SOURCING: Lunchroom Fight (Part I)

Lunchroom Fight

Part I

How to do sourcing like a historian.

Imagine...

Imagine that you are the principal of a school and you just found out that there was a fight in the cafeteria during lunch.

Imagine...

You’ve asked many students and teachers who witnessed the fight to write down what they saw and who they think started the fight.

Unfortunately, you have received many conflicting accounts that disagree not only as to who started the fight, but also as to who was involved and when the fight even started. It’s important to remember that NO ONE is just plain lying.

Why would there be different stories of the event, if no one is just plain lying?

Discuss the following question with your group.

Discussion A

Open Ended

Now, write your response:

What are the different types of people who might have seen this fight?

Discuss the following question with your group.

Discussion B

(e.g., friends of those involved; people who don’t know the kids who were fighting; those who were fighting; teachers; students)

Open Ended

Now, write your response:

What might make one person's story more plausible (believable) than another persons?

Discuss the following question with your group.

Discussion C

Open Ended

Now, write your response:

Let's debreif...

Let's take some notes in our binder!