Room 9 Illustrates the Importance of Primary Sources

In 5th and 6th grade, we've been talking about first-hand, or primary, sources, and the importance of eyewitness accounts and original documents in research. The students saw how a message can be distorted as it passes through different interpretations by playing a couple of games. First, we did "Telephone" with kid-created sentences like "My cheerios are stale, but I still eat them." and "I threw up because I went to the candy store for breakfast."

Then, we did a written version:

• Step 1: Write an adjective and a noun at the top of a piece of paper. Pass it to the left.
• Step 2: Draw an illustration of the adjective and noun that your neighbor just handed to you.
• Step 3: Fold down the paper so that only your drawing is showing. Pass it to the left.
• Step 4: Write an adjective and noun to describe the drawing that your neighbor just handed to you.
• Step 5: Fold down the paper so that only your words are showing. Pass it to the left.

And so on.

Here are some of the results:

Small fish > Swimming turtle

Fat lamp > Giant dog

Fluffy person > Nice boy

Spotty cheetah > Demented cat

Small mouse > Flying Christmas reindeer

Running bunny > Hairy monkey

Note: Here is a PDF of the template you can use to play at home. You can also buy a version of this game called Telestrations.