Reading
Lesson Plan
Historical Detective Lesson Plan
Students will act as historical detectives, analyzing primary sources to solve a mysterious 19th-century event. They will collaborate to gather evidence, draw conclusions, and present their findings.
This lesson builds critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and historical empathy by engaging students in active primary-source analysis and collaborative problem-solving.
Audience
Time
Approach
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials and Stations
10 minutes
Step 1
Hook & Mystery Introduction
5 minutes
Step 2
Source Exploration
15 minutes
Step 3
Analysis Stations
15 minutes
Step 4
Debriefing Debate
10 minutes
Step 5
Reflection & Wrap-Up
5 minutes
Slide Deck
Mystery Case Files: The 1875 Missing Shipment
Historical Context
Meet the Primary Sources
Guiding Questions
Analysis Stations
Debriefing Debate
Reflection & Next Steps
Lesson Plan
Historical Detective Lesson Plan
Students will assume the role of historical detectives to analyze 19th-century primary sources, collaborate in station rotations, and debate competing theories to solve the 1875 missing shipment mystery.
This lesson builds critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and historical empathy through hands-on analysis of authentic documents. Collaboration and debate reinforce communication skills and deepen understanding of how historians reconstruct events from fragmentary evidence.
Audience
Time
Approach
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials and Stations
10 minutes
Step 1
Hook & Mystery Introduction
5 minutes
Step 2
Source Exploration
15 minutes
Step 3
Analysis Stations
15 minutes
Step 4
Debriefing Debate
10 minutes
Step 5
Reflection & Wrap-Up
5 minutes
Activity
Discussion
