Introduction to Social Studies Skills PDF

1 LESSON...

1 LESSON 3.1 UNIT Introduction to Social Studies Skills C O N T E M P O R A R Y W O R L D ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do social studies skills help us better understand history and the past? VO C A B U L A RY Thinking Like a Historian artifacts: human-made objects that help us learn about past civilizations and how they developed cause: an event that makes or causes something else to happen critical thinking: the process of identifying people, objects, and events based on their characteristics effect: the result, consequence, or outcome of an event that happened inquiry: a way to investigate a problem or to ask for more information Historical source: A paperboy sells news outside the offices of the White Star Line in oral histories: interviews, London, April 1912. recorded on audio or video, Thinking Like a Historian in history, we think like a historian with someone who experienced and gather relevant information from an event in the past In many ways, a historian is like a sources to determine their meaning. primary sources: artifacts that detective. Historians seek to ask and We can determine if the evidence are created by people who saw answer questions about the past. we are examining is credible and or experienced something at When historians study the past, they the time when it happened also learn about a society’s culture, reliable. There are different kinds secondary sources: artifacts beliefs, and economy. Historians of historical thinking skills. They created by people who have identify, select, analyze, and evaluate include chronological, analytical, studied primary sources and then sources to understand the past. critical, and historical thinking. provide their interpretation When we study people and events Continued on page 2 >> timeline: a list of events in chronological order or in the order that they happened visual sources: includes maps, photographs, paintings, and videos written sources: sources that provide written evidence about specific events, time periods, and people throughout history 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS LESSON 3.1 Continued from page 1 >> Chronological Thinking Time can be measured in many ways using various tools. One of the easiest tools to measure the passage of time is a calendar. A calendar shows the days of the week and months of the year. It can help us track events in our lives and when they happened. Time can be represented in days, months, years, decades, and centuries. These words help us understand when Ship building: Construction of the Titanic, Disaster: An artist’s interpretation of the things happen. To determine historical c. 1909 Titanic sinking context and organize their thinking, historians use timelines. A timeline is a list of events in chronological order or in the order that they happened. A traditional timeline starts with the earliest event that is being studied. Traditional timelines are often represented horizontally and are read from left to right, but they can also be represented vertically. Historians also use timelines that begin with the most recent event being studied and work their way backward. These Discovery: The sunken bow of the Titanic, photographed in June 2004, more than 90 years after the disaster are often referred to as backward timelines. Backward timelines are often represented vertically and are read from top to bottom, but they can also be represented horizontally. The past: An open-air market fills a street in Paris The present: A busy street in modern-day Paris. 2  TEXAS STUDIES WEEKLY: CONTEMPORARY WORLD When historians use chronological for an event or a person’s life. also occur within the same time thinking, they study the passage of Historians also ask questions period. People, places, ideas, cultures, time and label it. Many events in when examining sources to determine and technology change over time. history can occur around the same historical context, including: Historians analyze how things remain time period. The tools and items Where did the the same, as well as how things people used in the past become source come from? change throughout history. Historians artifacts we can study. People, Who is the author? examine patterns to understand how places, ideas, cultures, and Who created it? things change in a historical context. technologies change over time. When was it created? Artifacts help us understand how Why was it created? To understand patterns in people’s lives have changed over How was it created? history, historians often ask time. Historians analyze artifacts and the following questions: timelines to see how much things Historical Thinking What changes have happened? have changed throughout history. History is not just a clear timeline What has stayed the same? They examine patterns to understand of events from one period to the Who benefited from changes? how and why things happened. This next. Many events in history can Who did not benefit allows them to provide context occur at the same time. Events can from changes? What Are Social Studies Skills? When we apply historical thinking to an event, we think outside of our own experience. We try to imagine what things were like in a different time period. This helps us think about multiple perspectives. It also creates empathy, or a feeling of caring, about people and events of the past. Historians use analytical thinking to examine the causes and effects of an event. A cause is an event that makes or causes something else to happen. An effect is the result, consequence, or outcome of what happened. Historians study both causes and effects to create a complete picture of an event in context. Analytical thinking occurs when historians focus on the individual parts of an event and how the parts contribute to the whole event. For example, historians Historical thinking: Studying history requires research and critical thinking to gain an can analyze the westward expansion of understanding of the past. the United States during the 1800s by Image courtesy of Getty Images researching the effects of the Louisiana Purchase. The map of the Louisiana events based on their characteristics. multiple perspectives. This can deepen Purchase shows the geographic region Comparing is examining two or more their understanding of and identify that represented the United States events, people, places, or ideas to patterns in the event. Comparing and before and after the purchase. identify how they are the same. contrasting historical events also Historians use critical thinking when Contrasting is examining the events, allows historians to compare and they compare and contrast historical people, places, or ideas to see how they contrast past events to current events. events, people, places, and ideas. are different. Historians use different This can increase their understanding Critical thinking involves labeling sources to compare and contrast an of history. It can also provide a and identifying people, objects, and event. They look at the event from more accurate view of history. Lesson 3.1 | Introduction to Social Studies Skills | 3  Name __________________________________ N OT E S Primary and Secondary Sources ________________________________________ Historians study many types of are interviews, recorded on audio sources to unlock the mysteries or video, with someone who ________________________________________ of the past. Written sources are experienced an event. Historians the most common type of sources also look at artifacts. Artifacts ________________________________________ used by historians. These sources are human-made objects that provide written evidence about help historians learn about ________________________________________ specific events, time periods, past civilizations and how they and people throughout history. developed. They can also be ordinary ________________________________________ Written sources include books, objects used in the past by people newspaper articles, journals, working or interacting with others. ________________________________________ letters, and important documents. Artifacts help historians understand Historians also use visual sources. what people’s lives were like. ________________________________________ These include maps, photographs, Artifacts can include tools, pottery, paintings, and videos. Historians artwork, clothing, and jewelry. ________________________________________ use these sources to study events Historians work with archaeologists and learn more about the past. to determine the purpose of different ________________________________________ Additionally, historians analyze artifacts. Archaeologists are scientists oral histories to learn more about who excavate and study items left ________________________________________ events and people. Oral histories behind by people throughout history. Primary Sources Primary sources are artifacts that are created by people who saw or experienced something. Primary sources are created around the time of an important historical event. They include historical and legal documents. They also include books, newspaper articles, letters, diaries, photographs, maps, drawings, and census data. Something is a primary source only if it was created by someone who was present at an event or lived during the time period you are studying. Interviewing a parent, grandparent, or teacher about their own life can be a primary source. Analyzing and studying primary sources helps us make connections between past, present, Primary Source: Page from the 1920 United States Federal Census and future events. Secondary Sources Secondary sources are made by people who didn’t see or experience the event. These are usually created by people who have studied primary sources and then provide their interpretation. Secondary sources are textbooks, biographies, magazine articles, book reviews, encyclopedias, and documentaries. If you write a story about your vacation, it is a primary source. You were there and experienced the vacation. If someone interviews Secondary Source: A book about you and writes about your vacation, the activist César Chávez Online article about a historical event their story is a secondary source. 4 | Introduction to Social Studies Skills | Unit 1  1 LESSON 3.2 UNIT Introduction to Social Studies Skills C O N T E M P O R A R Y W O R L D ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do social studies skills help us better understand history and the past? Analyzing and Organizing Information How Do We Examine Sources? you will analyze your evidence. Your and details in order to gain a deeper Historians analyze sources to answer analysis will look different based on understanding of that text. During questions about the past. When we the sources you use. Primary sources a close read, you can annotate the analyze something, it means that we are first-hand accounts of events, text or take notes to understand the study it carefully. To analyze sources, people, and places. Secondary sources text better. You should also pay close we investigate them. We want to are described by someone who didn’t attention to the sequence of the text. know about the author or creator, witness the event or didn’t live during A sequence is the order of ideas in the the purpose, and the format. This will the period of time they are writing text. Knowing the order of thoughts help us be confident in the source. about. There are different steps you can and events is important because it follow to analyze sources effectively. will help you understand how the Analyzing Sources To analyze a text source, you can author came to their conclusion. This Once you have found and determined do a close reading. Close reading is will aid you in developing your own whether your sources are credible, reading and rereading text to find facts conclusions about an idea or topic. Continued on page 6 >> VO C A B U L A RY analyze: to study something carefully bias: favoring one belief or opinion over others context: identifies the things that influence what is in the source and how it is presented perspective: a person’s point of view or outlook Image courtesy of Getty Images 5 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS LESSON 3.2 Continued from page 5 >> Historians look for bias to separate N OT E S Multiple Perspectives the true meaning of the information When we see or read something, from the author’s perspective. ______________________________________ it’s important to identify if it is fact or opinion. A fact is something Determine Context ______________________________________ that can be proven true through Examining context assists researchers evidence. An opinion is a statement when analyzing different types of ______________________________________ that expresses someone’s feelings sources. Context identifies the things or beliefs. Everyone brings a unique that influence what is in the source and ______________________________________ perspective. Experiences and events how it is presented. When analyzing may be interpreted differently by the context of a source, the first two ______________________________________ people with different cultural or things to look for are when and where individual perspectives. It’s important the source was produced. Next, you ______________________________________ to understand the perspectives of should determine why the source others. When we look at multiple was made. Sources can be created ______________________________________ perspectives, we can have a deeper to promote different ideas, explain Image courtesy of Getty Images understanding of what happened in information, or express the author’s ______________________________________ the past. This helps us create the most opinions. The final thing to consider accurate analysis of people and events when analyzing context is to make ______________________________________ in history. When we study historical connections between the time in sources, it’s important to be aware of which the sources were created and ______________________________________ multiple perspectives. Historians look events happening during that time. for bias in sources. Bias means favoring This can aid in your understanding of ______________________________________ one belief or opinion over others. ideas and information in sources. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ 6  TEXAS STUDIES WEEKLY: CONTEMPORARY WORLD Image courtesy of Getty Images Inquiry: Social Studies Skills in Action What Is an Inquiry? To solve a mystery, a good detective asks questions and searches for evidence. This is known as an inquiry. An inquiry is a way to investigate a problem or to ask for more information. A successful inquiry requires three steps: 1 Ask questions: To begin the inquiry process, you must start by asking questions. In order for an inquiry to be successful, you have to ask specific questions throughout the process. By asking questions, you can develop your claim. A claim is a statement you make about what you believe can be supported with evidence. Process evidence: The 3 Image courtesy of Getty Images next step is to collect and process evidence. Evidence is information gathered Types of Questions from sources to answer Asking questions is the first step in an inquiry. inquiry questions. The more There are many types of questions you can ask evidence you gather, the throughout the inquiry process. Each type of question stronger your claims will be. is important and is needed for a strong inquiry. Complete tasks to help solve the mystery: The Compelling Questions: The word compelling refers final step to complete an to something that sparks your interest and is inquiry is to create a final exciting. Answering a compelling question requires product that connects the deep thinking. There could be multiple answers inquiry questions to the to the same question. The answer you come up evidence. This could be with depends on the evidence you find in your something you create or research. An example of a compelling question 2 research you present. is: Does the Bill of Rights protect everyone? Continued on page 8 >> Lesson 3.2 | Introduction to Social Studies Skills | 7  Name __________________________________ Continued from page 7 >> COMPELLING QUESTION Does the Bill of Rights protect everyone? THINKING LENSES SUPPORTING QUESTIONS A historian may think... Why was the Bill of Rights created? Does the Bill of Rights impact the economic An economist may think... advancement of individuals? Image courtesy of Getty Images Does the Bill of Rights impact decisions about A geographer may think... the environment or where people live? Conclude and A political scientist may think... How does the Bill of Rights impact laws today? Connect How does the Bill of Rights impact different A social scientist may think... Social studies skills serve as tools people? Do all people have the same rights? that unlock the secrets of the past. Supporting Questions: A problem or question, you make it based on your point of view. This is also By developing skills, like analyzing supporting question gives you primary sources, interpreting maps, the information that you need to called perspective. Your perspective is and understanding cause-and- answer the compelling question. extremely important. It helps you think effect relationships, we gain a While a compelling question about inquiry, define problems, and deeper understanding of the events might have different answers develop solutions to these problems. that shaped our world. These skills depending on your research, Your perspective can be different act as windows into the past. They a supporting question usually from others. It is also important allow us to piece together what has only one answer. These to think about other people’s happened from different points of answers give you the evidence perspectives. Their insight might be view. These skills also allow us to you need to solve the mystery! different from yours, but it may help empathize and draw meaningful solve problems more efficiently. connections between historical What Makes You Think That? events and their impact on societies. During the inquiry process, you make As we use these skills to learn about claims about compelling questions. history, we unravel the stories of Your job is to research information those who came before us. We and provide evidence to support also develop the critical thinking abilities needed to make informed Image courtesy of Getty Images your claim. Evidence can change your thinking and beliefs about a topic or decisions and contribute to a idea. This is known as the reflection better future. Social studies skills process. To reflect on an idea means are important to understanding to think deeply about it and decide if history and the lessons it holds. it is still the best solution. The most successful thinkers are people who know how to reflect and change their thinking as needed. You can use sentence starters to build a claim for the compelling question: Does the Bill of Rights protect everyone? Thinking About Point of View Your personal history is different from everyone else’s. This means you think about problems in ways that are unique to you. This can influence your point of view on different topics. When you make a claim about a 8 | Introduction to Social Studies Skills | Unit 1