Successful Strategies for Implementing

Document-Based Questions

Scholars of History Integrating Primary Sources

SHIPS: An American Journey

University of Texas

June 21, 2004

What is Critical Thinking? Metacognition: Thinking about our

thinking “Quality control of the mind” Critical Thinking is the ability to think

about one’s thinking in such a way as to: recognize its strengths and weaknesses. recast the thinking in improved form.

Is Memory Malleable?

“Memories are malleable and vulnerable to post-event information - facts, ideas, and suggestions that come along after the event has happened. You can, unknowingly, integrate this information into your memory, modifying what you believe you saw, hear, experienced.” (Loftus, 2001)

Then what is “genuine” history? If pupils are to learn genuine history they

will need to understand how the discipline works, about the basis of historical knowledge, and about what marks off the historical from the practical past…Without an understanding of what makes an account historical, there is nothing to distinguish it from the ability to recite sagas, legends, myths or poems. (Bourdillion, 1997)

Why is this important? “…students whose teachers reported using

primary historical documents such as letters, diaries, or essays written by historical figures, on a weekly basis, had higher average scores than those whose teachers did so less frequently.”

The Nation’s Report Card: U.S. History 2001 Executive Summary

Why is this important?

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Considerable Importance

Moderate Importance

Factors Affecting Admission Decisions – 2001NACAC Bulletin – November 2001

Why is this important?

Percentage of AP Exams Taken by US Students

The College Board , 2004

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1979 1984 1991 1994 1999 2002

African American

Hispanic

Asian

Minority Subtotal

White/Causasian

Why is this important? Beginning in March 2005, students taking

the PSAT/NMSQT and/or SAT will be required to write an essay.

The High School ELA TAKS requires students to evaluate multiple documents/sources and write an essay.

What are Primary Sources?

Primary Sources are actual records that have survived from the past – letters, artifacts, maps, photographs, articles of clothing.

What are Secondary Sources?

Secondary Sources are accounts of the past created by people writing about events sometime after they happened – textbooks, secondhand descriptions or analyses

What types of historical evidence or accounts are used?

Graphs

Charts

Maps

Cartoons

Photographs

Artwork

Eyewitness Accounts

"I remembered how Pearl Harbor looked the previous August," Adams said. "It was filled with what seemed like hundreds of ships--battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers. I thought nobody would be able to defeat us. Now Battleship Row was wrecked. Four battleships were sunk, and the other three were damaged. There was oil and every type of debris floating in the harbor. I said to myself, 'This will go down in history. Everybody in the United States should see this.' I was only 17 1/2 years old.” -Joseph H. "Jack" Adams

Historical Documents

Preamble to the United States Constitution

 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Historical Record Contains both Primary and Secondary

Sources. The Historical Record is huge. Is only a tiny glimpse of the past. Most of what happened was never

documented. Much has been lost or destroyed.

Your Historical Record - Assignment

What kind of historical records do you leave behind in your daily life?

Think about all the activities you were involved in during the past 24 hours. List as many of these activities as you can remember…….

Your Historical Record - Assignment

Did you create any records of your activities? – diary, notes to yourself, letter or email to friend or relative

Would traces of your activities appear in records someone else created? – diary, notes, calendar entry, letter or email

Would traces of your activities appear in school records?

Your Historical Record - Assignment

Did you write a check or use a charge card? Would anyone be able to offer testimony

(oral history) about your activities (who and why)?

What’s in your trash?

Your Historical Record - Assignment

Which of your daily activities were most likely to leave trace evidence behind?

Your Historical Record - Assignment

If future archaeologists had the materials mentioned, what could they infer or conclude about your life?

What could they conclude about your family, community, region or nation?

Your Historical Record - Assignment

Choose one primary source document that you have with you today.

Your Historical Record - Assignment

Who is the author of this item? What is the place and time of this item? What prior knowledge do you have about

the item? Who is the audience for this item? Why was this item developed? What is the main idea of this item? What is the item’s significance?

Rationale for Using Primary Sources: Expose students to multiple perspectives of

issues past and present. Most issues were furiously debated at the

time – why stop now?! Help students develop knowledge, skills

and analytical abilities – think critically, make intelligent inferences, develop reasoned explanations

Selecting Primary Sources

Teach the TEKS What are your

goals and objectives for the lesson?

Selecting Primary Sources Interest – what is interesting to my

students? Reading Level – what is the reading level

of the source compared to my students’ abilities?

Length – Do I need to excerpt a portion of the source for my students? Can I excerpt a portion and preserve the meaning of the source?

Time and Place Rule The closer in time and place a source and

its creator were to an event in the past, the better the source will be – Direct traces of the event Accounts of the event by firsthand observers Secondhand accounts of the event from

interviews or evidence at the time of the event

Bias Rule Every source is biased in some way –

Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically.

No piece of evidence should be taken at face value. The creator’s point of view must be considered. Each must be cross-checked and compared with

related sources and pieces of evidence!

How can teachers use historical records? Ask students to relate a

single document or group of documents to a previous reading assignment.

Ask students to develop lengthier, more developed essays based on a wider array of research.

APPARTS

Author

Place and Time

Prior Knowledge

Audience

Reason

The Main Idea

Significance

APPARTSAuthor Who created the source? What do you know about the author?

What is the author’s point of view?

Place and Time Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?

Prior Knowledge Beyond information about the author and the context of its created, what do you know that would help you further understand the primary source? For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represent?

Audience For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

Reason Why was this source produced at the time it was produced?

The Main Idea What point is the source trying to convey?

Significance Why is this source important? What inferences can you draw from this document? As yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.

Online Sites for Historical Records:

DBQ Teaching with Documents

http://www.edteck.com/dbq/index.htm

Doing History – Great Source Education Group 1-800-289-4490

http://www.greatsource.com

Online Sites for Historical Records: The National Archives

www.nara.gov The Library of Congress American

Memory Collectionwww.loc.gov/ammem

Images and Documents for Interactive Social Studies

http://www.esc13.net/socialstudies/digital.htm

What is a DBQ? Document-Based Question Asks you questions about written or

printed materials. Some questions can be answered in one or

two sentences. Some questions require taking information

from several documents to write a paragraph or more.

Sample DBQ – Components

1. Historical Background and Task2. Scaffolding Questions

A. Newspaper ArticleB. Cartoon C. QuotesD. Posters and BroadsidesE. Graphs and Pictures

3. Essay Response to An Overall Question

What is a DBQ?

Include both – Scaffolding Questions Written Response Question –

The Big Question

What is a Mini-DBQ? Document-Based Question Asks you questions about written or

printed materials. Some questions can be answered in one or

two sentences. Some questions require taking information

from several documents to write a paragraph or more.

What is a Mini-DBQ?

A Mini-DBQ includes both – Scaffolding Questions Written Response Question –

The Big Question

The United States Enters World War I 

Answer the questions that follow each document: 

Kaiser Wilhelm II issued orders to U-boat commanders on 1st February, 1917:“We will frighten the British flag off the face of the waters and starve the British people until they, who have refused peace, will kneel and plead for it.”Dr. v. Bethmann-Hollweg, Imperial Chancelor of Germany:“The determination to launch the unrestricted U-boat war depends, then, upon the results which we may expect. Admiral von Holtzendorff assumes that we will have England on her knees by the next harvest. The experiences of the U-boats during the last few months, the increased number of U-boats, and England's bad economic situation, will at least increase our chances of success.”

 

1. What was Germany trying to accomplish by using unrestricted submarine warfare?

2. What would Germany hope to gain by Mexico’s entrance into the war? What did Germany ask Mexico to do?

World War I – Events of 1915-17

January 19, 1915First German Zeppelin air raid on England.February 4, 1915 Germany declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any boat approaching England is considered a legitimate target. April 22-May 5, 1915Second Battle of Ypres marks first use of chemical weapons. April 25, 1915 Allies begin assault on Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. May 7, 1915Sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania. May 23, 1915Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.February 21 – Dec 18, 1916 The longest battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties. May 31-June 1, 1916 The Battle of Jutland, the only major naval engagement of the war is fought with no clear winner. July 1-November 18, 1916 The Battle of the Somme results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the Allies. November 7, 1916Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States. December 7, 1916 David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of Britain. December 31, 1916The self-avowed Russian holy man, Rasputin, is murdered by relatives of the Tsar's.February 1, 1917Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare. March 15, 1917 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates. Provisional government is declared. April 6, 1917 The United States declares war on Germany. April 14, 1917British and Canadian troops advance 3 miles at Arras. April 16-29, 1917 The French Army launches the Chemin des Dames offensive, but fails to break through the German lines. Mutiny breaks out amongst the French troops.

3. What events in 1915-1917 would have had the most significant impact on American public opinion regarding involvement in the War?

The Big Question:

After years of neutrality during World War One, what were the compelling circumstances that led the United States to declare war on Germany?

What are Scaffolding Questions? Scaffolding questions are essential

questions included after each document Provide information that will help

students answer the “big question” Should be clear and specific

Scaffolding Questions - Assignment

Choose 3 or 4 documents from your folder.

With your group, write at least one scaffolding question for each document or item in your file.

Sample scaffolding questions: What are the pictures and symbols in this

cartoon? What does this cartoon tell you about

______________? What expectations might you have about

________________ after hearing this speech?

According to the poster, what were two reasons for ______________?

What are Written Response Questions?

Require writing a paragraph to answer the question.

Require a topic sentence and support. Look at the Whole Picture – What is

the “Big Question”? (Essential Question)

Looking at the Whole Picture - Developing the Big Question

The best questions center on issues: Compare/Contrast Illustrate similarities and differences Illustrate bias or point of view Describe change over time Discuss issues categorically: socially,

economically, politically Explain causes and effects of historic events Examine contending perspectives on an issue

The Big Question - Assignment

With your group, write one “Big Question” for the documents you chose to use in your file.

Sample Big Questions: Describe the conditions in _________ that

led to ___________. Discuss the effects of _____________ on

______________ . Evaluate the problems/difficulties that led

to __________. What were the consequences of

__________?

Sample Big Questions:

Discuss the positive and negative effects of _____________.

Should ________________ be praised or condemned?