Historical Thinking Skills

All we learn about the past comes from clues that have been left behind and discovered, be they artifacts, documents, or written and oral descriptions.

• Evidence

• Proof

• Corroboration

• Documentation

To think about what was going on when a particular document was created and to think how that might have influenced the content of the document.

• Causation

• Contextualization

• Corroboration

• Periodization

The act of comparing pieces of evidence and seeing where they agree and disagree.

• Comparison

• Corroboration

• Contextualization

• Sourcing

Who or what influenced events to occur and what the repercussions of those events were.

• Comparison

• Evidence

• Contextualization

• Causation and Consequence

To evaluate two or more historical developments from multiple perspectives

• Comparison

• Corroboration

• Causation

• Periodization

To categorize historical time by looking for turning points

• Continuity and Change

• Span

• Periodization

• Sourcing

Looking at the things in society that change over time and the things that stay the same.

• Causation and Consequence

• Corroboration

• Continutity and Change

• Contextualization