Historical Thinking Chart
ADVERTISEMENT
1HISTORICAL THINKING CHART
Historical Reading
Questions
Students should be able to . . .
Prompts
Skills
• Who wrote this?
• Identify the author’s position on
• The author probably
• What is the author’s perspective?
the historical event
believes . . .
Sourcing
• When was it written?
• Identify and evaluate the author’s
• I think the audience is . . .
• Where was it written?
purpose in producing the
• Based on the source
• Why was it written?
document
information, I think the author
• Is it reliable? Why? Why not?
• Hypothesize what the author will
might . . .
say before reading the document
• I do/don’t trust this document
• Evaluate the source’s
because . . .
trustworthiness by considering
genre, audience, and purpose
• When and where was the document
• Understand how context/
• Based on the background
created?
background information influences
information, I understand this
Contextualization
• What was different then? What was
the content of the document
document differently
the same?
• Recognize that documents are
because . . .
• How might the circumstances in
products of particular points in
• The author might have
which the document was created
time
been influenced by _____
affect its content?
(historical context) . . .
• This document might not give
me the whole picture
because . . .
• What do other documents say?
• Establish what is probable by
• The author agrees/disagrees
Corroboration
• Do the documents agree? If not,
comparing documents to each
with . . .
why?
other
• These documents all agree/
• What are other possible
• Recognize disparities between
disagree about . . .
documents?
accounts
• Another document to
• What documents are most reliable?
consider might be . . .
• What claims does the author make?
• Identify the author’s claims about
• I think the author chose these
• What evidence does the author use?
an event
words in order to . . .
Close Reading
• What language (words, phrases,
• Evaluate the evidence and
• The author is trying to
images, symbols) does the author
reasoning the author uses to
convince me . . .
use to persuade the document’s
support claims
• The author claims . . .
audience?
• Evaluate author’s word choice;
• The evidence used to support
• How does the document’s language
understand that language is used
the author’s claims is . . .
indicate the author’s perspective?
deliberately
STANFORD HISTORY EDUCATION GROUP
SHEG.STANFORD.EDU
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Education