Tutor Sheet: Grades 6–8 Social Studies (US)

Diagnostics → Quick fixes you can run in 2–5 minutes each. Tag = the error you’re targeting.

Sourcing, Evidence, Argument

[Sourcing/HAPP]

• Check: Identify Historical context, Audience, Purpose, Point-of-view for a short doc.
• Do: Write one sentence using 2 HAPP elements: “Because the author was ___ writing to ___, the claim may ___.”

[POV/Bias]

• Check: “Is this source reliable?” (student answers yes/no).
• Do: Reframe: “Reliable for what?” Require claim + what this source is good/poor for + why.

[Corroboration]

• Check: Two docs disagree—student picks one.
• Do: Table evidence from both → circle agreements → state what both support (lowest common claim).

[QuoteIntegr]

• Check: Paragraph with a drop quote.
• Do: ICE: Introduce (who/when/why) → Cite → Explain how it proves the point (no naked quotes).

[ThesisScope]

• Check: Thesis is too broad (“Trade caused change”).
• Do: Force time + place + mechanism: “Between 1820–1860 in the Northeast, the rise of canals reallocated labor by …”

[CEI-Paragraph]

• Check: Claim + evidence, no reasoning.
• Do: C-E-I: Claim → Evidence (doc # / fact) → Insight (“Therefore, this shows … because …”).

[Counterclaim]

• Check: No opposing view.
• Do: “Some argue X because Y; however, Z (doc/data) shows …; thus …”

[CompareContrast]

• Check: Lists similarities only.
• Do: 2-and-1: two similarities + one key difference or vice-versa; link to outcome.

Causation, Change, Turning Points

[CausationWeight]

• Check: Student lists causes without ranking.
• Do: Rank A/B/C (most→least) + a because line for each with a fact.

[ContinuityChange]

• Check: “Everything changed.”
• Do: Two-column T-chart “Changed / Continued”; require one item per side + evidence.

[TurningPoint]

• Check: Names a turning point with no “before/after.”
• Do: Sentence frame: “Before X, ___; after X, ___ because ___ (fact).”

Maps & Geographic Reasoning

[MapScale]

• Check: Distance between two cities using a bar scale.
• Do: Convert with the scale, then write unit; require a ± tolerance if hand-measured.

[LatLong]

• Check: Locate 30°N, 90°W.
• Do: Lat = ladder (flat) (N/S); Long = long lines (E/W). Always give lat first.

[ProjectionPitfall]

• Check: “Which is bigger: Greenland or Africa?”
• Do: Show Mercator vs equal-area; teach “projections distort shape/area/distance/direction—state which.”

[ChoroplethTrap]

• Check: Darker color = “more” conclusion without reading legend.
• Do: Read legend; ask “rate or count?” Prefer per-capita/percent for comparisons.

[MapLegend/TAUSL]

• Check: Student misreads symbology.
• Do: Pre-flight T-A-U-S-L: Title • Axes (N-arrow) • Units/Scale • Legend.

[RelativeLocation]

• Check: Uses “there/here” language.
• Do: Require cardinal/intermediate directions and distance: “City A is SE of City B, ~120 km.”

[HEI-Frame] (Human–Environment Interaction)

• Check: Vague “humans affect nature.”
• Do: Use adapt / modify / depend triad with one example for each.

Data, Graphs, Econ Lenses

[GraphAxes]

• Check: Reads a line/bar without units/scale.
• Do: TAUSL again; student must say the scale before answering “how many / how much change.”

[Corr≠Caus]

• Check: Claims “A causes B” from a trend line.
• Do: Sentence scaffold: “A correlates with B; a plausible mechanism is ___; to test causation we’d ___.”

[SupplyDemandShift]

• Check: “If input costs rise, price falls?”
• Do: Quick S/D sketch: S← raises P, lowers Q (ceteris paribus). Always name which curve and why.

[InflationVsPrice]

• Check: “Prices fell this month, so no inflation.”
• Do: Distinguish price level vs inflation rate; rate can slow yet stay >0.

Timelines & Periodization

[TimelineSense]

• Check: Place three events with years in order; note overlaps.
• Do: Use a strip; label before/after/overlap words in the explanation.

[Periodization]

• Check: Calls any date a “new era.”
• Do: Define start/end criteria (political, economic, cultural) and justify both with a fact each.

Source Types & Use

[PrimaryVsSecondary]

• Check: Mislabels a textbook excerpt as “primary.”
• Do: Rule of thumb: created at the time = primary (diary, photo); after, interpreting = secondary. Then ask: “How would each be used differently?”

Deployment tips

• Open a lesson with one diagnostic; close with the matching sentence frame (students copy it).
• For maps/graphs, enforce TAUSL out loud every time until it’s habit.
• In writing tasks, if a paragraph lacks the I in CEI, it’s an automatic revisit.