2. Compelling Questions  questions that we ask about topics, events, or ideas  Open to different interpretations or opinions  Have multiple possible answers  Tell who, why, or how something happened  Make a claim that is backed by facts and evidence

3. What Compelling Questions Are NOT  Do not have clear answers  Do not tell what happened  Are not obvious  Not supporting questions (describe, define, and show processes)

4. Examples of Compelling Questions 1. Was the Revolutionary War Revolutionary? 2. Who really won the Civil War? 3. How has the Transcontinental Railroad changed over time? 4. Why did the Boston Tea Party happen?

5. Compelling Questions or Supporting Questions? 1. What was the French-Indian War? 2. Who fought in the French-Indian War? 3. What happened to the Native Americans after the French-Indian War? 4. Where was the French-Indian War fought?

6. Distinguished Compelling Questions  Asks about a topic, event, or idea in early American History in a specific way that may not have been thought about before.( Raises an interesting question about a social concern and is important to the world.)  Open to different interpretations or opinions (Answer does not just tell what something is.)  Have multiple possible answers (Answer is not obvious.)  Tell who, why, or how something happened (Can’t be answered with a description, definition, or process)  Make a claim that is backed by facts and evidence (I can support my answer with evidence from my sources)

7. Now it’s your turn. Write two possible compelling questions for your history fair topic.

9. Thesis Statement  Claim based on your compelling question  Backed up with related ideas, quotes, details, and explanations of the details  States a position someone will accept by reading your essay  Specifically answers the question you ask

10. Thesis Statement is NOT  Any descriptive statement  Is not too broad that you can not support it using the set of primary sources you have

11. Were the Haymarket defendants’ justified in their violence during the Chicago Labor Conflicts of 1880s?

12. Match Thesis Statement to Compelling Question Activity

13. Backing Up Thesis Statement with document based evidence Activity