Week 22 · Term Three · The Boston Massacre
Investigate the Boston Massacre of 1770 like a historian: sort primary from secondary sources, read Paul Revere’s famous engraving as persuasion, weigh witnesses who disagree, see why John Adams defended the soldiers, and argue what really happened.
Monday sorts the sources and asks who made each, when and why. Tuesday reads Revere’s engraving as propaganda. Wednesday weighs conflicting testimony about the order to fire. Thursday explains due process through John Adams’s defense. Friday writes a historical argument from several sources.
25 minutes
History · Primary and secondary sources
Tell primary sources from secondary sources, and use who made a source, when and why to judge how it can be used.
Make
A source log
Trial handoff: The source log is filed. Tomorrow you look closely at the most famous picture of that night.
25 minutes
Media literacy · Reading a persuasive image
Identify how a creator's purpose shapes what a source includes, leaves out and exaggerates, by comparing it with other evidence.
Make
A image analysis
Trial handoff: The image analysis is filed. Tomorrow the witnesses disagree.
25 minutes
Rhetoric · Weighing conflicting testimony
Weigh conflicting testimony, separate what was observed from what was assumed, and make a claim only as strong as the evidence allows.
Make
A testimony chart
Trial handoff: The testimony chart is filed. Tomorrow you learn who defended the soldiers, and why.
25 minutes
Law · Due process
Explain the principles of a fair trial: the right to a lawyer, judgment based on evidence, and the presumption of innocence, and why they protect everyone.
Make
A principle statement
Trial handoff: The principle statement is filed. Tomorrow you write your own argument about that night.
30 minutes
Argument writing · Making a claim from many sources
Write a historical argument with a clear claim, evidence from several sources with their reliability, a counterclaim, and a limit.
Make
A Corroborated case brief
Trial handoff: The case brief is filed. You have argued from evidence the way historians do: carefully and with the doubts left in.
The brief uses only work entered here. It is a family record of this week’s work, not a grade, an attendance record, or proof of mastery.
