CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9
The Standard
Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6—12
What This Standard Means
Students need to compare a firsthand historical source with a later account about the same event, person, or issue. They should notice who wrote each source, when it was written, what information overlaps, and what information differs. They also need to explain how the secondary source uses, interprets, or leaves out the primary source.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “The diary gives one person’s view, while the textbook gives a broader explanation,” then supporting that with evidence from both texts. Students often get stuck treating both sources as equally direct, missing author perspective, or listing similarities without explaining the relationship between the sources.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a Civil War letter and a textbook paragraph, then have them color-code matching facts and different details.
- Ask students to write: How does the textbook version change your understanding of the letter, and what does it leave out?
- Use an exit ticket asking students to name one similarity, one difference, and one reason the sources are connected.
- Show a news article about a recent event beside a witness interview, then compare it to how historians use sources.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key detail...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5
Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.