
Complete the “Hook” Exercise: Captains of
Industry or Robber Barons?
3 min

In pairs, read the background essay and
answer the reading questions.
5 min

Ask:
 What was going on at the time?
 What was it like to be alive at this time?
 What things were different back then? What
things were the same?
5 min
Unit 1. Industrialism. Lesson 3.

Challenge: DBQ Project “Mini-Q” (five
documents, with corresponding questions to
answer).

Extreme Challenge: Dueling essays: Howard
Zinn vs. John Gordon.

Sign up for an extreme challenge!

A history paper, like many other kinds of
academic writing, usually takes the form of
an argument in support of a thesis.

NOT a statement of fact, a question, or an
opinion

NOT a topic, or what the paper is about
2 min




A statement that reflects what you have
concluded about the topic under
consideration for your paper.
Informs the reader about conclusions you
have reached.
Always arguable or debatable.
The central point to which all information in
your paper relates.

Relying upon information from the
background essay, as well as your prior
knowledge:
 Write a tentative thesis
 Also, write a tentative counter-thesis
5 min

Gives you a specific analytic frame to help
you make sense of documents

Think of “buckets” as categories for analysis

Ask: what should I look for if I am going to
prove my thesis?
5 min
Contributions
to business
Contributions
to society
Relationship
with
government

Critically analyze the five documents by
answering the critical analysis questions for
each document.
Does
Does Not
• A statement that reflects what you have
concluded about the topic under
consideration for your paper.
• NOT a statement of fact, a question, or
an opinion
• NOT a topic, or what the paper is about
• Informs the reader about conclusions you
have reached.
• Always arguable or debatable.
• The central point to which all information
in your paper relates.
• Includes a claim and warrant (because
statement)




Sourcing
Contextualization
Close Reading
Corroboration




What is the author’s point of view?
Why was the source written?
When was the source written?
Is this source believable? Why, or why not?

Consult outside electronic and print libraries.

When doing this, “source” your sources; in
other words, vet documents to ensure
credibility.

For now, refer to the “sourcing” handout.

Challenge:
 Apply the “Reading Like a Historian” table’s Sourcing
Questions to the documents in your DBQ packet.
 For each document, answer:
▪
▪
▪
▪
What is the author’s point of view?
Why was the source written?
When was the source written?
Is this source believable? Why, or why not?
 For now, rely on the “sourcing handout” research

Extreme Challenge:
 Read both the Zinn and Howard essays
 Apply the “Reading Like a Historian” table’s Close Reading
questions to each essay:
▪
▪
▪
▪
What claims does the author make?
What evidence does the author use to support those claims?
How is this document make me feel?
What words or phrases does the author use to convince me that
he/she is right?
▪ What information does the author leave out?
 Also, read the sourcing information on both Zinn
and Howard, located on the last page of the
“sourcing handout” (very short!)