D2.His.12.6-8: Using Questions About Sources to Find What to Research Next
In plain English: D2.His.12.6-8 is the C3 Framework history indicator for grades 6-8 that asks students to use the questions they raise about several historical sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources. Students notice gaps, disagreements and surprises across sources, turn them into questions, and decide what to study next and where to look.
Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources.
C3 Framework for Social Studies (NCSS) · Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools · Discipline: History · Historical Sources and Evidence · Official standard
Students use the questions they raise about several sources to decide what to research next and where to look. The topic is Johnny Appleseed, the apple-tree planter of the early 1800s. Five accounts, printed between 1852 and 1891, disagree about his name, his birthplace and the year and place of his death, and they leave long gaps.
Students learn three ways comparing sources raises questions (a gap, a disagreement, a surprise), turn each question into a further area of inquiry, and identify the kind of additional source that could help, such as birth records, land records, a death notice or an estate record. The lesson ends with each student planning a next step for the inquiry.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Generate specific questions by noticing gaps, disagreements and surprises across several sources
Turn a question into a further area of inquiry
Identify additional sources that could help answer a question, and say who made them and when
Explain why a source made close to an event may help settle a disagreement between later accounts
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Citing specific textual evidence from primary and secondary sources RH.6-8.1
Identifying who made a source and when D2.His.11.6-8
"Two neighbors tell you about the big oak tree in front of your school. One says a teacher planted it in 1950. The other says it was there before the school was built. Write two questions you would want answered, and for each one, name a place you could look for the answer."
Share a few answers. Students often suggest old school photos, the school's records, a local newspaper or the oldest teachers. Point out what just happened: two stories that did not match produced questions, and the questions pointed to new places to look. Introduce the lesson's words:
Inquiry: an investigation that starts with a question.
Further area of inquiry: a new topic worth studying that grows out of your questions.
Additional source: a new source, beyond the ones you have, that might help answer a question.
Direct Instruction20 minutes
Johnny Appleseed is a famous figure from the early 1800s, known for planting apple trees on the frontier. Today's question is: What can we really know about the man called Johnny Appleseed? We will not settle the answer today. Instead, we will use five old accounts to decide what to research next and where to look.
Source 1 is from a book of Ohio history by Henry Howe, printed in 1852. Source 2 is from a magazine article by W. D. Haley, printed in 1871. A nursery here means a patch of ground where young trees are grown from seed until they are big enough to be moved. Model three ways that comparing sources produces questions:
Three ways comparing sources raises questions
What you notice
What it means
Example question
A gap
A source admits it does not know something, or skips years
What happened during the missing years?
A disagreement
Two sources say different things about the same fact
Which is right, and how could we check?
A surprise
A detail that seems odd or important
Why would someone do that?
1At an early day, there was a very eccentric character who frequently was in this region, well remembered by the early settlers. His name was Jonathan Chapman, but he was usually known as Johnny Appleseed. He was originally, it is supposed, from New England.
2He had imbibed a remarkable passion for the rearing and cultivation of apple trees from the seed. He first made his appearance in western Pennsylvania, and from thence made his way into Ohio, keeping on the outskirts of the settlements, and following his favorite pursuit. He was accustomed to clear spots in the loamy lands on the banks of the streams, plant his seeds, enclose the ground, and then leave the place until the trees had in a measure grown. When the settlers began to flock in and open their "clearings," Johnny was ready for them with his young trees, which he either gave away or sold for some trifle, as an old coat, or any article of which he could make use. Thus he proceeded for many years, until the whole country was in a measure settled and supplied with apple trees, deriving self-satisfaction amounting to almost delight, in the indulgence of his engrossing passion. About 20 years since he removed to the far west, there to enact over again the same career of humble usefulness.
3His personal appearance was as singular as his character. He was a small "chunked" man, quick and restless in his motions and conversation; his beard and hair were long and dark, and his eye black and sparkling. He lived the roughest life, and often slept in the woods. His clothing was mostly old, being generally given to him in exchange for apple trees. He went bare-footed, and often travelled miles through the snow in that way. [...]
Henry Howe, Source 1: Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio, the Johnny Appleseed entry (1852 printing) (1847; this edition 1852). Public domain (published 1852). Source text.
1The first reliable trace of our modest hero finds him in the Territory of Ohio, in 1801, with a horse-load of apple seeds, which he planted in various places on and about the borders of Licking Creek, the first orchard thus originated by him being on the farm of Isaac Stadden, in what is now known as Licking County, in the State of Ohio. During the five succeeding years, although he was undoubtedly following the same strange occupation, we have no authentic account of his movements until we reach a pleasant spring day in 1806, when a pioneer settler in Jefferson County, Ohio, noticed a peculiar craft, with a remarkable occupant and a curious cargo, slowly dropping down with the current of the Ohio River. It was "Johnny Appleseed," by which name Jonathan Chapman was afterward known in every log-cabin from the Ohio River to the Northern lakes, and westward to the prairies of what is now the State of Indiana. With two canoes lashed together he was transporting a load of apple seeds to the Western frontier, for the purpose of creating orchards on the farthest verge of white settlements. [...]
2These are the first well-authenticated facts in the history of Jonathan Chapman, whose birth, there is good reason for believing, occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1775. According to this, which was his own statement in one of his less reticent moods, he was, at the time of his appearance on Licking Creek, twenty-six years of age, and whether impelled in his eccentricities by some absolute misery of the heart which could only find relief in incessant motion, or governed by a benevolent monomania, his whole after-life was devoted to the work of planting apple seeds in remote places.
W. D. Haley, Source 2: W. D. Haley, "Johnny Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, November 1871 (opening) (1871). Public domain (published 1871). Source text.
From a gap to a further area: where was he born? (Source 1, paragraph 1, and Source 2, paragraph 2)
Howe writes that he was "originally, it is supposed, from New England." Haley writes that there is "good reason for believing" he was born "in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1775." What question and what further area does this suggest?
Result: Question: Where and when was he really born? Howe's "it is supposed" shows he was unsure, and Haley gives a city but only says there is "good reason for believing" it. Further area of inquiry: his early life and family. Additional sources: birth or baptism records kept by Massachusetts towns or churches around 1775, if they survive.
From a surprise to a further area: was it a business? (Source 1, paragraph 2)
Howe says Johnny had young trees ready for settlers, "which he either gave away or sold for some trifle, as an old coat." What might a researcher ask?
Result: Question: Did he run his nurseries as a business, or mostly give trees away? Further area of inquiry: how settlers on the frontier got fruit trees. Additional sources: land and tax records for the places he planted, and settlers' account books or letters that mention buying trees.
From a big claim to a further area: how much did he plant? (Source 1, paragraph 2)
Howe writes that he kept on "until the whole country was in a measure settled and supplied with apple trees." What question does this raise?
Result: Question: How many orchards really came from his trees? A claim this large needs checking. Further area of inquiry: the history of orchards in early Ohio. Additional sources: county histories that name early orchards and who planted them, and farm records from the 1800s.
From a source's own source to a new search (Source 2, paragraph 2)
Haley says the birth date came from Chapman's "own statement in one of his less reticent moods" (reticent means quiet or unwilling to talk). Who heard that statement?
Result: Question: Where did Haley get his information, decades after the events? Further area of inquiry: how stories about Johnny Appleseed were collected and passed on. Additional sources: Haley's notes or letters, if any were kept, and earlier printed accounts he might have read, such as Source 1.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Source 3 is the end of Haley's article. Source 4 comes from a later edition of Howe's book, printed in 1891, where a correspondent (a person who sends information to a writer or newspaper) shared notes about the village of Perrysville, Ohio. Read both. Pairs complete a three-column chart for these two sources:
What I notice: one gap, one disagreement and one surprise.
My question: written as a question that research could answer.
Where to look: the kind of additional source, and who would have made it.
Circulate and push students to make each question specific. "Is Haley wrong?" becomes "When and where did Chapman die, and which record from that time could show it?"
1During the succeeding nine years he pursued his eccentric avocation on the western border of Ohio and in Indiana. In the summer of 1847, when his labors had literally borne fruit over a hundred thousand square miles of territory, at the close of a warm day, after traveling twenty miles, he entered the house of a settler in Allen County, Indiana, and was, as usual, warmly welcomed. He declined to eat with the family, but accepted some bread and milk, which he partook of sitting on the door-step and gazing on the setting sun. [...] Declining other accommodation, he slept, as usual, on the floor, and in the early morning he was found with his features all aglow with a supernal light, and his body so near death that his tongue refused its office. The physician, who was hastily summoned, pronounced him dying, but added that he had never seen a man in so placid a state at the approach of death. At seventy-two years of age, forty-six of which had been devoted to his self-imposed mission, he ripened into death as naturally and beautifully as the seeds of his own planting had grown into fibre and bud and blossom and the matured fruit.
W. D. Haley, Source 3: W. D. Haley, the same article, on Chapman's death (1871). Public domain (published 1871). Source text.
1Under the names of Copus and the slain soldiers was carved, at the suggestion of Miss Rosella Rice, of Perrysville, the name of the eccentric Johnny Appleseed, whom she knew well, and whose good deeds she has commemorated with her pen. [...]
[...]
2A correspondent sends us some items:
3Perrysville was laid out June 10, 1815, by Thomas Coulter and was the second village established in the county. [...] Hop picking was then an important industry; the hops sold for fifty cents a pound. Mrs. Betsy Coulter, née Rice, in 1815 opened the first school in her own home. She took spinning and weaving as part pay for tuition. Johnny Appleseed was a frequent visitor here. He was a constant snuff consumer and had beautiful teeth. He was smitten here with Miss Nancy Tannehill and proposed, but was just one too late: she was already engaged. He died March 11, 1845, in St. Joseph township, Indiana, at the house of Wm. Worth. When he died he had on for clothing next to his body a coarse coffee sack slipped over his head; around his waist parts of four pantaloons; over these a white pair complete. He was buried two and a half miles north of Fort Wayne. [...]
An unnamed correspondent, printed by Henry Howe, Source 4: A correspondent's notes on Perrysville, in Howe's 1891 edition (1891). Public domain (published 1891). Source text.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Source 5 comes from the 1891 edition of Howe's book, which reprinted his first entry with some changes and added a sketch by Rosella Price (as Source 5 spells her name; Source 4 spells it Rice), a woman who "knew him well." An edition is one printing of a book; later editions can be corrected or expanded.
Working alone, students compare Source 5 with Sources 1 and 2 and write three questions. For each question, they name a further area of inquiry and one additional source, and say why that source might be trustworthy (who made it, and how close to the events).
1At an early day, there was a very eccentric character who frequently was in this region, well remembered by the early settlers. His name was John Chapman, but he was usually known as Johnny Appleseed. He came originally from New England.
[...]
2The foregoing account of this philanthropic oddity is from our original edition. In the appendix to the novel, by Rev. James McGaw, entitled "Philip Seymour; or, Pioneer Life in Richland County," is a full sketch of Johnny, by Miss Rosella Price, who knew him well. When the Copus monument was erected, she had his name carved upon it in honor of his memory. We annex her sketch of him in an abridged form. The portrait was drawn by an artist from her personal recollection, and published in A. A. Graham's "History of Richland County:"
3Johnny Appleseed's Relatives.—John Chapman was born at or near Springfield, Mass., in the year 1775. About the year 1801 he came with his half-brother to Ohio, and a year or two later his father's family removed to Marietta, Ohio. Soon after Johnny located in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburg, and began the nursery business and continued it on west. Johnny's father, Nathaniel, senior, moved from Marietta to Duck creek, where he died. The Chapman family was a large one, and many of Johnny's relatives were scattered throughout Ohio and Indiana.
Henry Howe, quoting Rosella Price (as he spells her name), Source 5: Howe's revised entry and Rosella Price's sketch, in the 1891 edition (1891). Public domain (published 1891). Source text.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: "The question I most want answered is ___. It opens a further area of inquiry about ___. The first additional source I would look for is ___, because ___."
Teacher notes. Johnny Appleseed is surrounded by legend, and the sources disagree; the goal is not to decide which story is true but to see how the disagreements point to new research. The answer keys suggest kinds of records to look for; whether a particular record survives is itself something students would have to find out. The cut parts of Sources 1 and 3 mention Chapman's religion and his reading of the Bible; treat religion only as a fact about his life. Source 2's phrase "white settlements" reflects the writer's point of view; the answer key to Question 13 explains whose point of view is missing and where to look for it. The Copus monument (Source 4, paragraph 1). A few pages earlier, the same volume of Howe reports that in the autumn of 1812, during the War of 1812, a party of Native warriors attacked the cabin of the settler James Copus, killing him and three militia soldiers. Howe also reports that shortly before, a party of militia from Guernsey County had "without any authority burnt the Indian village of Greentown, at this time deserted," a village of Delaware (Lenape), Mingo and Mohawk people, in his account. Howe's named informants for these events were settlers and a militia officer. If students ask, state these facts plainly and without graphic detail, acknowledge the losses on both sides, including the destruction of Greentown, and connect the event to Question 13. Sources 1-5 are all used in the homework.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give question stems: "Why does Source __ say ___ while Source __ says ___?", "What happened between ___ and ___?", "Who could have recorded ___?"
Highlight the key sentence in each source before reading (birth, name, death)
Pre-teach seven words: inquiry, nursery, correspondent, edition, record, estate, census
For Advanced Students
Compare Source 1 and Source 5 sentence by sentence and list every change Howe made between editions
Write a short research plan that orders four additional sources from most to least likely to settle the death date
Read more of Haley's 1871 article (archive.org) and add three new questions to the class detective board
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Strong work cites the exact sentences that disagree or leave gaps, writes a question that research could answer, names a further area of inquiry that the question opens, and suggests a specific kind of additional source with a reason. Watch for questions that are too vague ("Is this true?"), additional sources that do not fit the question (a modern movie used as proof of a birth date), or answers that simply pick one source as right without saying how to check.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Question Storm
15 minPairs
Pairs reread Sources 1 and 2 and write as many questions as they can in 6 minutes, one per sticky note, using three colors: yellow for a gap, pink for a disagreement and blue for a surprise. Then they pick their two best questions, the ones research could actually answer, and post them on the board.
Sample Questions for the Teacher
Gap: What did he do between 1801 and 1806, when Haley says "we have no authentic account of his movements" (Source 2, paragraph 1)?
Surprise: Why did he keep "on the outskirts of the settlements" (Source 1, paragraph 2)?
Surprise: Why would someone carry seeds with "two canoes lashed together" (Source 2, paragraph 1), and where did the seeds come from?
Variation
For a quieter class, do the question storm silently on a shared chart, then discuss the posted questions.
2
Detective Board
15 minGroups of 3-4
Each group gets a poster with five headings for further areas of inquiry: Birth and family, Work and nurseries, Travels, Death and burial, and How the legend grew. Groups place the class's questions under the headings, then attach at least one of 8 source cards to each heading and write a reason on the card.
The 8 Source Cards
Town and church records of births and baptisms in Massachusetts
Land deeds and leases in Ohio counties
County tax lists
A notice printed in a local newspaper
An estate (probate) record: court papers listing what a person owned when he died
A U.S. census (the national count of people, taken every ten years)
The full sketch by Rosella Price (Source 4: Rice) in the appendix of McGaw's novel
Letters or diaries of settlers who met him
Possible Board for the Teacher
Birth and family: card 1, card 6.
Work and nurseries: cards 2, 3 and 8.
Travels: cards 2 and 8.
Death and burial: cards 4 and 5.
How the legend grew: card 7, and comparing the printed accounts themselves.
Accept other matches with a sensible reason.
3
Which Source First?
10 minWhole class
The class chooses one question from the detective board. Each student votes for the additional source they would look for first, then the class discusses: who made that kind of source, how close in time to the event it was made, and what it could and could not tell us.
Discussion Points
A record made at the time of an event, such as a court paper, was usually written by someone with a job to do, not a story to tell.
A later account, like Source 3, may collect memories from people who were there, but memories can blur over decades.
Sometimes the best first step is to find what the earlier writers read, for example the sources Haley used.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
1 diagrams
Diagram 1: Events in the Sources, and When the Sources Were Printed
A timeline drawn to scale (20 years = 98.5 units). Blue dots are events the sources describe: a birth year of 1775 (Sources 2 and 5) and the "first reliable trace" in 1801 (Source 2). The red dots are the two death dates that disagree: March 11, 1845 (Source 4) and the summer of 1847 (Source 3). The dark dots show when each source was printed. Every source on this page was printed after his death, some of them decades later.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
D2.His.12.6-8 Homework: Planning the Next Step
Directions: Use Source 2 (Direct Instruction) for Part 1 and Sources 1-5 for Part 2. Write each question so that research could answer it, and name a specific kind of additional source for each one.
Part 1: More Questions from Source 2 (Problems 1-3)
Haley names "the farm of Isaac Stadden" in Licking County as the site of the first orchard (paragraph 1). Write a question about this claim and name an additional source that could help check it.
Haley says a "pioneer settler in Jefferson County, Ohio" saw the canoes in 1806, but does not name the settler (paragraph 1). Write a question this raises and say what further area of inquiry it opens.
Haley calls the 1801 and 1806 events "the first well-authenticated facts" (paragraph 2). Write a question about how Haley knew they were authenticated (proven), and name a source that could show where his information came from.
Part 2: Across All Five Sources (Problems 4-6)
List three facts about Johnny Appleseed on which at least two sources disagree. For each one, quote both sources.
Choose one of the five further areas of inquiry from Activity 2. Write two questions for it and name an additional source for each question.
Write a short research plan (4-5 sentences) for the question "Where is Johnny Appleseed buried?" Name the source on this page that first raises it, two additional sources, and the order in which you would look at them.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Questions
Specific questions that research could answer
Questions that are too broad or vague
No questions
Evidence
Quotes the sentences that raise each question, with source and paragraph
Paraphrases without citations
No evidence
Further areas
Names the area of inquiry each question opens
Names an area that does not fit the question
No areas named
Additional sources
Names a specific kind of source and explains why it could help
Names a source without a reason
No additional sources
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 2-3 and 12-13 use Sources 1 and 2 (Direct Instruction), Questions 5-7 and 14 use Sources 3 and 4 (Guided Practice), and Questions 8-10 use Source 5 (Independent Practice). Question 11 uses Diagram 1. Questions 1, 4 and 15-20 ask you to connect the sources. Choose the best answer, or write a short answer with quotations.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
After comparing Sources 1 and 2, a student asks: "Did Johnny Appleseed own the land where he planted his nurseries?" Which further area of inquiry does this question open?
Answer: C
A question about owning land leads to the wider topic of how land was bought, sold and recorded on the frontier. Choice A is a question about the sources, not a new area of history; choice B is a science topic that does not answer the question about ownership.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Howe writes that Chapman "was originally, it is supposed, from New England" (Source 1, paragraph 1). What do the words "it is supposed" tell a researcher?
Answer: A
"It is supposed" means people believed it but Howe had no proof, which is a gap worth investigating. Choice B is the opposite; choice D is impossible because Source 2 was printed in 1871, after Source 1 (1852).
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Haley says the name Johnny Appleseed was known "in every log-cabin from the Ohio River to the Northern lakes" (Source 2, paragraph 1). Which question does this big claim raise best?
Answer: D
A claim that he was known "in every log-cabin" is very large, so a researcher asks what evidence shows how widely he was known; this opens the area of how his legend grew. Choice A and choice C ask about details that would not test the claim.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Haley says Chapman was born "in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1775" (Source 2, paragraph 2). Which other source on this page gives a different birthplace?
Answer: B
Source 5, in the sketch by Rosella Price, says that "John Chapman was born at or near Springfield, Mass., in the year 1775" (Source 5, paragraph 3). Choice A is wrong because Source 1 names no city; choices C and D name places connected with his death, not his birth.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 4, where did Johnny Appleseed die?
Answer: A
The correspondent writes that he died "in St. Joseph township, Indiana, at the house of Wm. Worth." Haley also places the death at a settler's house in Allen County, Indiana (Source 3), but names no one, which is a question worth following up. Choice D confuses Chapman with his father, Nathaniel, who died at Duck creek (Source 5).
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 4 says he "was buried two and a half miles north of Fort Wayne." Which further area of inquiry does this detail open?
Answer: C
A burial place opens the area of his death and burial: where the grave is and what marks or records exist for it. The other choices are areas suggested by other sources, not by this sentence.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 4 was printed in 1891, 46 years after the death date it gives. Which question should a researcher ask about it?
Answer: B
A date printed long after an event is only as good as its source, so the researcher asks where the correspondent got it (1891 - 1845 = 46 years). Choice C is answered by Source 2's date, 1871; choice D is a detail from the source, not a question about its evidence.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Compare the first paragraph of Source 1 (1852) with the first paragraph of Source 5 (1891). What did Howe change?
Answer: D
Source 1 says "His name was Jonathan Chapman," and Source 5 says "His name was John Chapman." A change between editions raises the question of what new information Howe had. Choice B is wrong because neither of Howe's paragraphs gives a birth year.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Howe says Rosella Price "knew him well" (Source 5, paragraph 2). Why might her full sketch be worth finding?
Answer: C
Someone who knew him could give firsthand memories, so her full sketch is a strong additional source for questions about what he was like. Choice A is not what Source 5 says: the novel it names was by Rev. James McGaw, and her sketch was in its appendix. Choice B confuses her with Haley.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Price writes that Chapman's father, Nathaniel, moved to Ohio and "died" at Duck creek, and that "many of Johnny's relatives were scattered throughout Ohio and Indiana" (Source 5, paragraph 3). Which additional source fits these claims best?
Answer: A
Claims about a father and relatives can be checked in family records, such as records of where Nathaniel Chapman's family lived and died. Choice B is a source already on the page that does not mention Nathaniel; choice D shows only that Price had his name carved.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Using Diagram 1, how many years after the death date in Source 4 was Haley's article printed?
Answer: D
Haley's article was printed in 1871 and Source 4 gives 1845: 1871 - 1845 = 26 years. Choice A uses Haley's own death date (1871 - 1847 = 24); choice B uses the printing of Source 1 (1871 - 1852 = 19); choice C measures from 1871 to 1891.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 1 says, "About 20 years since he removed to the far west." Why is this phrase hard to use without more information?
Answer: B
"About 20 years since" means about 20 years before the time of writing, so the year depends on when Howe wrote it. Choice C is wrong because the phrase is approximate; choice D is wrong because "the far west" names no state.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Haley says Chapman planted orchards "on the farthest verge of white settlements" (Source 2, paragraph 1). Whose point of view do these five sources leave out?
Answer: C
The phrase describes the frontier from the settlers' side; the land beyond those settlements was home to Native nations, whose accounts are not among these sources. Asking whose voice is missing is one way to find a further area of inquiry; additional sources could include the histories kept by the Delaware Nation and the Delaware Tribe of Indians, two federally recognized Lenape nations whose ancestors lived in Ohio. The same gap appears in Source 4: Howe's account of the Copus attack and of the burning of Greentown comes from settlers and a militia officer, not from the people of Greentown. Choice A is wrong because Source 2 itself mentions a Jefferson County settler.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What is one problem with Source 4 as evidence?
Answer: A
Howe prints notes from "A correspondent" without a name, so a researcher cannot tell how that person knew the facts, which is itself a question to research. Choice B is wrong because Source 4 is from 1891 and Source 1 from 1852; choice C is wrong because the notes are about Perrysville, Ohio.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Write two questions that come from comparing Sources 1 and 2. For each question, quote the sentences that raise it and name the further area of inquiry it opens.
Model answer: (1) "When did he first come to Ohio?" Howe says only that he "first made his appearance in western Pennsylvania" (Source 1, paragraph 2), while Haley gives "1801" as "The first reliable trace" (Source 2, paragraph 1). Area: his travels. (2) "Did he sell trees or give them away?" Howe says he "either gave away or sold" them (Source 1, paragraph 2), and Haley does not say. Area: his work and nurseries. Other questions earn credit with quotations. Rubric: 1 point per question, 1 point per quotation, 1 point per area (6).
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Sources 3 and 4 disagree about when he died. Name two additional sources that could help settle the question, and explain who would have made each one and when.
Model answer: First, a death notice in a local newspaper near Fort Wayne, written by an editor within days of the death, so it would be close to the event. Second, an estate (probate) record from the county court, made by court officials soon after the death to list his property. Both were made at the time by people with a job to do, unlike Haley's article, written 24 or more years later. Rubric: 2 points per source with maker and time (4), 1 point for explaining why closeness in time helps.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Source 4 calls her "Miss Rosella Rice," and Source 5, from the same edition, calls her "Miss Rosella Price." What question does this raise, and how could a researcher investigate it?
Model answer: The question is: what was her real name, and is this a printing mistake? A researcher could look at the appendix of McGaw's novel, where her sketch appeared, and at Graham's History of Richland County, both named in Source 5, paragraph 2, or at census records for Perrysville. A small difference like this matters, because searching under the wrong name could hide the very sources you need. For the teacher: other records of the time support "Rice." For example, the acknowledgments of A. A. Graham's History of Richland County (1880) thank "Miss Rosella Rice," so "Price" in Source 5 is most likely a printing error. Rubric: 2 points for the question, 2 points for at least one fitting source, 1 point for explaining why it matters.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Choose the further area "How the legend grew." Explain how Sources 2 and 5 are themselves evidence for this area, not just accounts of Chapman's life.
Model answer: Source 2 shows how a magazine writer in 1871 turned scattered memories into a story, calling Chapman "our modest hero" (paragraph 1). Source 5 shows Howe changing his own earlier entry in 1891 and adding a sketch by someone who "knew him well" (paragraph 2). Studying how each writer collected and changed the story is part of how the legend grew. Rubric: 2 points per source explained with a quotation (4), 1 point for connecting them to the area.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
For the question "Where was Johnny Appleseed born?", rank two additional sources and explain your ranking.
Model answer: First: town or church birth and baptism records from Massachusetts around 1775, because they were made at the time by clerks or ministers. Second: the full sketch by Rosella Price (Rice in Source 4), because she knew him and may record what he said, though she wrote many years later and Sources 2 and 5 already disagree (Boston against near Springfield). Other rankings earn credit when explained. Rubric: 1 point for a ranking, 2 points per explained source (4).
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Plan the next step of this inquiry: write one question, name the further area of inquiry it opens, and name two additional sources with a reason for each.
Model answer: Question: Did Chapman pay for the land where he planted? Area: his work and nurseries. Sources: land deeds or leases in the Ohio counties named in Source 2, because they record who held land and when; and county tax lists, because they show who paid taxes on property. Rubric: 1 point for the question, 1 point for the area, 2 points per source with a reason (4).
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does D2.His.12.6-8 mean?
D2.His.12.6-8 asks middle school students to use questions they raise about several historical sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources. It is a history indicator in Dimension 2 of the C3 Framework, in the group on historical sources and evidence.
What is a further area of inquiry?
It is a new topic worth studying that grows out of a question. A question about where a person was buried, for example, opens the area of death and burial records.
Why use Johnny Appleseed for D2.His.12.6-8?
Old accounts of John Chapman disagree about his name, birthplace and death, and they leave gaps. That makes it easy for students to generate real questions, and the questions point clearly to kinds of records they could look for.
Do students have to find the additional sources?
No. The indicator asks students to identify them: to name what kind of source could help and why. Looking at them is a natural next step, and D2.His.12.9-12 asks older students to investigate additional sources.
How is D2.His.12.6-8 different from D2.His.12.9-12?
In grades 6-8, students identify further areas and additional sources. In grades 9-12, they go on to pursue the inquiry and actually investigate the additional sources.
What makes a good research question here?
A good question is specific and could be answered by evidence, for example "When and where did Chapman die?" rather than "Is Haley wrong?" It should come from something students noticed in the sources: a gap, a disagreement or a surprise.
Is the lesson saying the legend is false?
No. It treats the stories as sources to question. Some details may be true and others exaggerated; the lesson shows students how they would find out.
How can I assess D2.His.12.6-8?
Give students two short sources that disagree and ask for one question, the further area it opens, and one additional source with a reason. Score specificity, evidence from the sources and the fit between question and source.
Does this lesson connect to the C3 inquiry dimensions?
Yes. Generating questions and choosing sources connect to Dimension 1, especially D1.5.6-8, which asks students to determine the kinds of sources that will help answer questions.
What literacy skills does D2.His.12.6-8 use?
Students cite exact sentences to show where a question comes from (RH.6-8.1) and compare what different sources say about the same facts (RH.6-8.9).
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to D2.His.12.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
RH.6-8.1Prerequisite
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources
Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.
