Humanities Aut 1 · 2026–27 · Enquiry: How far does a source support a claim?
| Key Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Claim | An asserted statement to be tested |
| Support spectrum | Fully · partly · silent · undermines |
| Scope limit | A source can't exceed its moment/place |
| Purpose discount | Persuasive intent shrinks weight |
| Distance discount | Time between event and record shrinks weight |
| Measured verdict | 'How far' answered in degrees, cited both ways |
1) Name three source types.
2) 'The photo shows cranes.' Shows or suggests?
3) What is a claim?
4) What was found in the Eston Hills in 1850?
1) Tells, suggests, and…?
2) Can a source PARTLY support a claim?
3) Every inference needs a…?
4) Which claims least: shows, suggests, proves?
1) Improve: 'The source proves the port was busy.'
2) Sketch the support spectrum in four steps.
3) A source supports a claim for 1907 only. What's the limit called?
4) GCSE stem: 'How far does Source A support…' — what's demanded?
Key Question: Claim: 'Middlesbrough's dock was thriving in the 1900s.' Exhibit A: one photograph, one morning, 1907. How far can one frozen moment carry that claim?
Groups: ✅ SUPPORTS STRONGLY, 🟡 PARTLY / LIMITED, ❌ UNDERMINES. Sort: Port ledger: rising tonnage 1901–09, The 1907 photo — one busy morning, 1908 strike report: quay idle six weeks, Postcard captioned 'our bustling dock', Harbour dues receipts climbing yearly, Trade directory: two shippers folded 1905, A docker's memoir, written 1950, New crane investment minuted 1906
Draw lines to match:
📒 Port tonnage ledger · 📷 1907 quay photograph · 🖼️ 'Bustling dock' postcard · 📰 1908 strike report · 📓 Docker's 1950 memoir · 🗂️ 1906 crane investment minutes
Counter-weight — undermines continuity · Moderate — vivid but momentary · Heavy — standardised, spans the years · Heavy — money moved on the expectation · Light-moderate — distance discount applies · Light — purpose discounts the caption
supports, partly, limit, detail, because, verdict
"This supports the claim because…" | "But it cannot show…" | "Overall the sources ___ support the claim."
For: two cited details. Limit: one cited. Discount: purpose/moment/distance applied. Verdict: degree words — substantially / partly / barely.
"Against claim A, ___ weighs heavily; against claim B it thins because ___" | "The scope of claim B exceeds what ___ can witness" | "My verdicts differ in degree because ___"
Every position must cite its details. A position with no detail is just an opinion.
| Position | What it means | Say it like this |
|---|---|---|
| FULLY | Several details align with the claim’s full scope. | “This supports the claim because…” |
| PARTLY | Details align with some of the claim — name which part. | “Strong for ___, but it cannot show ___” |
| SILENT | Says nothing on it either way. | “This is silent on ___” |
| UNDERMINES | Actively cuts against the claim. | “This weighs against the claim because…” |
📣 Purpose — it was made to persuade or sell. 🕑 Moment — it only witnesses one moment, not the span. 📏 Distance — it was recorded long after, from memory.
substantially · partly · barely — pick one and defend it. “Overall the sources ___ support the claim, because ___.”
Watch the scope. A claim about a decade is 3,653 days. Ask what share of it your source can actually witness.
Spectrum Board Record
1) My placements (source → position):
2) The detail that placed my strongest card:
3) Verdict frame completed:
How Far — Full Answer
1) Support 1 + cited detail:
2) Support 2 + cited detail:
3) Limit + cited detail:
4) Discount applied (name it):
5) Measured verdict:
Two Claims, One Source Set
1) Spectrum for claim A (summary line):
2) Spectrum for claim B (summary line):
3) Which sources shifted, and why:
4) Dual verdicts, both measured:
1) Name the four spectrum positions.
2) Why can't one photo carry 'through the 1900s'?
3) Every position must cite its…?
Space → Voice → Audience → Influence. The adult’s first job is Space: regulate before you educate.
| Space | The Courtroom corner is standing all term — exhibits stay handleable, and you may re-try any verdict. |
| Voice | Read your verdict sentence aloud as counsel; the bench (the class) may probe your cited details only. |
| Audience | Your best verdicts form the model-answer wall for the GCSE groups upstairs — real exam-year readers. |
| Influence | Choose Week 2's trial: which causation claim goes to the courtroom? Your docket, your call. |
Closing the loop: this one ends on paper — your own hand, or your words scribed by an adult. Saying it aloud starts the loop; writing it is what closes it. Pass is always allowed.
What I said, and what it changed:
Keep with your book / folder.
| Pupil name: | Date: |
| WWW (What Went Well): | |
| EBI (Even Better If): | |
| Level worked at: Supported / Standard / Stretch | Evidence filed: Yes / Not yet |
| Authorship — what I chose or decided myself: | |
| Support given — prepared / scribed / modelled / hand-over-hand: | |
| Pupil response — my next step: | |
1) Name the three discounts.
2) Which source outweighed the photo, and why?
3) Answer 'how far' in one measured line.
1) Why did support shift between the two claims?
2) A source that undermines is still useful. Why?
3) Draft the GCSE stem this lesson rehearsed.
LAUNCH Humanities · Week 1 · Source Investigation
Add your class once — names stay on this device only, and every Made by Matt lesson on it shares the list. Band each pupil so questions are tier-matched.
Pass is always allowed — passing still counts as taking part.