Source Detective: Readable version
Sort three Lincoln claims, check what the sources really support, and repair each sentence together.
Parent Note: Let your child do the noticing first. You don't need to know the answer before you begin. Ask which word or phrase made the claim feel stronger or weaker.
How to Play
- Read one Lincoln claim together.
- Choose the pile that fits what the claim is right now: fact, story, or idea.
- Use the clue to check your choice.
- Open the source file, then compare and repair the claim.
What do we have so far?
- A fact we can show: Show where you found it. Point to the exact words that back it up. If the source says less than the claim, make the claim smaller.
- A story we heard: Keep it in the checking pile. A familiar story can be worth checking even when it isn't ready to repeat as fact.
- Our own idea: Say 'I think' or 'I wonder' so everyone knows this is your idea, not a fact about the past.
Claim 1: “Lincoln attended school in short periods when schooling was available.”
Best pile: A fact we can show
Clue: Look for the words 'short periods' and 'schooling was available'. Which pile holds a claim the sources can show?
Why it fits: Yes. The sources support the whole claim, so it fits the fact pile.
Sources: National Park Service · Abraham Lincoln Learning by Littles; Library of Congress · Abraham Lincoln Timeline
What the sources support: The records say Lincoln attended school only when schooling was available and that his formal schooling was limited.
Try the repair: “Lincoln attended school in short periods when schooling was available.”
Claim 2: “Lincoln taught himself everything he knew.”
Best pile: A story we heard
Clue: 'Everything' is a very big word. Which pile holds a claim that sounds familiar but still needs checking?
Why it fits: Yes. The word 'everything' reaches past the evidence, so this stays in the story pile until it is repaired.
Sources: National Park Service · Abraham Lincoln Autobiography; Library of Congress · Young Lincoln
What the sources support: Lincoln had limited formal schooling. He kept learning through reading and study.
Try the repair: “Lincoln had little formal schooling, so he kept building his education through reading and study.”
Claim 3: “Lincoln became president because he kept studying.”
Best pile: Our own idea
Clue: The sources show that Lincoln studied and later became president. They don't show that one caused the other. Which pile holds a thought we can label as an idea?
Why it fits: Yes. The sentence connects two facts with a cause the sources don't prove, so it belongs in the idea pile.
Sources: National Park Service · Abraham Lincoln Autobiography; Library of Congress · Young Lincoln; Library of Congress · Abraham Lincoln Timeline
What the sources support: The sources show that Lincoln kept studying and later became president. They do not show that studying caused him to become president.
Try the repair: “I wonder whether Lincoln's habit of studying helped him in his later work.”
Ways checking a source can help
- We made the claim smaller.
- We found words the sources can support.
- We separated a fact from an idea.
- We found another question to check.
Parent Note: Praise the revision, not just the first answer. Changing a sentence when the evidence changes is careful thinking.
Complete: You checked three Lincoln claims and made each one fit the evidence better.
Next action: Try the three piles with one claim from a video, book, or conversation this week.
