1. Historical Way of Thinking

2. Primary Sources Newspaper articles Eyewitness account Journals
Interview
Autobiographies
Facebook posts
Letters s
Paintings
Tweets
Pictures
Instagram pictures
Sculptures
Etc.
News segments

3. Primary Sources
Why are they useful for studying history?

4. Sourcing
What background information do we know about the author or the source itself?
Leading Questions:
What is the author’s point of view?
Who wrote this?
When was it written?
We’re trying to determine the reliability of the source
Example:
Would a Facebook post about the Colts written by a Patriots fan be 100% trustworthy?

5. Contextualization
What was the world like at the time this source was created?
Leading Questions
What was different back then?
What else was going on at the time this source was created?
Provides us a deeper understanding of the source and what it says
Example:
According to ESPN.com, the average attendance for Colts games in 2007 was 55,531. In 2008, the average jumped to 66,300.
How can contextualization help us explain this?

6. Close Reading How convincing is the source? Leading Questions:
What evidence does the author use?
What information does the author leave out?
Helps us decide if the source is useful
Example:
ESPN analyst Mike Ditka sent out a tweet that said, “The Colts are the worst team in the NFL”
Is his argument convincing?

7. Corroboration Do other sources back up what this source says?
Leading Questions:
What do other documents say?
Are they the same, or do they say something different?
This will help us figure out whether or not we should believe it
Example:
15 out of 17 ESPN analysts have picked the Colts to finish first in the AFC South division this year
Based on these sources, can we believe that the Colts will be good this year?

8. Bias Nearly every primary source has bias
Finding the bias can help us in all 4 aspects of Thinking Like a Historian
Always be looking for bias in primary sources!

9. Quick Review Why do we “source” a document?
Find out if it is reliable
Why do we “contextualize” a source?
Get a deeper understanding of the source
Why do we use “close reading” while analyzing a source?
To determine whether or not the source is useful
Why do we “corroborate” a source?
To figure out if we should believe it or not
What should we always be looking for when we analyze primary sources?
Bias