So far this year we have learned three strategies for analyzing documents we read in class or encounter in DBQs: 1) 3-Level Questions, 2) Facts & Inferences, and 3) SOAPSS.
When completing one of these exercises, it is important to remember–you are not:
- rushing to see who finishes the assignment first,
- trying to find the “teachers” right answers, or
- just getting it done for a grade.
You should be completing the activity to encourage your understanding of the material previously covered and how it is connecting to what we are learning and what we will be learning. Let’s review:
1. Three Level Questions
- First read the text.
- After reading the text, you need to create at the very least–3 questions–per level.
- Level 1 Questions are answered DIRECTLY in the text.
- Level 2 Questions are answered using the TEXT and OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE (inference).
- Level 3 Questions connect the information to the bigger picture or the world at large.
2. Facts and Inferences
- T-Chart
- List facts found in the document that directly relate to the content and/or the question being asked. (Remember, knowing Andrew Jackson was tall will not help you on a DBQ or to understand the concepts.)
- List inferences (brining in that outside knowledge) on the other side. How does the text relate to what has been studied before? How might it relate to what’s coming next? What do you know about any of the concepts in the text that is not directly stated?
3. SOAPSS
- Subject–What is the topic of the document? (Remember in English, when the teacher would always ask you to come up with a TOPIC to write about? That’s what I want you to find from the document.)
- Occasion–What occurred BEFORE the document was written to CAUSE it to be written?
- Audience–Who was the document written for? Why?
- Purpose–What does the author want the audience to do, be aware of, or commit to after reading the document?
- Speaker–Who is the author of the document?
- Significance–What is the historical significance of this document? What did it lead to? What did it cause? What did it do? How was it received by its audience? How does it relate to what we have already learned?
It is time for you to use these strategies appropriately and to use the one that works best of the purpose at hand. Some of you may prefer one over another. That’s ok. These are just strategies for you to use to help you make sense of the documents we read and relate them to what we have learned.
