Higher History Examples of sources

Higher History Paper 2 exam paper The Paper 2 exam paper lasts 1 hour 25 minutes and consists of five sources and four questions about four different issues. This is the same for each of the five subject contexts. Of the five sources, at least two sources will be primary sources and at least two sources will be secondary sources. Each individual source will only be used for one question.

Higher History Paper 2 exam paper Each subject context poses four questions on four different issues. The issues can be found in the central boxed area of the SQA arrangements document. There are three types of questions: Source evaluation – 5 marks – appears once Source comparison – 5 marks – appears once Contextualisation – 10 marks – appears twice

Higher History Paper 2 NABs The unit assessment (NAB) differs from the external exam paper. It lasts 1 hour and is marked out of 20. There are still five sources but only three questions. The three types of questions are: Source evaluation – 5 marks – appears once Source comparison – 5 marks – appears once Contextualisation – 10 marks – appears only once as the over-arching question is removed.

What types of sources can be used in teaching Paper 2 of Higher History? Learners will be asked to evaluate various different primary and secondary sources. Most sources will be written sources. Visual and audio sources can also be used for analysis. Books, resource packs and electronic/online materials provide other examples of sources. A wide variety of sources is available locally and in the national collections.

Primary and secondary sources Learners will have to be clear on the difference between a primary source and a secondary source. Learners should also be reminded not to fall into the trap of thinking that primary sources are always useful and reliable, and secondary sources are biased.

Using primary sources Primary sources give us first-hand insights into the past. They can be crucial for historians to use to develop an understanding and an interpretation of a past event. To enable learners to interpret primary sources they should use questions to help them examine the primary source thoroughly.

Exemplar primary source Extract from The Treaty of Union, Higher History Specimen Paper Source E: from a letter written by the Earl of Mar to the Earl of Leven, The Queen called a Cabinet Council last night, where she was pleased to call the Dukes of Queensberry and Montrose, the Earl of Loudon, Seafield and myself. We gave an account there of what orders the Queen had sent to Scotland, since the news of the invasion. It is expected that the Council will seize the horses and arms of those they think disloyal, and will also be giving their advice and instructions for securing the money, in the Mint and Bank, in case of a hostile landing. It was told to us that since both Houses had advised the Queen to arrest such persons as she had cause to suspect, and are now discussing a Bill for the suspending of Habeas Corpus Acts, it was appropriate that suspected people in Scotland should be arrested.

Using secondary sources Sometimes learners assume that secondary sources are the fount of all knowledge on a topic. Some learners dismiss secondary sources as being so biased that they conclude that the secondary sources are of no value. To enable learners to deduce the interpretations contained within the secondary sources they could use questions to help them examine the secondary source thoroughly.

Exemplar secondary source Extract from Migration and Empire, Higher History Specimen Paper Source A: from T M Devine, The Scottish Nation, (2006). It is clear that many of the crafts were being undermined by urban competition in the second half of the nineteenth century. Already by the 1850s, the technology of power looms was destroying the textile economy in numerous villages in Perth, Fife and Angus and promoting large-scale migration as a result. The development of a network of branch railway lines enabled cheap factory goods to penetrate far into the rural areas and so threatened the traditional markets for tailors, shoemakers and other tradesmen. The displacement of craftsmen and their families from the smaller country towns and villages became a familiar feature of the rural exodus by the end of the nineteenth century and before. While some trades vanished completely, others, such as the blacksmiths, continued to thrive as long as the horse economy survived. However, in large part, migration from the land before the 1940s has to be explained in terms of the changing attitudes of the farm labour force itself.

Examples of questions to use when evaluating sources One of the best ways to understand a source is to consider these basic questions: When was it written/drawn/said? Why was it written/drawn/said? Who wrote/drew/said it? What information does the source contain? To encourage thinking skills learners could also think of other questions they have about the source as well as what the source missed out.

Example of evaluating sources Here is a link to a useful but basic example of how you use simple questions to gain a more solid understanding of the source. This is to practice source handling skills it is not a Higher History question. ting/fodocuments/resource.asp This exercise is based on the Declaration of Arbroath. ting/fodocuments/resource.asp

Examples of written sources Documents Government reports Hansard minutes from Parliamentary discussions and speeches Cabinet minutes Diaries Letters Manuscripts Newspaper reports Secondary text Journals Autobiographies Biographies

Examples of visual sources Drawings Photographs Cartoons Paintings Maps Posters Artefacts Film footage

Examples of audio sources Speeches Interviews News reports Poems Songs Documentaries Radio broadcasts

The national collections There are many varied resources available for the five contexts of the Scottish History (Higher) unit, in the national collections as well as locally available sources. Some archive materials from the national collections have been digitised and are available online and some are used in the NQ subject guides. Sources are available from: National Archives of Scotland National Library of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Scottish Archive Network National Museums Scotland (NMS) Museums Galleries Scotland SCRAN Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) Historic Scotland The National Trust for Scotland Mitchell Library in Glasgow Scottish Jewish Archive Centre Archaeology Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage engage Scotland

Literacy across learning Learners will need guidance and strategies to help them understand and analyse sources. Often, it is not the learners historical knowledge that prevents them from analysing sources but their command of English, particularly with sources from earlier time periods or sources that are written in a higher register. It is therefore important for practitioners to take time to teach the type of language found in the sources they are using.