What does it all mean?

Anne Frank at 12 years old in 1941
(Photo courtsey of www.ushmm.org)

What does The Diary of Anne Frank mean to us today?

USII.1a
Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to understand US history from 1865 to present

Goal:  How do I analyze a primary sources? 

You may have heard of the word analysis and when teachers ask you to do it---do you know what it means?

Historical analysis is a breakdown of the primary source so you can draw a conclusion about what happened. History without any analysis, is just names, dates, places. It's more than that. When you analyze, ask yourself what does it mean for us today?

Just because you are students doesn't mean that you can't be historians and write an historical analysis.  You can learn to make conclusions with historical evidence with practice.

Some questions during analysis are:
1.Do you completely understand the primary source? Primary sources use vocabulary you may not know. Find out.
2. Why did the author write it?
3. What were the circumstances under which it was written? Was it a speech written over several days or a quick note to troops on the frontline?
4. What was the background of the author?
5. Was the source written at the time of the event or years later?

Activity #1

Think about being a teenager. What new experiences are you going through?
Are your relationships changing between your friends and family? What new things have you learned about yourself?Consider these questions in your answers.

Do you think your experiences are unique? Let me give you an example, all teenagers experience what psychologists call "the invisible audience". It's the feeling that everyone is watching you, looking at what you wear and what you say. Everyone goes through this. Trust me.

Activity #2  Quick review of Anne's story

Answer the questions so that the information about Anne is fresh in your mind to do Activity #3. 

Activity #3
This is only a prep for the analysis activity which will be in the next post. (Whew! )       (I heard that!)
Complete the following below about a passage from Anne's diary. Consider all that you've studied about Anne as you write. This is not a test so I want you to write what you think.

 

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My best,
Amy