Who Was This Made For?
A 45-minute Grade 3 lesson on working out a source's intended audience and purpose from the source itself.
Who Was This Made For? is a free 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.His.11.3-5 — work out who a source was made for and why, from the source itself. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.His.11.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · History
D2.His.11.3-5
Infer the intended audience and purpose of a historical source from information within the source itself.
Objective
Students will be able to infer who a source was made for using evidence inside it.
Students are successful when they can
- Names the intended audience.
- Quotes the words that show it.
- Says what the source expects its reader to do.
What you need
- The toll table, poster, timetable and petition
- Sticky flags for marking evidence
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — who is being addressed
5 min- Read 'To the honourable members' and ask who that is.
- Establish that a source often names its reader.
Teach — the clues inside
15 min- Toll table: charges per ton, posted at the wharf. Audience: boat owners about to load.
- Ask what it expects them to do. Work out a cost and decide.
- Poster: 'vote for'. Audience: people entitled to vote. Expects: a vote on 12 January.
- Timetable: fares and times. Audience: travellers. Expects: catching a train.
- Say the method: find the words that assume something about the reader.
- Add the harder case: who was the register written for? Inspectors, not the admitted.
“What does this document assume you already are?”
Guided practice — flag the evidence
13 min- Pairs flag the audience clue in four sources.
- For each they write what the source expects the reader to do.
- Groups compare the register, where the audience is not named.
Independent practice
9 min- Students complete the 'Reading Past the Words' page.
- Check the answer quotes something rather than guessing.
Close
3 min- Ask which source has the narrowest audience.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Says the audience is 'people'.
Why: It is true of everything.
Fix: Which people? The toll table is useless to somebody with no barge.
Assumes we are the audience.
Why: We are the ones reading it.
Fix: It was not written for us. That is why it leaves out what we most want.
Guesses the audience without evidence.
Why: The guess feels obvious.
Fix: Flag the words. 'Per ton' and 'vote for' are the evidence.
If they are not there yet
- Two sources with the audience clue underlined.
- Match a source to one of two audiences.
If they finish early
- Work out the audience of a source that never names one.
- Say how the toll table would differ if written for the public.
- Name a source whose audience changed over time.
Exit ticket
Who was the canal toll table made for, and which words in it show that?
What to look for: Boat owners, shown by charges per ton posted at the wharf. An audience with no quoted evidence means the inference step is missing.
Printable practice for D2.His.11.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Reading Past the WordsLook at the source, then answer the questions.
Questions about Who Was This Made For?
How long does the Who Was This Made For? lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 13 min, independent practice 9 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Who Was This Made For? teach?
D2.His.11.3-5 — D2.His.11.3-5, History for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Infer the intended audience and purpose of a historical source from information within the source itself.” In plain terms, work out who a source was made for and why, from the source itself.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The toll table, poster, timetable and petition, sticky flags for marking evidence and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says the audience is 'people'; assumes we are the audience and guesses the audience without evidence. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Who was the canal toll table made for, and which words in it show that?.” Boat owners, shown by charges per ton posted at the wharf. An audience with no quoted evidence means the inference step is missing. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Who Was This Made For??
Yes — 1 printable D2.His.11.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Who Was This Made For? free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.His.11.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.