Texas TEKS 5.23.A
The Standard
differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as technology; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; documents; and artifacts to acquire information about the United States
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students decide whether evidence was created by a participant or eyewitness, or by someone interpreting the event later. They locate trustworthy evidence and use it to answer questions about United States history.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can classify a diary, photograph, artifact, interview, or biography and explain the choice. The student checks the creator, date, purpose, and supporting evidence before using a claim.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often assume every old object is a primary source and every book or website is secondary. They may trust the first search result or confuse a source's claim with a proven fact.
How to Assess It
- Show a 1942 ration card and a recent textbook paragraph about rationing. Ask students to classify each, name one reliability check, and cite one useful detail.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Set up source stations with replica letters, photographs, maps, artifacts, and textbook excerpts for students to sort and justify.
Ask students to write: Which source gives stronger evidence about westward expansion, and what details support your choice?
Play Source Detective: teams draw source cards, classify each, and earn a point only after giving a valid reason.
Use a local museum website to find one United States history item and record its creator, date, purpose, and usefulness.
Keep exploring
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