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Primary Resources: Think Like an Historian

Scaffolding For Critical Reading
Author
  • Who do you think created the document? Can you tell?
  • Who is the targeted audience? (Please consider age, gender, class, culture)
Context
  • What general time period was this document created?
  • What does it say about the culture during that time period?
Delivery
  • What style is represented: persuasive, reflective, informational (please be aware of language, tone or the font size)
Accuracy
  • How accurate are the documents? Are they based on fact or opinion?
  • Did they obtain their objective?
  • Are there biases presented by the document or picture?
Main Points
  • What are the key ideas, best supported ideas, interesting or unique information?