D3.2.6-8: Judging a Source by Its Relevance and Intended Use

Overview

Lesson Procedure

65-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice10-15 minutes
5. Closure10 minutes

1. Warm-Up10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "You want to know whether a new video game is worth buying. You find three things: the game company's ad, a review by a player who finished it, and a list of the top ten songs this week. Which would you trust most, and why? Which would you not use at all?"

   Take a few answers. Sort the reasons students give into two columns on the board. Reasons like "the song list is not about games" go under Does it fit my question? Reasons like "the company wants you to buy it" go under Who made it and why? Tell students that historians use the same two columns, and that today they will name them relevance and intended use.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Part 1: Key words. Write these on the board and keep them up for the whole lesson.

   • A source is anything that gives information about the past or present: a report, a letter, an advertisement, a table, a web page.
   • Credibility is how far you can trust a source as evidence for a particular question. It is not a label a source carries everywhere.
   • Relevance is whether a source actually helps answer your question: does it match the topic, the time and the place, and does it hold the kind of information you need?
   • A source's intended use is the job its maker wanted it to do (instruct, report, warn, sell, keep a private record, celebrate) and the audience, the people it was made for.
   • A primary source was made at the time being studied; a secondary source was made later by someone looking back.
   • An epidemic is a disease spreading quickly through a community; a pandemic is an epidemic that spreads across much of the world.

   Part 2: The compelling question. Post it: How could people protect themselves from influenza in the fall of 1918? Give the background in two sentences. In 1918 a new kind of influenza (the flu) spread around the world, and the CDC estimates that about 675,000 people died in the United States (Source 5). Health officials published advice for the public, and so did many other people.

   Before reading, define three terms from the sources. The U.S. Public Health Service was the federal health agency, led by the Surgeon General. The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian), so in the fall of 1918 the country was still fighting World War I. The Emergency Fleet Corporation was set up by the U.S. Shipping Board in April 1917 to acquire and run merchant ships for national defense, and it built ships and shipyards (National Archives, Records of the U.S. Shipping Board), so many of its workers were shipyard workers. Grip (also spelled grippe) was an everyday word for influenza. A patent medicine was a bottled remedy sold to the public with big promises and secret ingredients.

   Words in Sources 1-3: prevalence (how widespread a disease is); a reportable disease (one that doctors must report to health officials by law); a telegram (a short message sent by wire); the lay mind (the thinking of people who are not doctors); nostrum vendors (sellers of secret or fake medicines); consumption (an old name for tuberculosis); a specific (a medicine that cures one particular disease).

   Part 3: The Two-Question Test. Show Diagram 1. Model it with the first source, then let students help with the next ones.

   1The agents which cause the disease come from the nose and throat of infected persons. Some persons carry the infection without having the disease. So far as possible prevent what comes from the nose or throat of other persons from getting into your nose or throat. Keep in good fighting trim so that if you get the infection you will throw it off quickly.

   21. Avoid needless crowding. Walking to work, if you have time, is better than riding in a crowded car. By going to bed an hour earlier and getting up a half hour earlier you may have time to walk.

   32. Stay in the open air and in the sunshine as much as you can.

   43. Breathe clean air and plenty of it. Breathe through your nose. Avoid all poorly aired places to which it is unnecessary for you to go. Keep the windows open where you sleep and, if practicable, where you work. Rooms a little too cool are better than those a little too warm.

   54. Use plenty of covering to keep warm while you sleep and loose-fitting clothes to keep you comfortable while you are awake. Keep your feet dry and warm.

   65. Avoid coughing, sneezing, or snuffling persons and do not cough or sneeze on others. The firing range of a careless cougher or sneezer is at least 3 feet. Get beyond the "barrage" of infected droplets. If necessarily attending the sick, wear a gauze mask over the nose and mouth. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling a person sick with grip and after handling anything likely to be smeared or sprayed with the secretions from the nose or mouth of an infected person.

   76. Wash your hands thoroughly immediately before eating and do not put your fingers in your mouth or nose. By shaking hands or by handling door knobs or other objects touched by others you may get something on your hands which will do damage if you put it into your nose or mouth.

   [...]

   810. Buck up. Be cheerful. We'll get over the grip trouble just as we will over every other obstacle on our road to Berlin.

   1As influenza is not a reportable disease in most of the States, it is impossible to secure complete reports of its prevalence among civilians. The Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service sent telegrams to State health officers and to officers of the Public Health Service requesting telegraphic reports of the prevalence of the disease. The following is a summary of the reports received up to the time of going to press:

   2California.—Cases have been reported at Belvedere and at San Gabriel, Los Angeles County.

   3Colorado.—Thirty-three cases of suspected influenza in drafted men from other States were reported at the University of Colorado.

   4Connecticut.—Influenza is prevalent throughout the eastern and southern parts of the State and appears to be increasing. About 2,000 cases of the disease had been reported in New London and vicinity on September 23.

   [...]

   5Massachusetts.—The disease appeared in Massachusetts in August. The State health officer telegraphed September 24 that cases and deaths had been reported as follows: Everett, 698 cases, 7 deaths; Arlington, 160 cases, 1 death; Lynn, 14 deaths; Middleboro, 100 cases, 1 death; Fall River, 102 cases; Lowell, 110 cases; Salem, 1,500 cases, 10 deaths; Provincetown, 415 cases, no deaths; Haverhill, 500 cases, no deaths; Natick, 78 cases; Chelsea, 1,193 cases, 13 deaths. The health officer further stated that Lynn, Quincy, Boston, and Haverhill have large numbers of cases, but the totals are not available. The disease has also been reported from Ayer, Gloucester, and other Massachusetts towns. In Boston from September 16 to 23, inclusive, 333 deaths from influenza were registered, and 121 deaths from pneumonia.

   [...]

   6New York.—A report dated September 21 stated that 61 cases had been reported in New York City.

   [...]

   7Vermont.—Indefinite reports of influenza at many places have been made to the State health officer. Diagnosis not confirmed.

   1The present epidemic has given rise to the publication of numerous "sure cures" and methods more or less plausible to the lay mind. The advocates of some of these have addressed long communications to Secretary McAdoo, to Surg. Gen. Blue, to the War Department, or other Government agencies. Hundreds of them have written to editors of newspapers. In general the suggestions fall into several groups.

   2First comes the individual who has a specific remedy, the formula of which he is ready to give to the world for a price. One such writer reminds the Surgeon General of the million dollars that Congress has appropriated for combating influenza, and offers to sell his secret for "a reasonable sum."

   [...]

   3Still another type is the individual who gives freely of his advice so that humanity may be spared from the pestilence. Such a one writes: "Sprinkle a little sulphur in each shoe every morning; this was given to the people of Atlanta by a doctor of forty-odd years of practice. He also used it when waiting on yellow fever years ago." [...]

   [...]

   4One writer frankly advises the use of a patent medicine formerly widely advertised as a cure for consumption, but now compelled by the Government to be labeled simply a remedy for coughs and colds.

   [...]

   5The list might be continued, but the suggestions are largely variations and repetitions of what has already been cited.

   6The United States Public Health Service urges the public to remember that there is as yet no specific cure for influenza, and that many of the alleged "cures" and remedies now being recommended by neighbors, nostrum vendors, and others do more harm than good. The chief reliance must be on fresh air, nutritious food, plenty of water, cheerful surroundings, and good nursing. If any specific like a vaccine or serum is found to have value the Public Health Service will give the matter wide publicity.

   Part 4: Model the test. Think aloud through each example. Say the relevance answer, then the intended use answer, then the verdict.

   • Health and history: instructions (Source 1)

     Is Source 1 credible evidence for the question "How could people protect themselves from influenza in the fall of 1918?"

     Result: Relevance: high. It lists exact steps, such as "Avoid needless crowding" (Source 1, paragraph 2), so it fits the topic, the time and the kind of information the question needs. Intended use: a Public Health Service doctor wrote it to get shipyard workers to act (see the title); the advice about walking instead of "riding in a crowded car" (Source 1, paragraph 2) is aimed at people who travel to a job. Verdict: strong evidence of what health officials told workers to do. It is weaker evidence of what families actually did, because instructions show what was asked, not what happened.

   • Health and history: a weekly report (Source 2)

     Is Source 2 credible evidence for the same question?

     Result: Relevance: low for this question. The report says where cases were found, for example "Cases have been reported at Belvedere and at San Gabriel" (Source 2, paragraph 2), but it never says how anyone protected themselves. Intended use: a fast summary for health officers, built from telegrams "received up to the time of going to press" (Source 2, paragraph 1). Verdict: set it aside for this question. A source can come from a careful government office and still not be useful for your question.

   • Health and economics: a source that quotes other sources (Source 3)

     Source 3 is a Public Health Service article that quotes letters from the public. Is it credible evidence about protection from influenza?

     Result: Relevance: high, because it shows what some people believed would protect them, such as "Sprinkle a little sulphur in each shoe every morning" (Source 3, paragraph 3). Intended use: there are two layers. The letter writers wanted to share or spread their ideas; the article was written to show readers how many "sure cures" were going around, methods only "more or less plausible to the lay mind" (Source 3, paragraph 1). Verdict: credible evidence that such ideas were circulating, not evidence that they worked.

   • Geography: the same source, a new question (Source 2)

     Change the question to "Which parts of Connecticut had the most influenza in late September 1918?" Is Source 2 relevant now?

     Result: Relevance: now high. It reports that influenza "is prevalent throughout the eastern and southern parts of the State" (Source 2, paragraph 4). Intended use: unchanged, a quick report for health officers. Verdict: useful, with care, because it is an early summary. Relevance belongs to the pair "source plus question," not to the source alone.

   Stress the pattern. Each verdict names what the source is good evidence of. A source is rarely "credible" or "not credible" in general; it is strong evidence of some things and weak evidence of others.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Pairs read Source 7, three short invented sources. For each one they fill in three boxes: Relevant to our question? (yes, partly, no, with a reason), Intended use (maker, audience, job), and Verdict (strong evidence, use with care, or set aside, and of what).

   1These three sources were invented for this page. They are not real documents, and the product and people in them do not exist. They are written to look like sources a student might find about the fall of 1918.

   2Source 7A, a newspaper advertisement: "GRIPPE-GUARD TABLETS! Don't let the Spanish Influenza catch YOUR family! Thousands of happy users say Grippe-Guard keeps the flu away. Take two tablets with every meal. Safe for children. Only 50 cents a box at your druggist. Why wait until it is too late?"

   3Source 7B, a diary entry by Margaret, age 13, October 1918: "No school again today. Mother keeps all the windows open even though it is cold, and she will not let us go to the moving pictures. Father says the shipyard doctor told the men to stay out of crowded streetcars, so he walks to work now."

   4Source 7C, a weather table from a city newspaper, October 1918: "Yesterday's high, 61 degrees; low, 44 degrees. Rainfall, none. Forecast for today: fair and cooler, with light winds from the northwest."

   Weak sample (shared on purpose, so students can fix it): "Source 7C is credible because it comes from a newspaper, so I will use it." Ask: what did this student skip? The answer is relevance. A weather table can be accurate and still say nothing about protection from influenza.

   Answer key. 7A (paragraph 2): relevant, because it shows a product sold to families during the epidemic. Its intended use is to sell, so "Thousands of happy users say" is a claim with no evidence behind it. Verdict: strong evidence that such products were sold, no evidence that they worked. 7B (paragraph 3): relevant, because it describes what one family did. Its intended use is a private record, so Margaret had little reason to exaggerate, but it shows only one family. Verdict: use with care, as evidence of one family's steps; notice that her father's new habit matches the advice in Source 1. 7C (paragraph 4): not relevant. Its intended use, a daily weather report, makes it believable about the weather, but that does not help with this question. Verdict: set aside.

4. Independent Practice10-15 minutes

   Each student gets a new compelling question: How did the influenza epidemic change everyday life in 1918? They pick two of Sources 1, 2, 3 and 7 and write a Source Credibility Card for each: two sentences on relevance, two on intended use, and a one-sentence verdict that names what the source is good evidence of. Every card cites at least one paragraph. Students may not copy a verdict from the worked examples; the question has changed, so the relevance answer may change too.

   Partners swap cards and check one thing: does the verdict follow from both tests, or did the writer skip one?

5. Closure10 minutes

   Exit ticket: On an index card, finish this sentence and give one example from today: "A source can be trustworthy and still be the wrong source for my question when..."

   Teacher note on the sources: Sources 1-4 and 6 come from Public Health Reports, the weekly journal of the U.S. Public Health Service, as scanned in the JSTOR Early Journal Content collection; they were typed from the page scans and checked against the scans' OCR text. Source 5 is quoted exactly from the CDC archive. Source 3 quotes members of the public, and its omissions leave out letters on religious and other explanations of the epidemic; the lesson does not judge any belief. Source 1 ends with a wartime line: the country was at war with Germany when it was printed. Some students may have family experience of serious illness; keep the focus on the documents, and let students choose not to share personal stories.

   Quiz passages. Questions 7-11 of the quiz use Sources 4 and 5. Questions 12-16 use Source 8, an invented town's source cards about its water system. Words in Sources 4 and 5: recrudescences (outbreaks starting up again); sterilization (killing germs, for example with boiling water); avian (from birds); isolation (keeping sick people apart); quarantine (keeping people who may have been exposed apart); non-pharmaceutical interventions (protective steps that are not medicines); antibiotics (medicines that kill bacteria, not viruses).

   1An erroneous interpretation having been placed upon an interview with the Surgeon General, relative to the influenza situation, the United States Public Health Service has issued a warning emphasizing the danger of relaxing precautions against the epidemic. The epidemic is not ended and such recrudescences of cases and deaths as are now occurring in many localities may be expected to become more or less general.

   2Commenting upon the interpretation given to a prior interview, Surgeon General Blue said, "I may have been misunderstood, but I thought I had emphasized the fact that not only was the epidemic still present in many parts of the country, but in a number of places it is even more prevalent than it was in the early part of the epidemic. Any statement at the present time that the epidemic has 'come and gone for good' can only do harm, for it will lull people into a false sense of security, and cause them to relax the precautions they should take to avoid the infection."

   3At the recent meeting of the American Public Health Association, considerable attention was devoted to the subject of influenza. Attended by health officers from all over the country and from Canada, Mexico, and Cuba as well, this afforded an excellent opportunity for an interchange of experiences with the epidemic. Considerable evidence was adduced which showed that apparently not quite enough attention had been paid to soiled fingers in the spread of the disease. The same is true of infection spread through soiled eating and drinking utensils. One of the very interesting papers presented at the Chicago meeting described the experiences of various Army camps in dealing with influenza. The evidence presented appeared to show that the disease had been less prevalent in those camps where sterilization of eating utensils was insisted upon, than where this was not done. This is such a simple precaution to take that it ought everywhere to be tried. It should certainly be insisted upon by health authorities in all places where food and drink are sold to the public, for example, in restaurants, saloons, soda-water stands, and the like.

   1The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.

   2Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years and older. The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic. While the 1918 H1N1 virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the properties that made it so devastating are not well understood. With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.

   1Lena is a student in an invented town called Millbrook. Her compelling question is: "Why did Millbrook build a new town water system in 1912?" She found five sources. All five are invented for this page.

   2Card A: The minutes (official written record) of the Millbrook town council meeting of March 4, 1912. They list who voted, record a vote of 5 to 2 to borrow money for new water pipes, and summarize what each council member said before the vote.

   3Card B: A booklet printed in 1911 by the Keystone Pipe Company, a company that sells iron water pipes. It says that towns with Keystone pipes "never again fear disease" and lists the company's prices.

   4Card C: A 1911 report from the state board of health to the governor. It gives the number of typhoid fever cases in each town of the state for 1909-1911 and names the towns whose wells tested unsafe, including Millbrook.

   5Card D: A history of Millbrook written in 1962 for the town's 100th birthday celebration. It has one paragraph on the water system and praises the "wise leaders" who built it. It does not say where its information came from.

   6Card E: A 1912 newspaper advertisement for the spring sale at Baker's Shoe Store on Main Street in Millbrook.

   Homework passage. The homework uses Source 6, a federal report on an Arizona court case about closing schools.

   1In a recent Arizona case the supreme court of that State decided that a local board of health can order the schools to be closed during an epidemic to prevent the spread of the disease.

   2The board of school trustees of the city of Globe sought to enjoin the enforcement of regulations of the city board of health closing the schools during the epidemic of influenza. It was contended that it was beyond the power of the health board to take such action.

   3The regulations in question declared certain things to be nuisances, among these being holding sessions of schools during the influenza epidemic, and prohibited the same. The court treats very fully of the powers of local boards of health and declares that the action of the health board, in so far as defining and declaring what were nuisances, was void, as being an exercise of the legislative power. The power of the board of health, however, to close the schools during the epidemic was conceded. In treating of this the court said:

   4[...] The adoption by the city local board of health of section 11, the order closing the public schools during the rage of the said epidemic of Spanish influenza, for the purpose of preventing the spread of such epidemic, was a valid measure, adopted within the power of the local city board under the authority of subdivision 3 of paragraph 4370 and on the approval of the State superintendent of public health. Necessity is the law of time and place, and the emergency calls into life the necessity for the operation of the law. The emergency calls forth the occasion to exercise the power to protect the public health.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which line in Source 1 best shows that it was written during a war, for people working on the war effort?

   A"We'll get over the grip trouble just as we will over every other obstacle on our road to Berlin." B"By going to bed an hour earlier and getting up a half hour earlier you may have time to walk." C"Rooms a little too cool are better than those a little too warm." D"So far as possible prevent what comes from the nose or throat of other persons from getting into your nose or throat."

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   For which question is Source 1 least relevant?

   AWhy did health officials tell people to stay out of crowds? BHow did officials explain the way influenza spreads? CHow many shipyard workers caught influenza in 1918? DWhat did officials tell workers to do before eating?

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 2 lists only 61 cases in New York City. Based on paragraph 1, what is the best reason to be careful with that number?

   AInfluenza did not have to be reported in most states BNew York City was not yet part of the influenza epidemic CThe report was written only for doctors in Boston DThe Surgeon General did not trust New York officials

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The Vermont report in Source 2 ends, "Diagnosis not confirmed." What does this tell a researcher?

   AVermont had no influenza at all in September 1918 BThe Vermont report is more exact than the others CVermont doctors refused to send any telegrams DSome reported cases may not have been influenza

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 3, paragraph 2, one writer offers to sell his formula "for a reasonable sum." What was the intended use of his letter?

   ATo warn the government that cures were dangerous BTo report the number of cases in his town CTo make money from a remedy he claimed to have DTo give his advice away to help other people

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does Source 3 mention a patent medicine "now compelled by the Government to be labeled simply a remedy for coughs and colds"?

   ATo show that its earlier promise was not trustworthy BTo show that the medicine was the very best cure for flu CTo show that the government sold the medicine DTo show that the medicine had been tested on flu

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What was the main intended use of Source 4?

   ATo sell a brand-new vaccine against influenza BTo report the cases in each Army camp CTo announce that the epidemic was over DTo correct a misreading and warn people

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   For the compelling question "How could people protect themselves from influenza in the fall of 1918?", which part of Source 4 is most relevant?

   AThe list of countries that sent health officers BThe evidence about sterilizing eating utensils CThe word "recrudescences" in paragraph 1 DThe name of the city where the meeting was held

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 4 says the evidence from Army camps "appeared to show" that clean utensils helped. Why does this wording matter for credibility?

   AThe writer is admitting that the Army camps were invented BIt shows the evidence was a sign, not a proof CThe writer wants readers to stop cleaning their utensils DThe writer is selling a product that cleans utensils

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    How is the intended use of Source 5 different from that of Sources 1-4?

    AIt was written to sell medicine to families in 1918 BIt was written to order schools to close in 1918 CIt was written later, to explain the history to the public DIt was written to correct an interview with the Surgeon General

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 5 says that control efforts "were applied unevenly." Which question is that line most relevant to?

    AWhere did the 1918 virus first begin? BWhat were the symptoms of influenza? CHow old were most of the people who died? DDid every community take the same steps?

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which card is least relevant to Lena's question about why Millbrook built a new water system in 1912?

    ACard A, the minutes of the council meeting BCard E, the newspaper advertisement CCard C, the state board of health report DCard D, the 1962 town history

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    What was the intended use of Card B?

    ATo sell iron water pipes to towns BTo record how the council voted CTo report disease numbers to the governor DTo celebrate the town's 100th birthday

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which card gives Lena the most credible evidence about whether Millbrook's wells were unsafe before 1912?

    ACard B, because the pipe company knew about water BCard D, because it was written by the town's own people CCard A, because the council members were in charge DCard C, because it reports test results to the state

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Evaluate the credibility of Card D for Lena's question. Use both tests and end with a verdict.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Card A is the council's official record of its meeting. Explain what Card A is credible evidence of, and what it cannot prove on its own.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 4 contains both the Public Health Service's own summary and Surgeon General Blue's quoted words. Why are his quoted words especially useful for the question "What did the Surgeon General want the public to do in December 1918?"

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare Source 1 and Source 5. Which is more relevant to the question "What were workers told to do in October 1918?" and which is more relevant to "What kinds of control measures were used around the world?" Explain each choice.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Use two sources on this page, one from 1918 and one written later, to answer: "Was there a medicine that cured influenza in 1918?" Explain why using both makes your answer more credible than using either one alone.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Lena changes her question to "How much did iron water pipes cost in 1911?" Which card becomes more relevant, and how should its intended use affect the way she uses it?

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D3.2.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

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.