Evidence from the Past
Understand that everything we know about the past comes from evidence — objects, buildings, pictures, documents, and stories that have survived
What a learner can do afterwards
- Wineburg historical thinking framework
- Historical Thinking in the Elementary Years (ERIC)
The lesson
Long, long ago is called the past. No one alive today saw dinosaurs or knights in armor. So how do we know about them? We look at evidence: things left behind, like old objects, buildings, pictures, and stories.
Sam found an old coin in his backyard. It is round, has strange writing, and looks nothing like coins today. That coin is evidence. Someone made it and used it long ago, and it helps us learn about that time.
If you wonder how we know something about long ago, ask: what is the evidence? If there is no evidence, we cannot be sure it really happened that way.
Everything we know about the past comes from evidence: objects, buildings, pictures, or stories that were left behind and found again.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.