some more details about the battle, but also see how, based
on who is reporting, the details of the event may look completely different.
Lesson Objectives:

Students will be able to complete a line of inquiry on a topic discussed in class.

Students will be able to examine the subjectivity that comes along with history reporting
and incorporate this idea into their explanations.

ISTE Standards:
3. Research and information fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a
variety of sources and media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the
appropriateness to specific tasks
d. Process data and report results
5. Digital citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to
technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,
learning, and productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):

P2.3 Know how to find and organize information from a variety of sources, analyze, interpret, support
interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present the information orally and in writing; report
investigation results effectively.
P2.4 Use multiple perspectives and resources to identify and analyze issues appropriate to the social
studies discipline being studied.

Rationale: We are teaching this content because we believe that it is crucial that students
understand that even though history books tend to tell one story about the world, there are often

many other stories that should be explored and examined as well. We hope that through the line
of inquiry method of looking at history, students will take to heart the idea that they should
research the thing they hear about in the news, from their teachers, from their families, and in
the media. There is a value to be placed on referencing many resources and coming to ones
own conclusions about an event, idea, or movement. This all relates to how we hope students
will look at our society as they become more informed citizens. As our society makes attempts
to move forward in ideology, it is important to have a generation of THINKERS and
QUESTIONERS that will actively look at and examine the information presented to them.
Big Idea(s).
1) Mass media is one of many ways to document, gather, and distribute the details of a
historical event.
2) There are a variety of ways to gather, research, and document data or information.
3) Evidence may conflict based on the biases and various points of view of the source.

Social Studies Content:

The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first military battle in the American Revolutionary
war against Great Britain. When the Americans heard the hundreds of Britain soldiers marching
from Boston to Concord, the famous Paul Revere sounded the alarm. The American soldiers
prepared themselves for war!
By the end of the war, over 300 redcoats and British soldiers combined had lost their lives.
But, whats more mysterious than anything is who actually started the war. While we know that
the two armies were ready to fight, we were unaware of who actually fired the first shot. Our
ultimate goal in this lesson is to demonstrate how history is primarily written subjectively and to
promote thorough research to challenge our initial hypothesis on a subject. Each person The
details leading to, the aftermath and even during the battle are clear through recollection of
historical document and articles written over the years. Our students in this lesson will learn
about how history is written, generally, and what they can do to ensure that they have a
consensus when juggling a variety of perspectives.
Resources, Preparation/Materials:
Materials for whole class:

Materials for groups:

Materials to accommodate
individual student needs:
(be sure to indicate how you
are going to provide
resources needed for any
students with special needs
ESL, gifted, autistic, etc.)

Youtube video
Selective Attention
Test
Book - Let It begin

Here! Lexington &

Concord

PowerPoint

Graphic Organizer
(Evidence Chart)
Computer
Copy of news article
for each student
(British or American
viewpoint)
Handout for credible
sources

Text to Talk
Select pairings for
help for ELLs

Annotated Bibliography:

Battles of Lexington and Concord. (2009). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from History
website:http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-andconcord
This article explores the Battles and Concord, which is considered the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. It considers the history leading up to the battles and then ultimately explains
that no one knows who fired the first shot to start the Revolutionary War. This article is highly
dependable as it comes from a reliable source has great grammar, relevant pictures, and gives
highly specific descriptions of the battles. Although this article was most likely written by an
American, it seems unbiased as it explains both the American and British point of view. This
article revolves around our topic of determining who fired the first shot.
Fradin, D. B. (2005). Let It Begin Here! Lexington & Concord: First Battles of the
American Revolution. New York, NY: Walker & Company.
This is an illustrated book that covers the events that occurred during the Battles of Lexington
and Concord. This book is recommended for children from 7-12 years of age. This book has
detailed information about the battle including specific names, dates, and histories. The
illustrations are also very realistic and accurate. There are potential biases though as this book
focuses on the American point of view, and rarely shows the British point of view. Though they

do admit that it is still unknown who fired the first shot. Also the author is American, which is a
potential bias. We are using this book to give our class background knowledge on the topic so
they can produce their initial hypothesis.
Lexington and Concord. (2014). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from U.S. History website:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/11c.asp
This article explores the events that occurred during the Battles of Lexington and Concord, both
the events leading up to the battles and the aftermath resulting in the Revolutionary War. This
article has relevant illustrations of the time period, and includes maps and quotes from men
involved in the battle. This article does not rely on emotional viewpoints and fairly depicts the
actions of the days events without any inferences. We used this article for background
knowledge on our topic on the battle for our driving question of Who shot first?
Simons, D. (2010, March 10). Selective Attention Test [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
The Selective Attention Test instructs the viewer to count how many times a ball is passed
between a group of people, while many viewers can accurately guess this number, they fail to see
the dancing bear in the background. The video explains that sometimes people can miss things
because they are so focused on something else. Various members of our group have watched this
video and have had the same reaction proving authenticity, although we do not know a lot about
the creator of the video. We included this video in our presentation to emphasize the fact that
stories can differ based upon different viewpoints.
VanSledright. (1775, 1782). Appendix C of Documents Used in the End-Point
Performance Task.
This appendix contains four articles explaining the events that occurred in the Battles of
Lexington and Concord. There are two articles from the American viewpoint and two articles

from the British viewpoint. These articles tell different stories as each side thought the other
fired first. These articles are extremely biased as they favor the authors preferences and
viewpoints instead of looking at the actual events. These reports are very credible as they are
genuine reports reprinted from actual citizens in the 1770s who lived during these events and
partook in the Battle. We are using this resource to give our class so they can form a
hypothesis, and also so they can see that history can be subjective based on the source.

Weida, S., & Stolley, K. (2013, March 11). Using Research and Evidence. Retrieved
October 21, 2014, from Purdue Online Writing Lab website:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/
This is a website explaining how to use evidence to construct an argument and how to find
sources that have credible evidence. This is a very credible source as it comes from an
institution. It also relies on grammar rules so there is little room for biases. This page is very
thorough and gives specific instructions and examples of what to do and what not to do. We are
using points from this article in order to instruct our students on how to find credible sources for
research.
a) Lesson Procedures
Activity Element
& Time (in
minutes)

Procedures and management

Introduction (10 minutes)

Say to the class By the end of this lesson you

will understand how to use the inquiry method
to investigate a historical problem regarding
the Battle of Lexington and Concord. You will

Academic, social &

linguistic adaptations,
resources, and
support
How will you support
ALL students?

Have the steps

of the scientific
method of
inquiry up on a

also know how to find and organize information

from a variety of sources, analyze, interpret,
support interpretations with evidence, critically
evaluate, and present the information orally
and in writing.

slide for those

who are more
visual learners
or those who
have limited
attention and
need reminders
of what they
should be
focused on.

While explaining that objective, have a slide

with that same info (but condensed). Then pull
up the next slide which lists the following steps
of the scientific method:
1) Engage in an issue
2) Form a hypothesis
3) Gather info/evidence
4) Organize and interpret info
5) Draw a conclusion
Activity 1
(5 minutes)

Have the entire class watch youtube clip. Play

the youtube clip selective attention test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2
Mvo
Afterwards, share out as a whole group what
they observed. After a brief discussion, if it
was not brought up ask the students if they
noticed the guy in the gorilla suit. Allow for
comments. Then ask if they were surprised
that even though the whole class watched the
same video, some people noticed one thing
that others did not. Explain that what often
happens when people investigate a historical
event is that they report on the event
differently.

Transition
(2 minutes)

Now to engage you, which is the first step of

the inquiry method, were going to read a book
about an historical event that took place before
the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Listen
carefully and afterwards you will form a
hypothesis about what you think actually
happened.

Activity 2

Read the childrens non-fiction book Let It

pause the clip

during the
instructions to
give students a
bit more time to
read and
comprehend.
Also ask the
calls if they
understand what
they are
suppose to do
for the activity.

Instead of

(15 minutes)

having students
read to
themselves it will
be easier if the
teacher reads
the material.

Begin Here! Lexington & Concord aloud to the

class but only read up to the page that begins
with Suddenly a shot rings out-- with paper
block out the rest of the text on that page.
Ask them So was it the British or the
Americans who shot first and how do you
know?
Next, tell them that at their table, groups must
come up with one collective hypothesis about
who they think shot first. Explain that they
must designate one person to write out the
hypothesis.

Transition
(2 minutes)

Pass out a blank graphic organizer to each

student that will be referred to as an evidence
chart. On your evidence chart you must write
down the hypothesis that your group came up
with on the top of your page.
Then do a brief explanation of how to use the
evidence chart to organize their information.

Have a slide that

defines a
hypothesis (for
ELLs especially)
as a reasonable
guess

Activity 3
(10 minutes)

Have table groups look at the news article

that was placed at their table. Each group will
either have a news article that was written from
the American point of view or the British point
of view. Each member will be given a copy of
the article, and the group will be told to
designate a reader to read the article aloud to
the group. The other group members will follow
along on their own copy. In the small groups
have them read the article and have them
decide if the article supports their hypothesis
or not. On their evidence chart have them
right down facts from their article that they
would want to research more about on the
web. These facts will be their starting points
for their group research.

Have this
information also
available online
for students that
use assistive
technology

Transition (30
seconds)

-Groups come back together to work as one

large class group.

Have on a slide

provide a list of
credible sites.
Activity 4
(20 mins)

-They will research information about the

Battle of Lexington to see if they can support
their hypothesis about who shot first.
-Students from around the class will offer up
questions and ideas they want to research and
the teacher will talk through thought process of
searching the web (Okay so I want to find a
credible source, lets put in my search times
and find some .org, .gov, or reliable .com
sources and so on). The teacher will take
about 5 different questions and ideas that
encompass a wide range of students thinking:
those who support the British in their
hypothesis and those who do not.
-Have them right down evidence in their
evidence chart.
-They will then add a conclusion statement
stating if they think that their hypothesis is
correct and if it was not, then they will write a
new hypothesis.

- As a large group, discuss each groups

hypothesis and evidence. Each group can one
at a time show their evidence chart. Encourage
other students to comment or ask questions
about the groups research, conclusion, etc.
Conclusion:
(3 mins)

Ask students So what did we learn about what

happens when people investigate a historical
event? Guide students to conclude that it is
important to use a wide variety of sources
when analyzing historical events in order to get
a more complete picture of what actually
occurred.
They should notice while doing research that
there is not enough evidence to prove which
side shot first and that it is okay. After going
through each groups slide on the class
PowerPoint, let the students know that there

Students with
LD with reading
text can use the
text-to-talk
features on the
internet or the
web browser
features so the
students can
listen to the text
that is on the
website.

are some things in history that dont have a

clear answer. Sometimes history can have
parts that are unknown and it is important to
look at many different resources to come up
with an educated guess on what happened.

[1] http://www.teachingworks.org/work-of-teaching/high-leverage-practices

NAME__________________________________
DATE________________

PROMPTS

My groups hypothesis is

Bullet points
The evidence that we found was.

With this evidence we conclude