MONUMENTAL MASS MARKETING
LESSON A
LEARNING FROM PRIMARY
AND SECONDARY SOURCES
Subject: Social Studies, US History 1850-Present
Grade Level: Secondary School
Duration: 2 hours
Alignments: Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System
8.1. Historical Analysis and Skills Development
8.1.U.A. Continuity and change over time
8.1.U.B. Fact/Opinion and Points of View
Objective: Students will analyze, evaluate, and identify points of view from primary and secondary sources.
Essential Question: Why is time and space important to the study of history?
Big Ideas
Historical context is needed to comprehend time and space.
Perspective helps to define the attributes of historical comprehension.
Concepts
Learning about the past and its different contexts shaped by social, cultural, and political influences prepares one for participation as active, critical citizens in a democratic society.
Historical literacy requires a focus on time and space, and an understanding of the historical context of events and actions.
Historical skills (organizing information chronologically, explaining historical issues, locating sources and investigating materials, synthesizing and evaluating evidence, and developing arguments and interpretations based on evidence) are used by an analytical thinker to create a historical construction.
Vocabulary
Primary source – a piece of evidence created by someone at the time of an event
Secondary source – a work that synthesizes, summarizes, and/or interprets a primary source
Point of view – the angle of consideration or opinions of an author
Context – circumstances that form the setting for an event
Competencies
Analyze the interaction of cultural, economic, geographic, political, and social relations for a specific time and place.
Articulate the context of a historical event or action.
Suggested Instructional Procedure
Initiate this lesson by asking the students if they have ever visited a cemetery. Lead the discussion by following up with questions that get students to think about context. (For example: Where was the cemetery? What did it look like? How old were the gravestones?) Finish the introduction by asking students what they think can be learned from visiting a cemetery.
Instruct students to read the ‘Historical Background’ section of the “Monumental Mass Marketing” website and complete Worksheet A. Students should identify two sources from each subtopic in the section, determine if they are primary or secondary sources, and reference a fact or opinion from the resource.
Conclude by reviewing the worksheet as a group. As students share their answers, make a list of the sources and examples they give.