What Survives About the Town
A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on which kinds of record survive from a town's past, and which never do.
What Survives About the Town is a free 40-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.His.9.K-2 — name different kinds of historical source. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten to Grade 2
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.His.9.K-2
Kindergarten to Grade 2 · History
D2.His.9.K-2
Identify different kinds of historical sources.
Objective
Students will be able to name what kinds of record survive and whose lives go unrecorded.
Students are successful when they can
- Names four kinds of source.
- Says what each records well.
- Names a group whose life is barely recorded.
What you need
- All eight Grade 2 sources
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — lay them out
5 min- Lay out the eight sources and name each kind.
- Official, personal, published, physical.
Teach — what survives, and whose life does not
13 min- Official records survive because institutions keep them.
- Personal letters survive by luck, if a family keeps them.
- Ask whose lives appear least. People who wrote nothing and owned little.
- Say the Grade 2 addition: what survives is not a fair sample of who lived.
- Note we know Emma's age and not her thoughts.
“We know Emma was eleven. We know nothing of what she thought, because nobody kept it.”
Guided practice — sort and notice
12 min- Pairs sort twelve items into source and not.
- For four sources they say what each records well.
- They name one group barely represented.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the sources page.
- Read each item aloud.
Close
2 min- Name one thing about the town that nothing records.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Thinks the surviving record is the whole past.
Why: It is all we have.
Fix: Ask whose voice is missing. Absence is information.
Thinks personal sources are unreliable and official ones are not.
Why: Official looks neutral.
Fix: Both were made by people for purposes. Alice's letter is the only voice we have.
Thinks nothing can be said about unrecorded people.
Why: There is no document.
Fix: The census names them even when nothing else does.
If they are not there yet
- Six items rather than twelve.
- Give the kind and say what it records.
If they finish early
- Say what record would have captured Emma's thoughts.
- Say what today will leave for future historians.
- Say which surviving source is rarest.
Exit ticket
Name two kinds of source about the town. Whose life is barely recorded?
What to look for: Two kinds plus a named gap. No gap means the whose-voice-is-missing question needs asking.
Printable practice for D2.His.9.K-2
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- What Survives About the TownSort each one into source or not.
Questions about What Survives About the Town
How long does the What Survives About the Town lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does What Survives About the Town teach?
D2.His.9.K-2 — D2.His.9.K-2, History for Kindergarten to Grade 2: “Identify different kinds of historical sources.” In plain terms, name different kinds of historical source.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
All eight Grade 2 sources and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: thinks the surviving record is the whole past; thinks personal sources are unreliable and official ones are not and thinks nothing can be said about unrecorded people. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Name two kinds of source about the town. Whose life is barely recorded?.” Two kinds plus a named gap. No gap means the whose-voice-is-missing question needs asking. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with What Survives About the Town?
Yes — 1 printable D2.His.9.K-2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is What Survives About the Town free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.His.9.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.