Vocabulary: historical thinking
Know and use the vocabulary of historical thinking — source, evidence, primary source, secondary source, artefact, chronology, chronological order, BC/BCE, AD/CE, century, decade, era, period, timeline, excavation, archaeologist, interpretation, corroborate, bias, perspective — and apply these terms when discussing how we know about the past and how reliable our knowledge is
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Historical thinking uses sources as evidence. A primary source comes from the time studied; a secondary source interprets the past later. Historians place evidence in chronology, use BCE and CE dates, corroborate sources, notice bias and perspective, and judge reliability.
Spend 15 minutes building a historical-thinking chart, then compare a primary source with a secondary source about the same event.
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Educator Resources supports Vocabulary: historical thinking. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.
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Check understanding
- Correctly use BC/BCE and AD/CE to place events in time and explain what the letters stand for
- Distinguish between a primary source and a secondary source with an example of each
- Use 'evidence', 'interpretation', and 'bias' correctly in a sentence about a historical source
“If you asked your child whether something they read in a history book was definitely true, could they explain why it might not be — using words like 'source', 'evidence', or 'bias'?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Language
- Subject
- History
- Domain
- Historical Thinking
- Age range
- Ages 6–10
Standards