1. Activator
Complete the “Hook” Exercise: Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?
3 min

2. Understanding Context
In pairs, read the background essay and answer the reading questions.
5 min

3. Understanding context
Ask:
What was going on at the time?
What was it like to be alive at this time?
What things were different back then? What things were the same?
5 min

4. Were the entrepreneurs of the Industrial Era Robber Barons?
Unit 1. Industrialism. Lesson 3.
Were the entrepreneurs of the Industrial Era Robber Barons?
Define key terms; rewrite question in your own words.

5. Differentiated Learning
Challenge: DBQ Project “Mini-Q” (five documents, with corresponding questions to answer).
Extreme Challenge: Dueling essays: Howard Zinn vs. John Gordon.
Sign up for an extreme challenge!

6. Pre-writing: The Thesis
A history paper, like many other kinds of academic writing, usually takes the form of an argument in support of a thesis.
NOT a statement of fact, a question, or an opinion
NOT a topic, or what the paper is about
2 min

7. Thesis
A statement that reflects what you have concluded about the topic under consideration for your paper.
Informs the reader about conclusions you have reached.
Always arguable or debatable.
The central point to which all information in your paper relates.
Doherty: Uses the analogy of the umbrella
Glue that holds the piece together… connects the three body paragraphs…

8. Establishing a thesis
Relying upon information from the background essay, as well as your prior knowledge:
Write a tentative thesis
Also, write a tentative counter-thesis
5 min

9. Pre-writing: Bucketing
Gives you a specific analytic frame to help you make sense of documents
Think of “buckets” as categories for analysis
Ask: what should I look for if I am going to prove my thesis?
Potential buckets:
Pro: Contributions to business, contributions to society
Con:
5 min

10. Buckets Relationship with government Contributions to business
Contributions to society

11. Day 1 HW
Critically analyze the five documents by answering the critical analysis questions for each document.

12. Check your thesis Does Does Not
A statement that reflects what you have concluded about the topic under consideration for your paper.
Informs the reader about conclusions you have reached.
Always arguable or debatable.
The central point to which all information in your paper relates.
Includes a claim and warrant (because statement)
NOT a statement of fact, a question, or an opinion
NOT a topic, or what the paper is about

13. Document Analysis Sourcing Contextualization Close Reading
Corroboration

14. Sourcing What is the author’s point of view?
Why was the source written?
When was the source written?
Is this source believable? Why, or why not?

15. Sourcing Consult outside electronic and print libraries.
When doing this, “source” your sources; in other words, vet documents to ensure credibility.
For now, refer to the “sourcing” handout.

16. Day 2 HW Challenge: For now, rely on the “sourcing handout” research
Apply the “Reading Like a Historian” table’s Sourcing Questions to the documents in your DBQ packet.
For each document, answer:
What is the author’s point of view?
Why was the source written?
When was the source written?
Is this source believable? Why, or why not?
For now, rely on the “sourcing handout” research

17. Day 2 HW Extreme Challenge:
Read both the Zinn and Howard essays
Apply the “Reading Like a Historian” table’s Close Reading questions to each essay:
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?
Also, read the sourcing information on both Zinn and Howard, located on the last page of the “sourcing handout” (very short!)