Thinking Like a Historian Skills Assessment

What is the role of a historian?

• To memorize specific details about the past.
• To investigate events that occurred in the past to better understand them.
• To know which direction N, S, E, and W are on a map. 
• To use secondary sources to figure out what happened in the past. 

Why is it important to examine multiple primary and secondary sources when investigating an event?

• It is important to study multiple points of view so that you have a better picture of what really happened. 
• It is important because without both types of sources the truth would never come out.
• It is important because people always lie.
• It is important because examining facts requires knowing people's opinions. 

Why is it important to investigate the reliability (how reliable or truthful something is) of a source or group of sources?

• When a historian is studying an event, they must know that the sources they are using are valid because otherwise their entire investigation could be compromised. 
• Studying stories about the past requires a historian to look at multiple sources, and those sources must be credible and reliable or else the historian may be misinformed about what really happened. 
• If a historian does not use valid or reliable sources to study the past, their conclusions or findings about an event could be biased.
• All of these answers are reasons why using valid sources is important. 

A historian wants to know about the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. The historian is looking to write a novel where the main character was a sailor who was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack. What source would be most helpful for this historian to use for his book?

• A photograph of the harbor after the attack occurred (primary source).
• A newspaper article from December 9, 1941 highlighting President Roosevelt's speech about the attack (secondary source). 
• A video interview of a US sailor who survived the attack (primary source). 
• A book about the attack on Pearl Harbor written by a historian and published 20 years after the attack occurred (secondary source).

I was watching ESPN and one of the reporters said he had heard good reviews about a new sports movie. When he talks about the movie, what is he?

• Primary Source
• Secondary Source

My friends and I found an old wedding dress in our attic. My father said it belonged to my grandmother. What is the dress?

• Primary Source
• Secondary Source

When I was at summer camp a few years ago, I found an arrowhead; I did research and found out it has been made by the Cherokee Indians. What is my arrowhead?

• Primary Source
• Secondary Source

My friend Tim said I should read a book that he really liked. He told me about it—it sounds really good! When Tim talks about the book, what is he?

• Primary Source
• Secondary Source

____________ is the information that can prove your point or support your conclusion.

• Chronology

• Evidence

• Point of view

• Primary sources

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

________________ means examining the who, what, when, where, and why of a document.

• Sourcing

• Contextualizing

• Corroboration

• Close Reading