Document BasedHistorical Writing

Sara Jordan

UCI History Project

November 16th 2010

Getting Started

Decide what standard(s) you would like to cover.

What type of documents would you like your students to be able to analyze?

Charts & Graphs, Expository, Photographs, Political Cartoons, Maps, etc.

What content and analysis do you hope will come from the writing?

1. Select your documents.2. Write your question and historical

context.3. Begin getting your students excited!!!

Music to my ears!

ScaffoldingPart I1. Distribute the document handout to

your students.2. Read the context, then review and

analyze the question.Based on your understanding of the documents,

How did Nations use nationalism to gain support for the war effort?

and the starting of WWI?

3. Brainstorm possible categories by looking at the documents.

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3

4. Distribute the 6 Cs and do one document together whole class.

5. Have students move into groups, assign each group of 4 one document, then give them one 6 Cs handout.

6. Give the Point of View Strips to support students.7. Each box must be completed and each C should

be assigned to a different student.8. Collect the Cs and grade.Part II usually the next day1. Distribute the Source Analysis Presentation

Chart.2. Select 1 group randomly to present for each

document. Each person is responsible for at least 1 part.

3. Review and help students be sure that they are getting all the important content.

Note the Citation is incorrect. Review and help groups understand.

Point of View: Review and help groups understand.

Based on your understanding of the documents, How did the Jews, Christians, Greeks, Romans and the Magna Carta influence Western Political Thought?

Based on your understanding of

the documents, is a government

ever justified in using violence

against those it identifies as a hostile

threat to the State? Who gets to

decide?

Based on your analysis of the

documents, identify positive

and negative consequences of

British Imperialism in India.

Source: The London Times “The Forests of the Empire” 1881

Part III1. Distribute the writing structure and rubric.2. Have students write together as a group. All

four names and then turn in.

• Be Supportive… Each time they do this… our students understand more and become better thinkers and writers.

• The hard work it takes in the beginning to teach students will pay off later.

Grade and begin thinking which papers will be used for the norming (high, medium and low).