The Study of History and the Tools Used

What is essential about essential questions?

Essential Questions have two primary purposes.o 1. To provide

purpose and direction to a study, project, or inquiry

o 2. Remind us what our goal is and what the “bigger picture” is.

Imagine an essential question as a bookshelf and individual topics as books. All the bookshelves together make a library (our thinking and beliefs)

The components of an Essential Question

1. Should help organize our thinking (categorize) 2. Should be able to be applied to almost any

content or subject area. 3. Should be open ended as possible, there

shouldn’t just be one definite answer 4. Should push us to higher level thinking 5. Should apply to the “real world”

Essential Question Practice

Themes In order to come up with

essential questions, there first needs to be a subject or theme to investigate.

This year, we will focus on 7 primary themes:o Religious,

Economic, Social, Political, Educational, Cultural, Technological

Exploring the Themes In your group using your own knowledge, the

textbook, or one of Mr. T’s books, you will do the following:o 1. Define your theme in your own words and why it

is important.o 2. Provide historical examples of your theme at

work (two)o 3. Provide at least two examples of your theme at

work in your own lives.All of this will be written on piece of construction paper along with an illustration of your theme. Tomorrow you will share your poster with the class.

Sources Primary Sources are

sources that physically took part in or observed the event they are writing about.

Secondary Sources are sources that are writing about a time or event but were not there themselves to witness it.

Examples of Primary Sources Personal records (letters, emails, etc.), Vital records

(birth certificates, government documents, etc.), manuscripts (original writings by author), newspaper and magazine articles at time of the event, oral histories, photographs, maps, and more.

Examples of Secondary Sources

Textbooks, histories, newspaper or magazine articles written long after an event took place, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias.

Maps, Maps, and More Maps

Map Notes

The first known maps come from Babylon from around 2300 BC

Four Primary Types: Political, Physical, Data Based/Scientific, and Historical

Political Maps Political maps

are designed to show governmental boundaries of countries, states, and counties, the location of major cities, and they usually include significant bodies of water.

Physical Maps In addition to

country borders, major cities and significant bodies of water, physical maps indicate the location of landforms like deserts, mountains and plains.

Data/Scientific Maps Data/Scientific

maps take a particular set of data and represent that data on a map. The map itself may or may not contain elements of physical or political maps.

Historical Maps Historical Maps are in their own

category because they are maps that are not particular relevant or valid today. They represent what we as humans thought was the world around us at that time.

The following slides trace our concept of a world map over time.

Timeline Notes

Timelines Purpose: Timelines are another

way to show change over time. They also help us to see the larger picture of where we have been and where we are going.

Timelines can be created in a number of ways and include various combinations of numbers, dates, images, descriptions, labels, etc.

There is no one way to create a timeline as long as it follows a common sense order throughout.

Family History Assignment Using the timeline tool, you will create a brief history

of you and/or your family. Your timeline must include yourself in some way and

must have a minimum of ten events/entries. Each entry must have a label and/or description and some sort of picture/illustration. Do not forget to title your timeline

On the back of the timeline, write 3 to 4 sentences describing why you drew the timeline the way you did and what made you chose the events that you chose.

How the timeline is organized and presented is totally up to you as long as you meet the above requirements.

The Life of Mr. T

Born 7/19/1988 in Houston, TX

Graduated from Jersey Village High

School in 2006

Played Football and sang in Choir at Jersey Village High School

Graduated from Trinity University in 2010 and 2011 with a BA and MAT

Started working at Cristo Rey

Jesuit in the summer of

2011

Bias A leaning or tendency that may result in

information that is exaggerated, altered, or untrue.

Using Multiple Sources If at all possible, do

not rely on just one source.

Looking at numerous sources on the same topic allows you to see the whole picture and come to your own conclusions.

Searching for Bias Readings Hammurabi’s Code of Laws pg. 33 The Ten Commandments pg. 79 A Husband’s Advice pg. 129 Perspective of a Noble Woman pg. 368 Perspective of a Peasant Woman pg. 368 Islamic Law pg. 424 Tenochtitlan pg. 455 The Middle Passage pg. 569 Thoughts on Nonviolence pg. 888

Searching for Bias Directions 1. Summarize your source and tell us what it

is about. 2. Who created this source and what was

their purpose in creating it? 3. Is there any bias in this source? How did

sharing this viewpoint (bias) impact society?Write down your groups answers one paper to be turned in.

Political Cartoons and the Media

Political Cartoons A political

cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message, that usually relates to current events or personalities.

Political Cartoons and the Media

Although you may not see as many political cartoons today, their messages are still there through other forms of media.

Television, Radio, Internet, Newspapers, Magazines are all highly effective ways used to convey political and social messages and influence our decisions as citizen’s daily.

Bias a tendency or inclination, especially one that

prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question.

Your Political Cartoon After looking at examples of political cartoons and

examining its’ definition, you will now create your own political cartoon on the topic of your own choosing.

Your cartoon must include an image of some kind, words either in the form of a title or a caption or both, and be clear to the audience what your message is. On the back briefly explain what you drew, why you chose to draw what you did, and what is the message.

The topic is your choice it can be about any issue that you are passionate about.