← All free classroom resources
History · Years 3-6
How can I teach children to ask useful questions about a source?
Connect a historical question to what a source can and cannot show.
Download: Ask a source question
A4 PDF · 2 pages · free · no sign-up
Print page 1 for the activity and keep page 2 for teaching notes, answers or review criteria.
Use A4 paper at 100% or Actual size. Suggested years or grades are selection aids, rather than curriculum alignment claims.
How to use this resource
- Pair a what was advertised question with the relevant printed words, then contrast it with what happened.
- Use the supplied example or task brief. Let the learner respond through writing, drawing, discussion or their usual communication method.
- Review the answers or criteria below. Can the learner match a question to a source's actual evidential scope?
What is in the printable?
Simulated source: A 2005 library poster says "Saturday opening: 10:00-12:00. Story session at 10:30. All welcome." Its designer and actual attendance are unknown. This is an invented poster, not an authentic record.
- Write one question the poster directly answers and give the answer.
- Write one question about actual attendance that it cannot answer.
- Does All welcome prove everyone felt welcome? Explain.
- Suggest another source for investigating who actually attended.
- Why would knowing the poster's creator and purpose help you use it?
Make it easier or add challenge
More support
Give answered / not answered headings and two prepared questions to sort.
More challenge
Explain how two sources could answer different parts of the same enquiry.
What to look for
Can the learner match a question to a source's actual evidential scope?
Teacher answers and suggested responses
1. Example: What time was the story session advertised? 10:30.
2. Example: How many people attended? No attendance data are given.
3. No. It is an invitation, not evidence of every person's experience.
4. A suitable attendance total, event report or contextualised accounts; handle any real personal records appropriately.
5. It helps interpret what the poster was trying to communicate and what it may omit.
Further teaching guidance
Related guidance from EP for Schools: How can we make history source work more accessible for pupils with SEND?
Try another activity
Deliver individually or in a small group
Choose one learning aim from this activity. Model one example, work through another together, then give each pupil a turn with a fresh example. In a group, ask everyone to think or show a response before sharing; one confident answer does not show what the whole group understands.
Keep the task’s more-support option available. Allow the usual communication tools, practical materials or drawing where these preserve the learning aim. Reduce the number of examples if needed, rather than rushing through the sheet.
What progress should I look for?
Can the learner match a question to a source's actual evidential scope?
Note the example used and whether the response was independent, followed a general prompt or needed a model. Try a different example on a later occasion and look for clearer reasoning or less support on a comparable task. Use these observations to plan the next teaching step.
Printing, access and sharing
Use separate paper or a different recording method when more space or an accessible format is needed. Free to print and copy within your school, setting or family. Retain the website credit and share this teaching page with other settings.