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Free printable · 2 pages · One per student or pair

Evidence sheet: I can see / That means

The core source-criticism sheet. Students list what is physically visible in a scene in the left column — materials, tools, clothing, transport, signage, vegetation, light — and only then write what each observation rules in or out on the right. The year goes last, with a written justification, so the assessed work is the reasoning rather than the score.

Grades 6–12 · KS2–KS5 · ages 11–18Full lessonA4 & US Letter
Start a five-round game

How to run it

  1. 1Print two pages per student — three rounds on the first sheet, two rounds plus the reflection on the second.
  2. 2Model the first round on the projector and fill the left column as a class, refusing every 'it looks like' until five solid observations are down.
  3. 3Students may not move the year slider until the right-hand column is complete for that round.
  4. 4Collect the sheets rather than the scores. The gap between a confident inference and a weak one is the mark scheme.

Free to photocopy for your classes. Keep the footer credit and use it as often as you like.

Preview — this is exactly what prints

Evidence sheet: I can see / That means

Write only what you can actually see on the left. On the right, write what that detail proves or rules out. Guess the year last.

HistoryGuesser

Name
Class
Date

Fill the left column first. Five observations before anyone touches the year slider — no “it looks like” until the column is full.

Round 1Scene
I can seeThat means / that rules out
Our year
Our place
Because
Round 2Scene
I can seeThat means / that rules out
Our year
Our place
Because
Round 3Scene
I can seeThat means / that rules out
Our year
Our place
Because
Page 1 of 2 · Free to copy for classroom use.historyguesser.app

Evidence sheet: I can see / That means (continued)

Write only what you can actually see on the left. On the right, write what that detail proves or rules out. Guess the year last.

HistoryGuesser

Round 4Scene
I can seeThat means / that rules out
Our year
Our place
Because
Round 5Scene
I can seeThat means / that rules out
Our year
Our place
Because

After the game

Answer in full sentences
  1. Which single detail moved your estimate the most — and could that detail have been restored, rebuilt or faked?
  2. What was not in the scene that you would need before writing a confident date?
  3. Your round with the biggest error: whose reasoning was better, ignoring who was closer?
Page 2 of 2 · Free to copy for classroom use.historyguesser.app

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