Class: Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS1)
Term: First Term
Week: 7
Age: 12 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: History
Curriculum Theme: History
Previous Lesson: Meaning, Examples and Uses of Tertiary Sources
Topic: Tertiary Sources: Projects, Bulletins and Memos
Subject Matter: Tertiary Sources: Projects, Bulletins and Memos

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:

explain the meaning and purpose of secondary sources;
give accurate examples;
identify interpretation and cited evidence in a secondary account;
state appropriate uses and limitations of secondary sources;

Reference Materials

9-Year Basic Education Curriculum for History
Approved JSS1 History textbook and state scheme of work
Teacher-checked library, museum or archive material relevant to the topic

Instructional Materials

two short secondary-source extracts
claim-evidence-interpretation chart
publication-details cards

Rationale for the Lesson

Learners need practice moving beyond naming source types to using a secondary account for background, explanation, debate and references to further evidence.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Learners can distinguish a source created during an event from a later account about that event.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Tertiary Sources

A tertiary source compiles, condenses or points users to information from primary and secondary sources. Examples include encyclopaedias, dictionaries, catalogues, indexes, bibliographies, directories and reference timelines.

Projects, Bulletins and Memos

These labels do not automatically identify a source type. A student project that analyses evidence may be secondary; a project produced during an event can be primary for a later study of that event. A bulletin or memo written by an office at the time may be primary, while a later bulletin summarising research may be tertiary or secondary. Classification depends on content, date and the research question.

Best Use

Use tertiary sources to learn key terms, obtain an overview and locate better sources. Then follow references to the original evidence or detailed scholarship. Because summaries remove detail, they should not be the only support for a disputed historical claim.

Classifying the Named Examples

A project report that merely summarises books may function as tertiary, while a project that compares evidence and develops an argument is secondary. A government memo produced during a decision is primary evidence for that decision. A later bulletin listing dates and references may be tertiary. Therefore, learners should inspect the author, date, purpose, content and relationship to the event before assigning a label.

A Classification Test

Ask three questions: Was it produced during or directly from the event? Does it analyse evidence and make an argument? Does it mainly compile or direct readers to other information? The answers usually indicate primary, secondary or tertiary use. When the result is uncertain, state the research question and explain the classification instead of guessing from the document’s name.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Source-based enquiry, guided observation, modelling, comparison, collaborative analysis and evidence-focused questioning.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Recall

Time: 5 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Reviews primary and secondary classification with two cards.
Learners’ Activity: Classify and explain each answer.
Learning Check: The teacher checks the stated product or explanation before moving on.

Step 2: Meaning and Purpose

Time: 9 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Shows how historians select evidence and form interpretations.
Learners’ Activity: Separate claim, evidence and interpretation.
Learning Check: The teacher checks the stated product or explanation before moving on.

Step 3: Examples

Time: 10 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Compares textbook, journal and biography extracts.
Learners’ Activity: Identify audience and purpose.
Learning Check: The teacher checks the stated product or explanation before moving on.

Step 4: Uses and Limits

Time: 9 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Models using a secondary source for context and references while checking its evidence.
Learners’ Activity: Complete a usefulness table for a named question.
Learning Check: The teacher checks the stated product or explanation before moving on.

Step 5: Review

Time: 7 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Presents a new extract.
Learners’ Activity: Write a supported judgement of its usefulness.
Learning Check: The teacher checks the stated product or explanation before moving on.

Objective-aligned checks:

explain the meaning and purpose of secondary sources.
identify interpretation and cited evidence in a secondary account.
state appropriate uses and limitations of secondary sources.

Step 6: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes
Teacher’s Activity: Summarises the lesson through the research question and corrects unsupported claims.
Learners’ Activity: State one conclusion, its supporting evidence and one remaining question.

Lesson Keywords

history — evidence-based study of the past
source — material from which information is obtained
evidence — information used to support or question a claim
interpretation — an explanation based on selected evidence
context — the circumstances surrounding a source or event

Lesson Evaluation

Define a secondary source.
Give four examples and explain one.
Identify one claim and its supporting evidence in an extract.
State three uses of secondary sources.
State two limitations and one way to address them.

Assignment/Homework

Read a short textbook account. Write its main interpretation, two pieces of evidence it uses and one primary source you would like to examine.

Differentiation

Support: Provide labelled source cards, sentence starters and a partially completed evidence table.
Extension: Learners compare the interpretations of two authors and identify the evidence each selects.
Accessibility: Permit paired reading, oral recording, enlarged print or tactile-safe replicas where appropriate.

Note for Teachers

Keep the research question visible. Usefulness is judged for a particular purpose, not as a permanent score attached to a source.