"Unpack" primary docs

This version was saved 12 years, 7 months ago View current version Page history

Saved by chwms
on August 12, 2012 at 9:14:51 pm

Before you can have students participate in any activity, they need to "unpack" or "deconstruct" the document at hand. There are many ways to do this. Here are a few of the most common strategies outlined. Each one will be explained with a document below (coming!)

DBQ

Document

Based

Questions

SOAPstoneS

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

Significance

6C's

Content

Citation

Context

Connections

Communication

Conclusions

SENSORY FIGURES

Make an outine of a body

"I see" = eye

"I hear" = ear

"I feel" = heart

"I say" = mouth

"In my travels" = feet

"I think" = brain

ETHOS,PATHOS

LOGOS

Ethos = author authority

Pathos = feelings

Logos = logic

5-STEP

describe what you see

summary

tell us what the doc is about

context

what events are being shown?

'big picture"

look again, leave anything out?

empathy

how does this tell us about history?

significance

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Observe

Reflect

Question

National Archives
(NARA)

Document Analysis

For any type of document — a written document, image, map, chart, graph, audio or video — move through the following steps:

Before getting into the content of the document, look at it in a very general sense and ask basic questions. Consider the document’s type: “What kind of document are we looking at?” For example, for textual documents, is it a newspaper, letter, report? For artifacts, what material is this made of? For video, is it a propaganda film, cartoon, training video?
Find unique characteristics of the document (which will vary depending on document type). Note any markings or special qualities. These characteristics will help students understand the document in context. For example: Are there any symbols, letterhead, handwritten versus typed text, stamps, seals, or notations? Is there a background, color, or tone? Are there facial expressions in photographs, or other telling features? Is there narration or special effects? Is there a key?
Attempt to identify the creator and the content of the document. Break down the document by asking “Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?”
Rephrase the document into plain language. Students should determine the content of the document and speculate for whom and why it was created. Help students understand the document in historical context.