SOAPSToneAnalyzing Primary Source

Documents

Focus Question:O Describe in a short, two to three

sentence response, what you would like to learn in this class during the year.

Objectives:

After today’s lesson, you will:O Investigate the tools within the

textbook.O Describe the importance of

documents to the study of history.O Analyze a series of documents using

the SOAPSTone strategy

DocumentsO History is studied by using

documentsO Documents are any item useful for

studyO Articles, essays, newspapers, diaries,

memos, etc.O Maps, graphs, chartsO Paintings, Cartoons, PhotosO Songs, Film, VideoO Artifacts

SourcesO Primary Sources: Written and

developed during the time studiedO Secondary Sources: Written and

developed after the fact.

Both are highly valuable to historians

Analyzing Primary Sources

OSOAPSToneOSpeakerOOccasionOAudienceOPurposeOSubjectOTone

O Speaker: The speaker is the voice that tells the story. Include not only the name of the author, but also important facts about him/her.

 O Occasion: It is the time and place of

the piece; the context that encouraged the writing to happen.

O Audience: The audience is the group of readers to whom the piece is directed.

O Purpose: It is the reason behind the text. What does the author want the audience to think or do as a result of reading this text?

O Subject: It is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. This should be brief.

 O Tone: It is the attitude of the author

as heard in his/her tone of voice. Tone extends meaning beyond the literal.

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations [preference], or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence: nor is the law less stable than the fact; if an assault was made to endanger their lives, the law is clear, they had a right to kill in their own defence; if it was not so severe as to endanger their lives, yet if they were assaulted at all, struck and abused by blows of any sort, by snow-balls, oyster-shells, cinders, clubs, or sticks of any kind; this was a provocation, for which the law reduces the offence of killing, down to manslaughter, in consideration of those passions in our nature, which cannot be eradicated. To your candour [fairness] and justice I submit the prisoners and their cause.”

John Adams, Defense Counsel Closing Arguments, Boston Massacre TrialDecember 1770Boston, MA

SummaryO In a short, two to three sentence

response, describe the most important thing you learned in this class today.