LAUNCH · Week 1 of 8

Source Investigation

Humanities · Migration & the Making of Modern Teesside

Progress SoW · Humanities Aut 1 · 2026–27 · LAUNCH · Week 1

Enquiry: How far does a source support a claim?

Success looks like

I can investigate a source: nature, origin and purpose
I can cross-check a claim against a second source
I can state a supported first hypothesis

Aspire · GCSE reach: write your hypothesis as a one-sentence thesis you could defend.

Teacher Print Tools — Week 1

Arrival Task

Arrival Task – What Do You Already Know?

1. Sources (Recall)

Name three source types.

Photo, census, letter, map, newspaper, object…

2. Shows (Recall)

'The photo shows cranes.' Shows or suggests?

Shows.

3. Claim (Recall)

What is a claim?

A statement someone asserts is true.

4. Local (Recall)

What was found in the Eston Hills in 1850?

Ironstone.

1. Layers (Recall)

Tells, suggests, and…?

Withholds.

2. Support (Think)

Can a source PARTLY support a claim?

Yes — support runs on a spectrum, not a switch.

3. Anchor (Recall)

Every inference needs a…?

Detail it points to.

4. Language (Recall)

Which claims least: shows, suggests, proves?

Shows (of content); suggests for inference; proves is rare.

1. Precision (Apply)

Improve: 'The source proves the port was busy.'

'The source supports the claim of activity that day; frequency needs more.'

2. Spectrum (Think)

Sketch the support spectrum in four steps.

Fully supports · partly supports · is silent · undermines.

3. Scope (Think)

A source supports a claim for 1907 only. What's the limit called?

Scope/temporal limit — one moment can't carry a decade.

4. Exam (Recall)

GCSE stem: 'How far does Source A support…' — what's demanded?

A measured judgement with cited detail both ways.

Starter

Starter: The Claim on Trial

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?

📷

Exhibit A

Three ships, full quay, 1907

One morning

✅

Supports

Activity, cargo, labour visible

Cited detail

⚠️

Limits

One day ≠ a decade; staged?

Scope + purpose

⚖️

Verdict

'Partly — for that morning, strongly'

Measured

Pairs: give the photo a support score out of 10 for the claim — and name the detail that set your number.

I Do

I Do: The Support Spectrum

Key Idea: 'How far' questions demand a position on a spectrum: fully supports — partly — silent — undermines. Every position must cite its details.

👀 Look: “partly” is not a hedge. It names exactly how much of the claim your source can reach.

📖 The Spectrum

Fully supports — Multiple details align with the claim's full scope.

Partly supports — Details align with some of the claim — name which part.

Silent / undermines — Says nothing on it — or actively cuts against it.

🧠 Watch me think

Watch me place Exhibit A: the claim says 'thriving in the 1900s' — plural years. My photo gives one morning: ships (detail), full quay (detail), gangs working (detail). Strong FOR that morning; silent on the other 3,651 days. Position: partly supports — strongly for its moment, unable to speak for the decade. Cited both ways.

We Do

We Do: Where on the Spectrum?

How to play: Claim: 'the dock thrived through the 1900s.' Tap each evidence note, then its spectrum position. Score: 0/8

Step 1: Tap an item · Step 2: Tap its group

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

✅ SUPPORTS STRONGLY

🟡 PARTLY / LIMITED

❌ UNDERMINES

I Do

I Do: Weighing Support Against Provenance

Key Idea: Support is content × credibility: a detail counts for less when purpose, moment or distance weakens the witness.

📖 Weighing Moves

Purpose discount — The postcard's 'bustling' is advertising — support shrinks.

Moment discount — One morning cannot carry 'through the 1900s'.

Distance discount — A 1950 memoir remembers 1907 through 43 years of fog.

🧠 Watch me think

Same spectrum, now weighted: the ledger outranks the photo — years of standardised entries versus one morning's frame. The postcard's caption is enthusiastic and PAID to be. My verdict sentence carries the weights: 'The ledgers and receipts support the claim strongly; the photo adds texture for a single day; the caption adds little beyond intent.'

We Do

We Do: Match the Source → Its Support Weight (and Why)

How to play: Tap a card, then tap its correct partner. Score: 0/6

Teaching archive — reconstructed from period records for this lesson. The documents are illustrative; the substance reflects Teesside’s documented history.

📒 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

Independent Work

Independent Work — Show What You Know

Instructions: Work at your level on the printed sheet. Move up a level when you are ready — this is your call to make.

Supported

Task: Spectrum board: place 5 evidence cards for the dock claim, then complete the verdict frame.

Steps: Place each card · say the detail that placed it · frame: 'Overall the sources ___ support the claim because…'

Standard

Task: Full 'how far' answer for the dock claim: spectrum positions, one weighting discount applied, measured verdict.

Steps: Two supports cited · one limit cited · one discount (purpose/moment/distance) · verdict with 'how far' answered in degree words.

Stretch

Task: Two-claim workout: run the same source set against a SECOND claim ('dock work was secure') and explain why support shifts.

Steps: Both spectrums built · the shifting sources identified · why the same evidence supports differently · dual measured verdicts.

Lundy Loop

Lundy Loop — Your Voice in This Enquiry

Why: Article 12 — your view on this history counts, and it changes what we do next week.

🚪 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.

Exit Ticket

Instructions: Answer independently. No notes.

1.

Name the four spectrum positions.

Fully · partly · silent · undermines.

2.

Why can't one photo carry 'through the 1900s'?

One moment — scope limit.

3.

Every position must cite its…?

Details.

1.

Name the three discounts.

Purpose, moment, distance.

2.

Which source outweighed the photo, and why?

The ledger — standardised, spans years.

3.

Answer 'how far' in one measured line.

E.g. 'Substantially, for activity; weakly, for continuity.'

1.

Why did support shift between the two claims?

Claims have different scopes; evidence aligns selectively.

2.

A source that undermines is still useful. Why?

It tests the claim — undermining evidence sharpens verdicts.

3.

Draft the GCSE stem this lesson rehearsed.

'How far does Source A support the claim that…' — measured, cited, weighed.

Knowledge Organiser (LAUNCH W1): Source Investigation

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

Key Facts

Support is content × credibility — both get weighed.
One vivid moment never outweighs years of standardised records.
Undermining sources are gifts: they make verdicts honest.
'How far' is the GCSE's favourite question — LAUNCH answers it in degrees.

Arrival Task

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?

Starter: The Claim on Trial

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?

We Do 1: Where on the Spectrum?

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

We Do 2: Match the Source → Its Support Weight (and Why)

Draw lines to match:

Teaching archive — reconstructed from period records for this lesson. The documents are illustrative; the substance reflects Teesside’s documented history.

📒 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

Scaffolding – Supported

Word Bank

supports, partly, limit, detail, because, verdict

Frames

"This supports the claim because…" | "But it cannot show…" | "Overall the sources ___ support the claim."

Scaffolding – Standard

'How Far' Structure

For: two cited details. Limit: one cited. Discount: purpose/moment/distance applied. Verdict: degree words — substantially / partly / barely.

Scaffolding – Stretch

Dual-claim frames

"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 ___"

📘 Reference Zone — keep this beside your work

Every position must cite its details. A position with no detail is just an opinion.

The four positions

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…”

The three discounts — why a detail can count for less

📣 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.

Degree words for your verdict

substantially · partly · barely — pick one and defend it. “Overall the sources ___ support the claim, because ___.”

Watch the scope. A claim about a decade is 3,652 days. Ask what share of it your source can actually witness.

Independent Work – Supported

Spectrum Board Record

1) My placements (source → position):

2) The detail that placed my strongest card:

3) Verdict frame completed:

Independent Work – Standard

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:

Independent Work – Stretch

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:

Exit Ticket – Supported

1) Name the four spectrum positions.

2) Why can't one photo carry 'through the 1900s'?

3) Every position must cite its…?

Exit Ticket – Standard

1) Name the three discounts.

2) Which source outweighed the photo, and why?

3) Answer 'how far' in one measured line.

Exit Ticket – Stretch

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.

Lundy Loop — this lesson

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: