Thinking Like a Historian

Why think like a historian? To better be able to determine what information is believable. To support conclusions and statements with reliable information. To better understand an event or person in history!

1.Sourcing Before you examine a piece of evidence, ask yourself: Who made this? (Or who wrote it?) Is this person believable? What kind of evidence is it? (Diary entry? Police report? Newspaper article?) Why was it made? When was this made? (A long or short time after the event?

Sourcing When analyzing a source, there are characteristics that make a source more or less reliable, such as: Credibility of the author Commitment of author to the information? Anonymous? Signed under oath? Motive for creating document / evidence Witness or not?

Is this credible? Tree octopus Dog Island

Practice

Why do historians need to source?

2.Corroboration Investigate: What do other pieces of evidence say? Am I finding the same information everywhere? Am I finding different versions of the story? (If so, why?) Where else could I look to find out about this? Which pieces of evidence are or would be most believable?

Corroboration What do you do if you find information from two pieces of evidence that contradict each other? How do you know which to believe?

Mini-Activity Dropping of the bomb varying perspectives

Why do historians need to corroborate information?

3.Contextualization In your mind, visualize: What was it like to be alive in the past? What was going on at the time and place? What things were different back then? What things were the same? What would it look like to see this event through the eyes of someone who lived back then?

Contextualization How do we understand the context of a time and place? How is the world different today than it was when you were born?

Why do historians need to contextualize?

4.Close Reading What claims does the author make? • What evidence does the author use to support those claims? • How is this document make me feel? • What words or phrases does the author use to convince me that he/she is right? • What information does the author leave out?

Media Bias…. Fox News MSNBC CNN Analyzing political parties: Democrats and Republicans. Go to each website above and find evidence….story headlines, pictures, to support which political party each website favors.

Putting new knowledge and skills to application Cuban Missile Crisis Thinking Like Historians Activity

Historical Thinking What are the methods of historical thinking we talked about in class? Explain each method in your own words.

Post it Note What do you know of the Cuban Missile Crisis? OR What do you want to know about the Missile Crisis?

#1: Video Source Cuban Missile Crisis Using Historical thinking skills, what information were you able to obtain from this source? Stop at 60 mins.

Textbook Corroboration Out of Many (998-999) American Journey (869-870) World History (pg. 635)

Examination of Primary and Secondary Sources As a group, what is your hypothesis? Who do you think should receive credit for averting the Cuban Missile Crisis? Cuban Missile Crisis In your notebook include facts, data, anything to support your hypothesis!

Who is the Hero? Marking the 53rd anniversary of the event, the United Nations would like to honor the person/s and/or country responsible for stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a group decide who you feel is the “hero” and responsible for stopping a war over the Cuban Missile Crisis? John F. Kennedy Nikita Khrushchev Fidel Castro Secretary of Defense, Dean Rusk Attorney General, Robert Kennedy Soviet Ambassador, Dobrynin Commandante Ernesto Guevara of Cuba Robert Goodwin, Specialist on Latin America Affairs

Expectations Provide evidence to support who you feel deserves that honor. Think of it as writing a paper stating your claim and supporting evidence but do that creating a Power Point. Do not just recite facts….state why it proves your theory. Be sure to have data….facts, video, personal testimony to defend your argument. Conclude your argument with final thoughts and reason for your conclusion. Work together, use correct spelling and grammar, give your best effort!

Reflection Introduction How has this activity changed your viewpoint on perspective of learning history? Sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, close reading…. How did you use these skills to come to your conclusion on who was the hero stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis? How would our world be different today if this crisis was not avoided? Conclusion