History // Historical Thinking

Checking Sources Against Each Other

Corroborate: check whether multiple sources agree on the same facts — and investigate why they might not

Ages
8 to 10
Type
Thinking skill
Builds on
5 topics
Leads to
3 topics

Quick check

If the learner was trying to find out what really happened in a historical event, would they know to look at more than one source and compare what they say?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Wineburg corroboration heuristic
  • Historical Thinking in the Elementary Years (ERIC)

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

5 topics
  • Vocabulary: historical thinkingRequired

    Historical Thinking // Ages 6 to 10

    Corroborating sources requires the term 'corroborate' and 'evidence'

  • Questioning Historical SourcesRequired

    Historical Thinking // Ages 8 to 10

    Corroborating across sources requires first knowing how to evaluate each source individually through sourcing

  • Different Accounts of the Same EventHelpful

    Historical Thinking // Ages 6 to 8

    Corroboration builds directly on the understanding that accounts can differ — it is the systematic practice of comparing those differences

  • Describing Rules & PatternsHelpful

    Learning to Learn // Learning to Learn // Ages 8 to 9

    Corroboration involves forming a generalisation from multiple instances of evidence — the universal generalisation habit applied to historical sources

  • Evidence-Based WritingHelpful

    English // Writing Composition // Ages 9 to 11

    Corroborating information across multiple historical sources requires the skill of drawing and evaluating evidence from informational texts, as taught in English

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Checking Sources Against Each Other

Ages 8 to 10 // Thinking skill

Leads to

3 topics
  • Evidence Versus InterpretationRequired

    Historical Thinking // Ages 10 to 11

    Understanding that the same evidence supports different interpretations requires first having practised comparing sources through corroboration

  • Historical Sources on Ancient EgyptHelpful

    Ancient Egypt // Ages 11 to 13

    Evaluating how knowledge of ancient Egypt is built from multiple source types, and why the same artefact can be interpreted differently, is corroboration in a domain-specific context

  • Who Really Built the PyramidsHelpful

    Ancient Egypt // Ages 12 to 14

    Comparing archaeological evidence from worker villages against popular myths requires corroborating across multiple source types

History // Historical Thinking

More in Historical Thinking

All 7 topics