Boston Maps: Observe, Compare and Explain

Browse free resources

Help students read historical maps carefully, separate observations from inferences and explain change with evidence. Compare Boston maps from 1775 and 1883 with a short government report, then choose focused practice and follow-up tasks.

A two-lesson inquiry for grades 6–8. Use it within a history or geography course when students are ready to compare sources and qualify an explanation.

Where to start

1. Observe before explaining. Read selected map details around Boston Common. Model the difference between a visible label and an inference.
2. Use another source carefully. Compare the maps with a short 1861 report about earlier Back Bay filling work. Explain what the sources support and what remains uncertain.
3. Respond to students’ work. Use the separate check, focused practice and follow-up tasks. Keep later source details and answers with the teacher until their intended use.

Complete teacher package

Download the Boston map inquiry collection. Includes printable PDFs, editable Word files, HTML text, authentic source details and original source scans. Start with the teacher’s printing guide; share only the student pages needed.

Start Here and teacher guidance

• Start Here: Read Boston Maps as Historical Sources: Printable PDF · Editable Word · HTML text
• Teacher Guide: Teach, Read the Response and Choose a Next Step: Printable PDF · Editable Word · HTML text
• Source and Reading Supports: Printable PDF · Editable Word · HTML text
• Planning Record: Evidence and the Next Teaching Move: Printable PDF · Editable Word · HTML text

Keep the historical reasoning visible

A label is evidence of what the map depicts, not a photograph or a complete account of life in that place. The report records filling work before its publication; it does not establish when every change happened or whose experiences are missing. Ask students to explain the link between each detail and their claim.

Use existing teaching tools when useful

• Distinguish an Inference from a Guess — Practice explaining how a clue supports an inference; the fictional reading task has a different context.
• Compare Two Accounts of the Same Event — Compare what two accounts actually report before judging their differences.
• Write an Evidence-Based Paragraph — Organize an evidence-based paragraph once the historical claim and source limits are sound.
• Evaluate a Web Source’s Credibility — Consider which source can support a particular question; credibility and relevance are separate.
• Objective-to-Assessment Alignment Pack — Match the historical-source goal to the actual task and evidence.
• Check for Understanding and Choose the Next Step — Use the blank next-step record with the map inquiry’s separate criteria; its worked inference example has a different target.
• Clear Directions and Language-Support Pack — Plan neutral directions and response options without supplying the map comparison or historical explanation.
• Boston Maps: Observe, Compare and Explain — Start with the two-lesson sequence, selected print pages and complete teacher package.

Sources and classroom use

The maps and report are authentic historical sources: A new and correct plan of the town of Boston (1775) and Map of Boston for 1883, from the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division; and a Massachusetts legislative report printed in 1861, from the State Library of Massachusetts. The map scans were obtained through Wikimedia Commons. The original works are in the public domain in the United States; the guide supplies source credits and reuse details.

Source images and a report excerpt are included locally, so students do not need to visit an outside site. Map details show selected areas at different scales. Compare named places and what each source depicts; do not infer exact area from their printed size or assume that the report explains every change.

You may print and adapt the original teaching materials for classroom use under the Terms of Use. Retain source credits and identify your changes. The site does not collect student responses. Report a resource issue.