Analyzing Historical Information

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

  • Inquiry Skills—You will apply disciplinary concepts and tools, analyze societal issues, trends, and events, evaluate change and continuity over time, evaluate and use evidence, develop explanations and make persuasive arguments in support of your conclusions,and communicate your conclusions.
  • 21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, communicate effectively, and assess and validate information.

Directions

Pleasesave this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. ______

Self-CheckedActivities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. At the end of the lesson, click the link to open the Student Answer Sheet. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your work.

  1. Organizing Information

Researchers benefit from arranging information with graphic organizers, such as timelines or sequencing charts. Depending on the kind of information, researchers can choose from a variety of graphic organizers. You are going to read about two events in US history. You will then choose a different graphic organizer for each event to chart out the information you read.

Choose and read about any two of the following events in US history: Industrial Revolution, World War I, World War II, or the Dust Bowl.

For each event you chose, create one of the graphic organizers listed in the lesson (sequence chart, cause and effect, compare and contrast, categorizing, or timeline) to organize the information presented in eacharticle. Use a different graphic organizer for each of the two chosen topics. Pay attention to what information is presented to choose the best graphic organizer for each topic.

Sample answer:

Answers will vary depending on the topics you choose and the graphic organizers you use. Two subjects are presented below as examples.

World War II – Cause and Effect

Cause / Effect
Japan is dependent on foreign imports. / Japan attacks China to claim the resource-rich area of Manchuria.
Japan seeks to defeat the US Navy in the Pacific and attacks Pearl Harbor. / The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor draws the United States into the war.
Germany conquers much of Europe and seeks to control the Soviet Union. / Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union opens a two-front war that ultimately leads to Germany’s defeat.

Dust Bowl– Categorizing Information

Natural Landscape / Drought / Human Geography
The Great Plains had tall grassland that could be farmed. / Over-farming caused soil deterioration. / Farmers traveled to the Great Plains region after 1860 and the Homestead Act.
The landscape was semi-arid and delicate. / Removal of natural grasses caused erosion of soil. / The landscape could be difficult to farm, but some farmers succeeded.
The dry region occasionally dealt with droughts. / Soil destruction increased the severity of droughts. / Erosion and drought caused farmers to lose their crops and livelihood, forcing farmers to migrate.
  1. Identifying Point of View

Understanding an author’s point of view can reveal the validity of an argument and the reliability of a source. Read the following article about the US Civil War. Then answer the following questions about differing viewpoints:

  1. What are two views that Americans have of the cause of the Civil War?

Sample answer:

Historians primarily agree that it was slavery that caused the war. When Americans are polled, many also believe it was slavery that caused the war, yet as many as 48 percent believe it was an issue of states’ rights.

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  1. Give an example of how politicians have clouded the issue of the cause of the Civil War?

Sample answer:

Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnellrecently officially recognized Confederate History Month without acknowledging the role of slavery in the war. He explained this action by saying that while slavery was one of many factors, he wanted to focus on factors that were “most significant” to his state. This view differs from the well-documented historical record of the importance of slavery in the secession of the Southern states.

  1. Do the historians in the article generally agree or disagree with one another about the causes and legacy of the Civil War? What does this agreement or disagreement tell us about the reliability and validity of their views?

Sample answer:

The historians cited in the article all agree with one another about the cause of the Civil War. Despite coming from different backgrounds and cultures, the historians agree that slavery was the root cause of the Civil War. The fact that all these historians generally agree with one another makes their shared viewpoints more reliable and valid, especially because the historians have different backgrounds and all work for the well-respected institutions of Howard University, Clemson University, and the University of Colorado.

  1. What is a reason that some historians provide to explain why many Americans support the idea that states’ rights caused the Civil War?

Sample answer:

A historian claimed that Americans simply don’t know enough about the topic of the Civil War or our country’s history in general.

  1. Next, write a half- to full-page essay discussing why you think Americans’ viewpoints differ on the cause and legacy of the US Civil War. In your essay, you should take into account the different backgrounds of Americans, such as northerner, southerner, white, and black. In addition, describe your own viewpoint on this topic, and explain why you hold that view. Use information and evidence from the article to support your claims.

Sample answer:

Answers will vary, but your essay should discuss the following concepts:

  • why different viewpoints on the Civil War existed in the United States
  • how regional and racial factors affect Americans’ viewpoints on the war
  • your own viewpoint on the cause and legacy of the Civil War
  • why you have that viewpoint on the Civil War

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