MassachusettsHISTORY EXPLORERS GRADES 3–8
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Quick glossary
evidence
Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.

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Zitkála-Šá

1876–1938

Portrait of Zitkála-Šá
Zitkála-Šá Image source & credit ↗
Massachusetts connection

Studied music in Boston

Zitkála-Šá was a Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and advocate for Native rights. She studied violin at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Her writing described the harm of schools that forced Native children to give up parts of their cultures, and she worked for citizenship and voting rights.

You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.

Find a detail. Build an idea.

  1. What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
  2. How did this person care for a community, its rights, or its knowledge?
  3. What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?

“Zitkála-Šá mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”

Follow the evidence.

This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.

Read the source: National Park Service ↗

Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?

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