Uncovering the Past: An Introduction to Historical Thinking
This worksheet introduces 6th-grade students to the core concepts of historical thinking, including primary and secondary sources, cause and effect, and perspective.
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Uncovering the Past: An Introduction to Historical Thinking
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. This worksheet will help you understand how historians think about the past.
1. Which of the following is an example of a **primary source**?
A textbook chapter about World War II
A diary written by a soldier during the Civil War
A documentary film about ancient Egypt
An encyclopedia entry about the Roman Empire
2. A **secondary source** is usually created by someone who:
Directly witnessed an event
Was not present at the event but studied it later
Created the event itself
Only uses pictures to tell a story
3. The idea that one event makes another event happen is called .
4. A historian tries to understand the of people living in the past.
5. Evidence from the past can sometimes be , meaning it only tells one side of a story.
6. Historians always agree on exactly what happened in the past.
True
False
7. Understanding the context of an event means knowing when and where it took place.
True
False
8. Imagine you are studying the daily life of a child in ancient Rome. Name one type of primary source and one type of secondary source you might use.
Match each term on the left with its definition on the right.
9. Chronology
a. How someone sees or understands an event
10. Evidence
b. The order in which events happened
11. Perspective
c. Information or objects that help prove an idea