Thinking Like a Historian

According to the passage, what do historians do to understand the past?

• Historians identify, select, analyze, and evaluate sources to understand the past.

• Historians create fictional stories to explain the past.

• Historians ignore evidence and rely on myths to understand the past.

• Historians only use oral traditions to study the past.

When thinking like a historian, what are some questions we should ask?

• What happened? When did it happen? Who was involved? How and why did it happen?

• What is the best way to predict the future?

• How can we invent new historical events?

• Which historical figure is the most popular today?

Name two forms of evidence that historians use, as mentioned in the passage.

• Art and photographs, artifacts, oral histories, maps, and graphs.

• Only novels and poems.

• Weather reports and fictional stories.

• Modern movies and video games.

Look at the images of the photograph, painting, map, and artifact. Which of these could be used as evidence by a historian?

• All of them (photograph, painting, map, and artifact) could be used as evidence by a historian.

• Only the photograph could be used as evidence by a historian.

• Only the map could be used as evidence by a historian.

• Only the artifact could be used as evidence by a historian.

Is 'The Life of Abraham Lincoln Documentary' a primary source or a secondary source?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Is an encyclopedia a primary source or a secondary source?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Is a diary with drawings and writing a primary source or a secondary source?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Is a magazine article about Earth Day celebrations a primary source or a secondary source?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Is a black and white photograph of a person in a car a primary source or a secondary source?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Look at the images of schools. What can you conclude about school in the 1920s?

• Schools in the 1920s were modern and had advanced technology.

• Schools in the 1920s were simple and had basic facilities.

• Schools in the 1920s were very large and crowded.

• Schools in the 1920s had computers in every classroom.