What Does a Historian Do? Chapter 1 What Does a Historian Do?

Lesson 1 Why Study History?

Why Study History? History is the study of the people and events of the past. How things change and/or stay the same How cultures change over time Historian: studies history Explain why things are the way they are

Measuring Time Periods of History Decade: 10 years Century 100 years Millennium 1000 years Eras: larger blocks of time Prehistory (5,500 years ago; before writing) Ancient History (Ends close to A.D. 500 Middle Ages a.k.a. “Medieval Times” A.D. 500 – A.D. 1400 Modern History A.D. 1400 – present

Measuring Time Calendars Julian Calendar Developed by Roman leader Julius Caesar Years counted after founding of Rome 1 year = 365.25 days Extra day every 4 years Not precise

Measuring Time Gregorian Calendar Dating Events Pope Gregory XIII From birth of Jesus Christ More than three centuries for calendar to be accepted Dating Events B.C. or B.C.E “Before the common era” A.D. Latin for “Anno Domini” which means the year of the Lord Sometimes referred to C.E. or Common Era

Measuring Time Using Timelines Track the passage of time Show time between ages or eras

Digging up the Past Historians use science to study the past Archaeology: study of the past by looking at what people left behind Artifacts Paleontology: look at prehistoric times and use fossils Anthropology: study of human culture and how it develops over time

How Does a Historian Work? Lesson 2 How Does a Historian Work?

What is Evidence? Historians ask questions To learn answers, they look for evidence Evidence is proof or indication that something is true Evidence they find in historical sources

What is Evidence? Primary sources Secondary sources Reliable sources Point of view: general attitude about people or life Bias: unreasoned, emotional judgement about people and events

Writing About History Interpret information from primary sources Making inferences Complex Look both at primary and secondary sources Become experts in their area or historical subject Scholarly Finite- limit their area of study Conclusion – through reasoning Some have different interpretations

Lesson 3 Researching History

Research Choose a topic Develop questions Gather research materials Nonfiction Identify fact from opinion Take Notes

Research on the Internet Authorship Credentials Web URLS .gov : government related .edu :educational .org : nonprofit organizations

Writing Without Bias Plagiarism: copying someone else’s words Violates copyright laws To avoid plagiarism: Put writing in your own words If you have an opinion, use text evidence from an article or text you have read and cite Include a reference sheet