Same Social studies › Reading sources › Sourcing and corroboration
How do kids decide which source to trust?
Sourcing means checking who made a source, when and why before reading it. Corroboration means comparing sources: where do they agree, and where do they disagree? When accounts of the same event differ, kids ask which is closer in time, which maker was there, and what each one might have wanted people to believe.
- Source it: who, when, why.
- Corroborate: compare with other sources.
- Agreement makes a fact stronger. Disagreement is a clue.
Why schools teach it
The same event, told different ways
Middle schoolers analyze how sources on the same topic relate (RH.6-8.9) and find the limits of the historical record (C3 D2.His.10.6-8). These are the skills behind “reading like a historian,” and they're the same ones adults need to judge news and online claims.
A famous example: Patrick Henry's “Give me liberty, or give me death!” speech was written down 42 years later by a biographer, from people's memories. It may be close to what he said, but no one wrote it down at the time.
At the kitchen table
What to say, and what to skip
Say this
Who made this, and when?
SourcingWas the maker there?
What does the other source say?
CorroborationWhy might they tell it differently?
Skip this
- “The first source I read is the truth.”Check at least one more.
- Throwing out a source because it's biased.Ask what it shows about the maker's side.
- Assuming later sources are wrong.Later historians may have more evidence.
See it in action
Two accounts of the Boston Massacre, 1770
Source it
A: Paul Revere's engraving, made weeks later to anger colonists · B: Captain Preston's statement, written by the British officer while awaiting trialCorroborate
Both agree soldiers fired and colonists died. They disagree on who started it.Conclude
Each maker had a reason to blame the other side, so the truth is likely in between.
Stanford's free “Reading Like a Historian” lessons use these same habits.
Free practice sheet
Make a sourcing and corroboration sheet
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Parents also ask
What's the difference between sourcing and corroborating?
Sourcing looks at one source's maker. Corroborating compares sources.
Does closer in time mean more reliable?
Often, but not always. An eyewitness can be biased or confused.
What is bias?
A one-sided view, often from the maker's position or goals. Our point of view and bias guide covers it.
Is this used on tests?
Yes. Many middle school DBQs ask kids to explain why a source might be reliable or not.