Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
Chapter 1 - Lesson 4 "How Historians Study the Past" p. 38-43
MAIN IDEAS
• Culture – Historians often ask questions about the past in order to understand the present.
• Culture – Historians use a variety of methods to help them answer questions about what
happened in the past.
• Culture – Historians examine evidence and draw conclusions as they answer historical
questions.
ASKING QUESTIONS
- Ask the 5 W and 1 H questions:
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
How?
Ex: how have groups interacted?
HISTORIANS TOOLS
- Primary Sources (letters, eye witness
accounts, diaries)
- Secondary Sources (paintings, books,
photos
- Oral history (stories, customs, songs)
A HISTORIAN’S JOB
EXAMINING EVIDENCE
- evaluating sources
- testing theories
- Historians sift through all the information, choose
what is most important and trustworthy as
evidence
Understanding the past (p. 39 – 40)
1. When historians examine the past events, they try to find _____________________
2. What do historians do when they study the past?
Possible answers: They ask questions.
Look for causes / effects that explain WHY events happened.
They look to see what happened to a society
They learn
about culture, religion, politics and economics
3. WHY do we study history?
To learn about the past and how it affects us today.
The Historian’s Tools (p.40-41)
1
Name____________________________________________ Period ___________ Date _______________
4. Complete the chart below
Type of source
Primary Source
Definition
Something written or created by
a person who witnessed a
historical event.
Secondary
Source
An account of a historical event
written by someone who did not
witness the event.
Oral History
An unwritten account of an
event. Shared with others
through speaking / talking.
An example of this type of source
- letters
- photos
- diaries
- artifacts
- eyewitness articles
- videotapes
- speeches
Anything that based on a primary
source or appears after an event
- books
- paintings
- media reports
- stories
- family tales
- customs
- songs
How Knowledge of the Past Changes (p.42-43)
5. Once historians find evidence, what do they have to “DO” with the evidence they find?
- Answer questions
- see what information is “important” and “trust worthy”
- make conclusions
6. How are historians like detectives?
They both have to sift through evidence and draw conclusions from it.
Lesson Summary (p. 43)
• Asking historical questions can help solve mysteries about the past.
• A historian’s most important tools are primary sources, secondary sources and oral history
• Examining evidence can lead to a new answer to a question or deepen a mystery.
Why it matters now (p. 43) . . .
The answers to historical questions can help people as they respond to today’s events and
challenges.
2