Learning Map
HistoryHistorical Thinkingusually ages 8–10

Questioning Historical Sources

Before trusting a historical source, ask: who made this, when, and why? — the answers shape how much weight the source should carry

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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Try this together

When your child looks at a historical document, photograph, or account, do they ask who created it and what that person's reasons or point of view might have been?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Different Accounts of the Same Eventages 6–8Sourcing — asking who made this and why — is the analytical tool for explaining why accounts of the same event differ
Vocabulary: historical thinkingages 6–10Evaluating a source requires 'primary source', 'secondary source', 'bias' vocabulary
Reading between the linesages 5–10Interrogating historical sources with critical questions builds on the skill of asking and answering questions about key details in non-fiction texts
Inferring Characters' Feelings and Motivesages 7–10Asking who made a source, when, and why — and interpreting what that means — requires the inference skills developed in English reading comprehension
Understanding Whyages 8–9Sourcing is elaborative interrogation applied to historical documents — asking not just what it says but why it was made
Questioning Historical Sourcesthis skill · ages 8–10
Unlocks
Checking Sources Against Each Otherages 8–10Corroborating across sources requires first knowing how to evaluate each source individually through sourcing
Evidence Versus Interpretationages 10–11Distinguishing evidence from interpretation requires sourcing skill — you must understand who made the evidence and why before you can see that interpretations are layered on top
Evidence for Greek and Roman Lifeages 9–11Historical Thinking source evaluation skills underpin Greek/Roman evidence evaluation
Modern Archaeology and Egyptian Ethicsages 10–12Critically evaluating modern archaeological methods and the ethics of who owns artefacts applies the sourcing habit to contemporary historical practice

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 2 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9HS6S04low confidenceYear 6 · Skills

evaluate primary and secondary sources to determine origin, purpose and perspectives

AC9HS5S04low confidenceYear 5 · Skills

evaluate primary and secondary sources to determine origin, purpose and perspectives

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

HS2-HIS-01medium confidenceHSIE K-6 · Stage 2
HS3-CWT-01medium confidenceHSIE K-6 · Stage 3

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2HH6S03medium confidenceHistory · Levels 5 and 6 · Historical Concepts and Skills strand
VC2HH4S03medium confidenceHistory · Levels 3 and 4 · Historical Concepts and Skills strand
VC2HH6S04medium confidenceHistory · Levels 5 and 6 · Historical Concepts and Skills strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Checking Sources Against Each Otherages 8–10 Understanding People in Their Own Timeages 8–10 Different Accounts of the Same Eventages 6–8 Evidence from the Pastages 6–7

All Historical Thinking skills →