RAS- Social Studies and Big Ideas

Which example describes a primary source?

• An article analyzing a speech given by President Barack Obama

• A movie about President Barack Obama's years in office

• The transcript of a speech given by President Barack Obama

• A biography about Barack Obama written by David Maraniss

This is an excerpt from a speech given to the Alabama Congress by a state senator:

Passage of this tax bill will cost the great state of Alabama almost $11 million in lost revenue. Restaurants, retail shops, and grocery stores won't be able to stock the items they need to do business. Small businesses will close down all over the state, and the economy will come to a halt.

Which statement best represents the main idea of this source?

• The tax bill will be bad for Alabama's economy.

• The tax bill will be good for Alabama's economy.

• The tax bill will cost Alabama $11 million.

• The tax bill will hurt small businesses in Alabama.

Which statement is an example of a fact?

• World War II was a more significant war than World War I.

• There has been no greater war in history than World War II

• The world was better off because the Allies won World War II.

• World War II resulted in between 50 million and 85 million deaths.

This is an excerpt from the website World War I by high school student Alexia Dengbai:

I believe World War I was the most destructive war in history. Millions were killed or injured, and cities were destroyed. People suffered greatly. There could never again be a war as destructive as World War I. That is why people called it the "war to end all wars."

Which statement about the credibility of this source is most accurate?

• The source is not credible because it does not contain the date of the war.

• The source is not credible because it contains more opinions than facts.

• The source is credible because the author is an expert on World War I.

• The source is credible because it contains more facts than opinions.

An excerpt from Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speech to the Parliament of the United Kingdom on June 18, 1940 ¹ :

I spoke the other day of the colossal military disaster which occurred when the French High Command failed to withdraw the northern Armies from Belgium at the moment when they knew that the French front was decisively broken at Sedan and on the Meuse. This delay entailed the loss of fifteen or sixteen French divisions and threw out of action for the critical period the whole of the British Expeditionary Force. Our Army and 120,000 French troops were indeed rescued by the British Navy from Dunkirk but only with the loss of their cannon, vehicles and modern equipment.

What event does this source describe?

• The rescue of French troops by the British

• The rescue of British troops by the French

• An attack on British troops by French soldiers

• A great military victory for French troops

Daniella McKee is the author of Men on the Wrong Side of History , a book about the women's suffrage movement in Great Britain during the 1800s. She is the granddaughter of one of the founding members of the National Society for Women's Suffrage, a group that rallied to change laws in the United Kingdom that prevented women from voting. McKee is a professor of feminist studies at Windsor College and has written several other books on feminism and women's rights.

Which statement best describes a bias that the author of Men on the Wrong Side of History might have?

Which statement best describes a bias that the author of Men on the Wrong Side of History might have?

• McKee opposes a woman's right to vote.

• McKee supports a woman's right to vote.

• McKee opposes a woman's right to protest.

• McKee supports blocking women's voting rights.

In 1219, Ala ad-Din Muhammad II was the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire in Central Asia. Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire, sent a group of merchants to the Khwarezmid Empire to try to form an alliance. Muhammad, who had heard about the savagery of the Mongols, refused to negotiate and had all of Khan's merchants killed. Khan attacked the Khwarezmid Empire and, in less than two years, completely destroyed it.

Interpretation 1 — Ala ad-Din Muhammad II was right to refuse to negotiate with Genghis Khan because he wanted to protect his people from the Mongols' savagery.

Interpretation 2 — Ala ad-Din Muhammad II was wrong to kill the merchants, but as leader of the Khwarezmid Empire, he was within his rights to refuse to negotiate with Genghis Khan.

Which statement best compares the two interpretations of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II's decision?

• Both interpretations agree that he was correct to refuse to negotiate with Genghis Khan.

• Both interpretations agree that he should have negotiated with Genghis Khan.

• Interpretation 1 opposes his decision, while interpretation 2 supports it.

• Interpretation 1 supports his decision, while interpretation 2 opposes it.

What is the act of identifying relationships between two or more events in history known as?

• Correlation

• Cause-and-effect relationships

• Historical argument

• Historical causation

Which statement is the most likely conclusion you can draw from the cause-and-effect relationship shown in the diagram?

Cause: The Transcontinental Railroad is completed in 1869

Effect: The population of cities in the American West grows.

• The Transcontinental Railroad made it easier for more American settlers to move west.

• The Transcontinental Railroad made it harder for more American settlers to move west.

• Most American settlers considered the Transcontinental Railroad a failure.

• Most American settlers refused to travel on the Transcontinental Railroad.

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change for Great Britain, and women benefited the most from these changes. Children were also able to find work in the new factories that sprang up in cities. And though children were often not paid well and forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions, the benefits far outweighed the problems. Poor men also had more opportunities and were able to make more money than before the Industrial Revolution. This new earning power allowed them to better contribute and helped grow the nation's economy.

Which sentence best evaluates the credibility of this historical argument?

• The historical argument is credible because it includes a strong claim and evidence from a credible source.

• The historical argument is not credible because it does not support the claim with evidence from a credible source.

• The historical argument is credible because it makes the correct claim that women benefited from the Industrial Revolution.

• The historical argument is not credible because it does not make a claim about women during the Industrial Revolution.