1. Chronology A sequence of events in time.
Example: In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Then conquistadors, like Cortez and Pizarro, came to the Americas.

2. Opinion
A belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge, but rather on what seems true, valid or probable in one’s own mind; what one thinks; judgment.
Example: High school is much better than middle school.

3. Source The place of origin of information.
Example: The World History 9 Textbook;
The New York Times
Anne Frank’s Diary

4. Primary Source
First-hand accounts of historical events, eras, et cetera.
Example: A letter written by your Great-Great Aunt Melba to your Great-Great Uncle Herman about her work in an airplane factory during World War II.

5. Secondary Source
Information gained second-hand (the person who record it was not present to witness the event, and may not have been living at the time.)
Example: Your essay explaining the ideas that Italian writer Niccolo Machiavelli discusses in his book, The Prince.

6. Evidence
Information which can be used to prove the truth (or falsity) of a historical claim.
Examples: Primary sources
data / statistics
artifacts

7. Fact Information that is proved verifiable.
Example: The Earth is round.

8. Thesis
A tentative answer to a question, taking into consideration all of the preliminary evidence.
Example: George Washington’s greatest accomplishment as President of the United States was that he stepped down from power.

9. Bias A mental leaning or inclination; partiality, prejudice.
Example: A person’s gender, age, education level, political affiliation, job, nationality, et cetera may impact how he or she interprets the evidence of any case.

10. Interpretation A judgment based on evidence.
Example: Low test scores must mean that students don’t care enough to study.

11. Causation
The process of how events occurred (e.g. what caused what to happen?).
Example: Your alarm went of this morning, causing you to wake up and begin to get ready for school.

12. Agency
The capacity of an individual (or a group) to act and exert influence in a given situation.
Example: Martin Luther King was an agent of change in the Civil Rights movement. His leadership helped to bring about the end of the era of segregation in the South.

13. Annotate
To provide critical, explanatory notes for a written work. E.g. who wrote it? What were their qualifications? Is there evidence of bias? Etc.
Example: Njus, Elliot. "2 Teens Arrested after Portland Fire Vehicle, 1 Other Damaged by Rocks Thrown from Overpass." OregonLive, March 11, Accessed March 11,
This is a secondary source as this is a newspaper story written about an event that happened earlier in the week. This article appears to be non-bias, it is a reliable source as it is from a well known local newspaper, the Oregonian. The Oregonian is known to have a conservative bias, but this is not a political article. I used this news story as evidence for two teenagers being arrested after two vehicles were struck by rocks thrown from a Northeast Portland overpass by them.

14. Context
The whole situation, background, or environment relevant to a particular event, person, creation, etc.
Example: In order to understand why Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, one must first understand that he was writing during the historical era known as the Enlightenment.

15. Citation Documentation of a source to which you have referred.
Example: In history classes, we cite our sources using a style called Chicago. It hails from the University of Chicago. In English classes, you cite your sources using MLA.

16. Partner Assignment
With your partner craft a story that uses AT MINIMUM 10 of your intro vocab words.
Yes, your story must use the words as they are defined in your notes.
Yes, you may modify their form (e.g. cause instead of causation) if it works better for your paragraph.
Yes, your story must MAKE SENSE!
Yes, a good story tends to be around 2/3 of a page long.
Yes, your story may be fiction or non-fiction.