Primary Source Analysis: How should I approach reading a primary source?
Document 1: We are going to take testimony from the European colonizers. Historians rely heavily on eyewitness accounts of historical events, but as you will see, using them can be tricky. To get you used to this, we are going to follow a strict form to help you understand how to read - and evaluate - a source.
Please follow this form in analyzing the document below ("Capt. Lugard") for today’s class. You will add this information to your investigation logbook. Paste the steps below into your google doc and add your own answers there, and as always, make sure the document is shared with me.
1. PREPARATION: Learning is a process of hanging new information on a framework of knowledge that already exists in your mind. Before starting to read, ask yourself a couple of questions to help identify your framework, and write down your thoughts (no more than a paragraph) in your logbook
- What do I already know about this subject?
- Which questions or wonderings do I want answered?
2. WHILE READING: Try to think critically while reading a primary source. To do this, ask yourself the following questions, and write up a summary (no more than a paragraph) in your logbook:
- What is the author saying? What information are you getting from this?
- What does the author want you to think or do? (Hint: what is the author's motivation for speaking to me?)
- Do you agree or disagree with the author? How does the author support the argument?
- Who is this person, and what makes me trust what the author is telling me (or not)?
3. AFTER READING: Once you have read the material, take a few moments to reflect on it. Can you repeat in a short statement to yourself what the author’s main points were? Then ask yourself the following questions, and write down a summary of your thoughts in your logbook:
- How does the author confirm what you knew before?
- How does what you read change what you thought you knew before you started reading?
- What questions remain that you want to explore in this class?
- If you were going to start a discussion about this reading, what questions or quotes would you raise for the class?
The document:
Document 1: We are going to take testimony from the European colonizers. Historians rely heavily on eyewitness accounts of historical events, but as you will see, using them can be tricky. To get you used to this, we are going to follow a strict form to help you understand how to read - and evaluate - a source.
Please follow this form in analyzing the document below ("Capt. Lugard") for today’s class. You will add this information to your investigation logbook. Paste the steps below into your google doc and add your own answers there, and as always, make sure the document is shared with me.
1. PREPARATION: Learning is a process of hanging new information on a framework of knowledge that already exists in your mind. Before starting to read, ask yourself a couple of questions to help identify your framework, and write down your thoughts (no more than a paragraph) in your logbook
- What do I already know about this subject?
- Which questions or wonderings do I want answered?
2. WHILE READING: Try to think critically while reading a primary source. To do this, ask yourself the following questions, and write up a summary (no more than a paragraph) in your logbook:
- What is the author saying? What information are you getting from this?
- What does the author want you to think or do? (Hint: what is the author's motivation for speaking to me?)
- Do you agree or disagree with the author? How does the author support the argument?
- Who is this person, and what makes me trust what the author is telling me (or not)?
3. AFTER READING: Once you have read the material, take a few moments to reflect on it. Can you repeat in a short statement to yourself what the author’s main points were? Then ask yourself the following questions, and write down a summary of your thoughts in your logbook:
- How does the author confirm what you knew before?
- How does what you read change what you thought you knew before you started reading?
- What questions remain that you want to explore in this class?
- If you were going to start a discussion about this reading, what questions or quotes would you raise for the class?
The document:
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
capt_lugard.pdf | |
File Size: | 79 kb |
File Type: |
Document 2: We are going to do an exercise called Compare, Contrast, and Extend. This will allow us to do a more in depth analysis of the documents.
Choose 2 documents from the list below (testimonies by the imperialists). Rather than do ALL the steps above, you will do these 3 below instead, entering this information into your logbook:
1. Comparing means looking for similarities. Which aspects of these new stories confirm or resemble aspects of the other statement you read?
2. Contrasting means looking for differences. Which aspects of these statements seem different or contradictory from the others?
3. Extending means adding new information and looking for new avenues of research. When you add both statements together, what new things do you now know about your topic, and what further questions are developing?
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