2.1 Families and Primary Sources
This inquiry set is the first time that students are introduced to the vocabulary term and concept of primary sources (in comparison to secondary sources). As the framework text details, primary sources shape students’ own lives, heritages, and family identities and they can serve as an entry point for students’ broader learning about the richness of source material.
- HSS 2.1.1 Trace the history of a family through the use of primary and secondary sources, including artifacts, photographs, interviews, and documents.
- HSS 2.1.2 Compare and contrast their daily lives with those of their parents, grandparents, and/or guardians.
- HSS 2.1.3 Place important events in their lives in the order in which they occurred (e.g., on a time line or storyboard).
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ELD.PI.2.1.Em
Contribute to conversations and express ideas by asking and answering yes-no and wh- questions and responding using gestures, words, and learned phrases. -
ELD.PI.2.1.Ex
Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, including sustained dialogue, by listening attentively, following turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, and adding relevant information. -
ELD.PI.2.1.Br
Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, including sustained dialogue, by listening attentively, following turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, adding pertinent information, building on responses, and providing useful feedback. -
ELD.PI.2.3.Em
Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using learned phrases (e.g., I think X.), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor. -
ELD.PI.2.3.Ex
Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using an expanded set of learned phrases (e.g., I agree with X, but X.), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor, provide counterarguments, and the like. -
ELD.PI.2.3.Br
Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using a variety of learned phrases (e.g., That\'s a good idea, but X), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor, provide counterarguments, elaborate on an idea, and the like. -
ELD.PI.2.4.Em
Recognize that language choices (e.g., vocabulary) vary according to social setting (e.g., playground versus classroom), with substantial support from peers or adults. -
ELD.PI.2.4.Ex
Adjust language choices (e.g., vocabulary, use of dialogue, and so on) according to purpose (e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peers versus adults), with moderate support from peers or adults. -
ELD.PI.2.4.Br
Adjust language choices according to purpose (e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peer-to-peer versus peer-to-teacher), with light support from peers or adults. -
ELD.PI.2.8.Em
Distinguish how two different frequently used words (e.g., describing a character as happy versus angry) produce a different effect on the audience. -
ELD.PI.2.8.Ex
Distinguish how two different words with similar meaning (e.g., describing a character as happy versus ecstatic) produce shades of meaning and different effects on the audience. -
ELD.PI.2.8.Br
Distinguish how multiple different words with similar meaning (e.g., pleased versus happy versus ecstatic, heard or knew versus believed) produce shades of meaning and different effects on the audience. -
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. -
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
Investigative Question
How do families remember their past?
In Standard 2.1, students develop a beginning sense of history through the study of the family — a topic that is understandable and interesting to them. Students are introduced to primary sources related to family history, including photographs, family trees, artifacts, and oral histories. In response to the question How do families remember their past? students study the history of a family and may construct a history of their own family, a relative’s or neighbor’s family, or a family depicted from books. By studying the stories of a diverse collection of families — such as immigrant families, families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parents and their children, families of color, step- and blended families, families headed by single parents, extended families, multigenerational families, families with members having a disability, families from different religious traditions, and adoptive families — students can both locate themselves and their own families in history and learn about the lives and historical struggles of their peers.
In developing these activities, teachers should not assume any particular family structure and ask questions in a way that will easily include children from diverse family backgrounds. They need to be sensitive to family diversity and privacy and respect the wishes of students and parents who prefer not to participate. Members of students’ families may be invited to tell about the experiences of their families. Literature and informational texts may be shared to spark inquiry and help students acquire deeper insights into life in the past and the cultures from which the families came; the stories, games, and festivals that parents or grandparents might have enjoyed as children; the work that students as well as their families would have been expected to do; their religious practices; and the dress, manners, and morals expected of family members at that time. Students are encouraged to compare and contrast their daily lives with those of families who lived in the past. To deepen student understanding and engagement, teachers may have students read When I Was Little by Toyomi Igus, Dear Juno by Soyung Pak, The Boy with Long Hair by Pushpinder (Kaur) Singh, and In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco.
To develop the concept of chronological thinking, students may construct timelines of their school day and important events in their lives. To culminate this unit of study, teachers may have students interview an older adult or family member about life in the past and then create a timeline of the person’s life.
- A primary source is an original document or artifact from the time period being studied. Some examples of primary sources that second-grade students may be familiar with are diaries, letters, audio recordings, and photographs from the period.
- A secondary source is one that has been created by someone without first-hand experience, after the event has happened or the time period under study has passed. Secondary sources are often created by people who analyze primary sources. Some examples of secondary sources that second-grade students may be familiar with are textbooks, biographies, and documentary films.
- California Revealed. California Revealed has created Curated Themes to mirror and supplement the existing Teaching California Inquiry Sets. California Revealed partners with hundreds of libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other nonprofit organizations across California to provide free digital preservation and online access services for primary source materials documenting the state's histories, arts, and cultures. The resulting collection spans diverse formats, regions, time periods, and cultural perspectives. We hope these Curated Themes will prove valuable to K-12 teachers looking to go deeper with Teaching California's classroom-ready Inquiry Sets and more generally to California educators interested in teaching with primary sources.
- The Library of Congress. The Library of Congress’ Primary Source Analysis Tool supports an inquiry model of instruction by asking students to first observe, then reflect, then question. Their customizable tool includes specific prompts for student interrogation of books and other printed materials, maps, oral recordings, photographs and paintings, and many other types of primary sources.
- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA has developed a vast collection of document analysis worksheets, ready for classroom use. Their website offers teachers a wide collection of customizable tools – appropriate for working with photographs, maps, written documents, and more. NARA has also customized their tools to meet the needs of young learners, and intermediate or secondary students.