Transcript Thinking Like An Historian: Assessment Using Historical

Successful Strategies for
Implementing
Document-Based Questions
Scholars of History Integrating Primary Sources
SHIPS: An American Journey
University of Texas
June 21, 2004
What is Critical Thinking?
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Metacognition: Thinking about our
thinking
“Quality control of the mind”
Critical Thinking is the ability to think
about one’s thinking in such a way as to:
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recognize its strengths and weaknesses.
recast the thinking in improved form.
Is Memory Malleable?
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“Memories are malleable and
vulnerable to post-event information
- facts, ideas, and suggestions that
come along after the event has
happened. You can, unknowingly,
integrate this information into your
memory, modifying what you
believe you saw, hear, experienced.”
(Loftus, 2001)
Then what is “genuine” history?
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If pupils are to learn genuine history they
will need to understand how the
discipline works, about the basis of
historical knowledge, and about what
marks off the historical from the practical
past…Without an understanding of what
makes an account historical, there is
nothing to distinguish it from the ability
to recite sagas, legends, myths or poems.
(Bourdillion, 1997)
Why is this important?
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“…students whose teachers reported using
primary historical documents such as
letters, diaries, or essays written by
historical figures, on a weekly basis, had
higher average scores than those whose
teachers did so less frequently.”
The Nation’s Report Card: U.S. History 2001 Executive Summary
Why is this important?
Factors Affecting Admission Decisions – 2001
NACAC Bulletin – November 2001
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Why is this important?
90
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70
Hispanic
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Minority Subtotal
50
White/Causasian
40
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Taken by US Students
0
1979
1984
1991
1994
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The College Board , 2004
Why is this important?
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Beginning in March 2005, students taking
the PSAT/NMSQT and/or SAT will be
required to write an essay.
The High School ELA TAKS requires
students to evaluate multiple
documents/sources and write an essay.
What are Primary Sources?
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Primary Sources are actual
records that have survived from
the past – letters, artifacts, maps,
photographs, articles of clothing.
What are Secondary Sources?
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Secondary Sources are accounts
of the past created by people
writing about events sometime
after they happened – textbooks,
secondhand descriptions or
analyses
What types of historical
evidence or accounts are used?
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Graphs
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Charts
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Maps
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Cartoons
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Photographs
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Artwork
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Eyewitness Accounts
"I remembered how Pearl Harbor looked the previous
August," Adams said. "It was filled with what seemed like
hundreds of ships--battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers
and destroyers. I thought nobody would be able to defeat
us. Now Battleship Row was wrecked. Four battleships
were sunk, and the other three were damaged. There was
oil and every type of debris floating in the harbor. I said to
myself, 'This will go down in history. Everybody in the
United States should see this.' I was only 17 1/2 years
old.”
-Joseph H. "Jack" Adams
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Historical Documents
Preamble to the United States Constitution
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States of America.
The Historical Record
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Contains both Primary and Secondary
Sources.
The Historical Record is huge.
Is only a tiny glimpse of the past.
Most of what happened was never
documented.
Much has been lost or destroyed.
Your Historical Record Assignment
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What kind of historical records do
you leave behind in your daily life?
Think about all the activities you
were involved in during the past 24
hours. List as many of these
activities as you can
remember…….
Your Historical Record Assignment
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Did you create any records of your
activities? – diary, notes to yourself, letter
or email to friend or relative
Would traces of your activities appear in
records someone else created? – diary,
notes, calendar entry, letter or email
Would traces of your activities appear in
school records?
Your Historical Record Assignment
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Did you write a check or use a charge card?
Would anyone be able to offer testimony
(oral history) about your activities (who
and why)?
What’s in your trash?
Your Historical Record Assignment
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Which of your daily
activities were most likely
to leave trace evidence
behind?
Your Historical Record Assignment
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If future archaeologists had
the materials mentioned, what
could they infer or conclude
about your life?
What could they conclude
about your family,
community, region or nation?
Your Historical Record Assignment
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Choose one primary source
document that you have with
you today.
Your Historical Record Assignment
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Who is the author of this item?
What is the place and time of this item?
What prior knowledge do you have about
the item?
Who is the audience for this item?
Why was this item developed?
What is the main idea of this item?
What is the item’s significance?
Rationale for Using Primary
Sources:
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Expose students to multiple perspectives of
issues past and present.
Most issues were furiously debated at the
time – why stop now?!
Help students develop knowledge, skills
and analytical abilities – think critically,
make intelligent inferences, develop
reasoned explanations
Selecting Primary Sources
 Teach
the TEKS
 What are your
goals and
objectives for the
lesson?
Selecting Primary Sources
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Interest – what is interesting to my
students?
Reading Level – what is the reading level
of the source compared to my students’
abilities?
Length – Do I need to excerpt a portion of
the source for my students? Can I excerpt
a portion and preserve the meaning of the
source?
Time and Place Rule
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The closer in time and place a source and
its creator were to an event in the past, the
better the source will be –
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Direct traces of the event
Accounts of the event by firsthand observers
Secondhand accounts of the event from
interviews or evidence at the time of the
event
Bias Rule
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Every source is biased in some way –
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Every piece of evidence and every source must be
read or viewed skeptically and critically.
No piece of evidence should be taken at face value.
The creator’s point of view must be considered.
Each must be cross-checked and compared with
related sources and pieces of evidence!
How can teachers use historical
records?
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Ask students to relate a
single document or group
of documents to a previous
reading assignment.
Ask students to develop
lengthier, more developed
essays based on a wider
array of research.
APPARTS
Author
Place and Time
Prior Knowledge
Audience
Reason
The Main Idea
Significance
APPARTS
Author
Who created the source? What do you know about the author?
What is the author’s point of view?
Place and Time
Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect
the meaning of the source?
Prior Knowledge
Beyond information about the author and the context of its
created, what do you know that would help you further understand
the primary source? For example, do you recognize any symbols
and recall what they represent?
Audience
For whom was the source created and how might this affect the
reliability of the source?
Reason
Why was this source produced at the time it was produced?
The Main Idea
What point is the source trying to convey?
Significance
Why is this source important? What inferences can you draw from
this document? As yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question
asked.
Online Sites for Historical Records:
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DBQ Teaching with Documents
http://www.edteck.com/dbq/index
.htm
Doing History – Great Source
Education Group 1-800-289-4490
http://www.greatsource.com
Online Sites for Historical Records:
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The National Archives
www.nara.gov
The Library of Congress American
Memory Collection
www.loc.gov/ammem
Images and Documents for Interactive
Social Studies
http://www.esc13.net/socialstudies/digital.h
tm
What is a DBQ?
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Document-Based Question
Asks you questions about written or printed
materials.
Some questions can be answered in one or
two sentences.
Some questions require taking information
from several documents to write a
paragraph or more.
Sample DBQ – Components
1.
2.
Historical Background and Task
Scaffolding Questions
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
3.
Newspaper Article
Cartoon
Quotes
Posters and Broadsides
Graphs and Pictures
Essay Response to An Overall
Question
What is a DBQ?
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Include both –
 Scaffolding Questions
 Written Response Question –
The Big Question
What is a Mini-DBQ?
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Document-Based Question
Asks you questions about written or printed
materials.
Some questions can be answered in one or
two sentences.
Some questions require taking information
from several documents to write a
paragraph or more.
What is a Mini-DBQ?
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A Mini-DBQ includes both –
 Scaffolding Questions
 Written Response Question –
The Big Question
The United States Enters World War I
Answer the questions that follow each document:
Kaiser Wilhelm II issued orders to U-boat commanders on 1st February, 1917:
“We will frighten the British flag off the face of the waters and starve the British
people until they, who have refused peace, will kneel and plead for it.”
Dr. v. Bethmann-Hollweg, Imperial Chancelor of Germany:
“The determination to launch the unrestricted U-boat war depends, then, upon the
results which we may expect. Admiral von Holtzendorff assumes that we will have
England on her knees by the next harvest. The experiences of the U-boats during the
last few months, the increased number of U-boats, and England's bad economic
situation, will at least increase our chances of success.”
1. What was Germany trying to accomplish by
using unrestricted submarine warfare?
2. What would
Germany hope
to gain by
Mexico’s
entrance into
the war? What
did Germany ask
Mexico to do?
World War I – Events of 1915-17
January 19, 1915First German Zeppelin air raid on England.
February 4, 1915 Germany declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any boat approaching England is considered a
legitimate target.
April 22-May 5, 1915Second Battle of Ypres marks first use of chemical weapons.
April 25, 1915 Allies begin assault on Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.
May 7, 1915Sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania.
May 23, 1915Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
February 21 – Dec 18, 1916 The longest battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought to a draw with an estimated one million
casualties.
May 31-June 1, 1916 The Battle of Jutland, the only major naval engagement of the war is fought with no clear winner.
July 1-November 18, 1916 The Battle of the Somme results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the
Allies.
November 7, 1916Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States.
December 7, 1916 David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
December 31, 1916The self-avowed Russian holy man, Rasputin, is murdered by relatives of the Tsar's.
February 1, 1917Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare.
March 15, 1917 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates. Provisional government is declared. April 6, 1917 The United States declares
war on Germany.
April 14, 1917British and Canadian troops advance 3 miles at Arras.
April 16-29, 1917 The French Army launches the Chemin des Dames offensive, but fails to break through the German lines. Mutiny
breaks out amongst the French troops.
3. What events in 1915-1917 would have had the most
significant impact on American public opinion regarding
involvement in the War?
The Big Question:
After years of neutrality during
World War One, what were the
compelling circumstances that led
the United States to declare war on
Germany?
What are Scaffolding Questions?
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Scaffolding questions are essential
questions included after each document
Provide information that will help
students answer the “big question”
Should be clear and specific
Scaffolding Questions Assignment
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Choose 3 or 4 documents from
your folder.
With your group, write at least one
scaffolding question for each
document or item in your file.
Sample scaffolding questions:
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What are the pictures and symbols in this
cartoon?
What does this cartoon tell you about
______________?
What expectations might you have about
________________ after hearing this
speech?
According to the poster, what were two
reasons for ______________?
What are Written Response
Questions?
Require writing a paragraph to answer
the question.
 Require a topic sentence and support.
 Look at the Whole Picture – What is
the “Big Question”? (Essential
Question)
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Looking at the Whole Picture Developing the Big Question
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The best questions center on issues:
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Compare/Contrast
Illustrate similarities and differences
Illustrate bias or point of view
Describe change over time
Discuss issues categorically: socially,
economically, politically
Explain causes and effects of historic events
Examine contending perspectives on an issue
The Big Question - Assignment
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With your group, write one
“Big Question” for the
documents you chose to use in
your file.
Sample Big Questions:
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Describe the conditions in _________ that
led to ___________.
Discuss the effects of _____________ on
______________ .
Evaluate the problems/difficulties that led
to __________.
What were the consequences of
__________?
Sample Big Questions:
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Discuss the positive and negative effects of
_____________.
Should ________________ be praised or
condemned?