Decide how far to trust a source: author, purpose, audience, and a second source
Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use this
Who made it: Mason Locke Weems, a traveling minister and bookseller. For whom: American readers, especially young people. Why: to sell books and to make Washington a role model. Excerpt (seventeenth edition, Philadelphia, 1816, p. 14): "The following anecdote [short story] is a case in point. It is too valuable to be lost, and too true to be doubted; for it was communicated to me by the same excellent lady to whom I am indebted for the last." Summary in our words, not a quotation: Weems tells how George, at about six, cut his father's cherry tree with a hatchet and owned up to it. How far can I trust it? For: Weems says a lady who knew the family told him the story. Against: Weems never names her, and no other source tells the story. Card B (today): "Cherry Tree Myth". Who made it: historians at George Washington's Mount Vernon. For whom: readers today. Why: to explain where the story came from. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Weems invented the story. It first appeared in the fifth edition of his book, in 1806. Almost no evidence survives about Washington and his father. How far can I trust it? For: The historians checked what records survive. Against: They write more than 200 years after the events.
When did the cherry tree story first appear in print, Kira asks?
- 1816
- 1799
- 1806
- 2025
What do the Mount Vernon historians say about the story, Luz asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The tree was found in 1806
- Washington's father told it
- Washington wrote it down
- Weems invented it
Why did Weems write the book, by card A, Milo asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- To sell books and give a role model
- To check records for a museum
- To report a court case
- To write a long letter to his own father
Who was Weems's book written for, Noah asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Washington's family alone
- Readers, especially young people
- Judges in a court
- Visitors to a history museum today
Why might a writer who wants to sell books add an exciting story, Pia asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- It shows the story is true
- It can help the book sell
- Readers want fewer stories
- It makes the book shorter
Ren reads the word reliable. What does a reliable source mean?
Use the picture in question 1.
- One with a famous name on it
- One that is easy to read
- One that is very old
- One with good reason to trust it
Tala reads the word anecdote in card A. What is an anecdote?
Use the picture in question 1.
- A map of a farm
- A short story about a person
- A list of dates
- A law passed by Congress
Zee reads the word myth on card B. In history, what is a myth?
Use the picture in question 1.
- A story from an eyewitness
- A true story told often
- A popular story that is not true
- A story checked in many records
What is the reason against trusting card A, Ari asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- No name, and no second source
- Historians wrote it today
- Weems says it is too true to doubt
- The story is too old to read
Weems writes that the story is too true to be doubted. Does that make it reliable, Bo asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- No; nothing in 1806 was printed
- Yes; the book sold well
- Yes; Weems says it is true
- No; saying so is not evidence