Friday, March 15. 2013

Beware the Ides of March! Today's schedule is B-A-D-C-X

B Block Social Studies 11 - Today you can start by finishing up questions 1-3 from page 16. For the rest of the class, you'll need to work in partners so you can understand the differences between primary and secondary sources in historical research. From the Ontario History Quest...

A Primary Source:

1. First-hand evidence or eyewitness account of an event, circumstance or personality
2. Tells about the event without adding any interpretation or commentary that may convey attitudes from a later time
3. Reflects the individual viewpoint or bias (a one-sided point of view) of the participant/recorder
4. Reflects the biases and attitudes of the time period in which it was written or produced

A Secondary Source:

1. Second-hand account of an event, circumstance, or personality made after the time period being recorded 
2. Interprets, analyzes or explains a historical event and the evidence of that event
3. Usually attempts to be objective and balanced, but may reflect the biases of the historian/recorder
4. Could convey the attitudes of the time period in which it was written or produced

There are a number of questions that a history student or historian must consider when analyzing primary or secondary sources.

• What type of source is this, primary or secondary?
• What is the background of the person(s) who created the source?
• Why did the person(s) create the document?
• What is the historical context (time, place, and situation) within which it was created?
• What is the main idea expressed in the source? What are the key facts that support this idea?
• Is there a bias or one-sided point of view in the source? What are some key words or phrases that reveal the bias?
• What evidence does this source contribute to my research?

I'll have you practice interpreting Primary and Secondary source information by partnering up and working on questions 1-7 on page 18-19 in the Counterpoints textbook (Building Your Skills: Analyzing primary and secondary sources).

A Block Law 9/10 - Today we will continue our look at crime scene investigation and you'll have time to work on your fingerprint graph assignment in class. Don't forget that the computer program that identifies digital fingerprints is called AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System). We will also watch the CSI episode "Burden of Proof" (Season 2 Episode 215).Try to identify the evidence used to find out who committed the crime in the episode.

C Block Social Studies 10 - Today we'll review the report prepared by Lord Durham along with the Act of Union (1841) and responsible government in 1848. We'll also take some time to speculate on what it would be like if Durham's suggestions about anglicizing Lower Canada (Canada East / Quebec) were acted upon. I'll have you work on questions 1, 4 and 5 from page 80 of the Horizons textbook. For more check out:
Musee McCord Museum "The Aftermath of the Rebellions flash movie