Teacher guide · Curious Lab · Harder · about 40 min

🏺 Historical Source Sleuth

Pupils practise curiosity through "Historical Source Sleuth": Weigh evidence instead of believing every account.

Lesson guide

1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🏺 mission title and read the opening: "A diary written during an event is usually…". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Sniff the Beagle's line as your prompt: "Great question! Ready to dig one layer deeper? Pick your next mission below."
3. Do · 15 min
Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used curiosity today.

What was the hardest choice in "Historical Source Sleuth", and why?
A diary written during an event is usually… — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Why compare different accounts — explain your reasoning to a partner.
A poster praises a ruler. What should you consider — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Where could you use curiosity outside school this week?
If you did this again, what would you change?

Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.

Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.

National Curriculum: History: chronology, sources and significant people and events
National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically — asking questions and observing
National Curriculum: Geography/History: enquiry and using sources
PSHE: Living in the wider world: media literacy and checking information

Pupil sheet

Name: ____________________ Date: __________

1. A diary written during an event is usually…
☐ A future prediction
☐ A primary source
☐ Always perfectly accurate
2. Why compare different accounts?
☐ Because no source has any value
☐ They may reveal different views and missing details
☐ To pick the shortest
3. A poster praises a ruler. What should you consider?
☐ Only its colour
☐ That praise must be true
☐ Who made it and why
4. Connect the clues to their meanings.
Eyewitness diary → ________________
Modern history textbook → ________________
Reason for creating a source → ________________
5. Imagine two sources about a school match: a player’s diary and a newspaper report. Explain how you would compare them.