STANFORD HISTORY EDUCATION GROUP sheg.stanford.edu
Name____________
Lunchroom Fight
Imagine that you are the principal of a school and you just found out that there
was a fight in the lunchroom during lunch. You’ve asked many students and
teachers who witnessed the fight to write down what they saw and who they think
started the fight. Unfortunately, you have received many conflicting accounts
that disagree not only as to who started the fight, but also as to who was involved
and when the fight even started. It’s important to remember that NO ONE is just
plain lying.
In your group, answer the following questions:
Why would there be different stories of the event if no one is just plain lying?
What are the different types of people who might have seen this fight? (e.g.,
friends of those involved; people who don’t know the kids who were fighting;
those who were fighting; teachers; students)
What might make one person’s story more believable or plausible than another
person’s?
