SkillsHistorical thinking toolkit
Course Information & Skills
Study the words
Vocabulary
0 of 27 Words Mastered
27 words still to learn. You choose what counts as mastered — you can always move a word back.
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Standard 1 — Content Understanding
Social Studies
The study of people and societies across time and place. Social studies includes areas such as history, geography, economics, and civics.
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Standard 1 — Content Understanding
History
The study of the past, including people, places, events, ideas, and change over time.
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Standard 1 — Content Understanding
Historian
A person who studies and interprets the past using evidence.
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Standard 1 — Content Understanding
Chronological Order
The arrangement of events in the order in which they happened, from earliest to latest.
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Standard 1 — Content Understanding
Geography
The study of Earth's land, water, people, places, and the relationships between people and their environments.
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Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills
Annotations / Annotating
To annotate means to make purposeful notes or marks on a text while reading.
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Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills
Text Tagging
Text tagging means adding simple labels or marks to a text to show what specific information is about.
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Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills
Primary Source
Firsthand evidence connected to the time, person, or event being studied.
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Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills
Secondary Source
An account, explanation, or interpretation of the past created by someone who did not directly experience the event being described.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Sourcing
Examining basic information about a source before closely analyzing what it says.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Time Gap
The amount of time between the event being studied and the creation of a source about that event.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Reliable / Reliability
Reliability means how much a source can be trusted to provide accurate information for the question you are asking.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Corroboration
Comparing multiple sources to see where they agree, disagree, or support the same idea.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Bias
A one-sided or slanted point of view that favors or opposes a person, group, idea, or outcome instead of being completely neutral.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Geographic Context
The location and physical surroundings of a historical event, place, or source and how those surroundings may have influenced it.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Historical Context
The background information about the time, place, and circumstances surrounding a source or event.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Intended Audience
The specific person or group a source was created to reach or influence.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Point of View
The way a person sees or understands an event or issue.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
Purpose
The reason a source was created.
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Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
HIPP
An acronym historians can use to analyze a historical source after sourcing it.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
CER
A writing structure that stands for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
TEA
A historical-writing structure that stands for Thesis, Evidence, and Analysis.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
Thesis / Claim
A claim is a clear, defensible answer or argument that can be supported with evidence. A thesis is the central claim of a longer or more developed response. In 7th grade, the terms can be used interchangeably.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
Evidence
Specific information used to support a claim or thesis.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
Reasoning
The explanation that connects evidence back to a claim.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
Analysis
Analysis takes your thinking deeper. It explains HOW things are connected, WHY something happened, WHAT resulted, or WHY it matters.
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Standard 4 — Historical Writing
Outside Information
Relevant historical facts, details, examples, or vocabulary you know from your own reading, notes, and learning, not just from the source placed in front of you.
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Mastery by standard
The same colours as your packet. Pick a standard to practice just the words you are still learning in it.
Standard 1 — Content Understanding
0 / 5 Mastered
Standard 1 — Content Understanding: 0 of 5 terms mastered.Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills
0 / 4 Mastered
Standard 2 — Historical Literacy Skills: 0 of 4 terms mastered.Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis
0 / 11 Mastered
Standard 3 — Historical Source Analysis: 0 of 11 terms mastered.Standard 4 — Historical Writing
0 / 7 Mastered
Standard 4 — Historical Writing: 0 of 7 terms mastered.