Life in a Box

Integrating This Into Your Lessons

To prepare:

1. Place primary source clues about an individual in an envelope or box. Depending on size of group, participants may share one box or work individually.  Boxes will be differentiated according to reading ability, background knowledge, or media type. Include the bibliographic record.  Red = most challenging, Blue = average difficulty, Green = least challenging.
2. Determine student grouping and assignment of boxes.
3. Post criteria for Sleuth levels, apprentice, journeyman, master.
4. Model “What’s in you Pocket?” warm-up activity with the whole group, actions 1 through 8 below.
5. Rate the hypothesis from the groups’ What’s in Your Pocket activity 

Evaluating a Hypothesis:

• Master Sleuth: uses evidence from an examination, subject knowledge, and research with multiple sources to support a hypothesis.
• Journeyman Sleuth: uses evidence from an examination and subject knowledge to
  support a hypothesis.
• Apprentice Sleuth: makes a hypothesis without specific evidence to support it.

“What’s in Your Pocket?” 

1. Find a partner, preferably someone not very familiar. 
2. Choose an item from a pocket, purse, or bag. Sample items might be keys, receipts, jewelry, or other items.
3. Learn about your partner through the routine, Describe, Question, Guess

Describe objectively the item (a primary source artifact under examination) to a partner.

Work as a Historical Sleuth to ask and then the partner answers a few questions about the item.

Guess or make a hypothesis about the owner of the item’s life based on the discoveries.

*Offer evidence to support or refute the hypothesis. Evaluate the Sleuth level of the hypothesis.

4. Repeat the process, switching roles with the partner.
5. Once the activity has finished, discuss the following:

• What professionals work in this manner?
• How could you support your hypothesis about someone’s life to improve your Sleuth level? 
• What types of thinking were you and your partner using?