UNI T ONE: LESSON ONE

Think Like a Historian

Big Ideas of the Lesson
History is the study of the past and historians are people who
study the past.

Historians study the past by trying to answer certain questions.

The questions of history are: What happened? When did it
happen? Who was involved? How and why did it happen?

Historians study primary and secondary sources to try and
answer the questions of history.

The questions of history can be used to help us review the history
of Michigan.

HOW IS A
HISTORIAN LIKE
A DETECTIVE?
QUESTION
Historians and
Detectives
A detective looks for clues.
A historian looks for clues.

A detective gathers evidence.
A historian gathers evidence.

A historian reconstructs the
past like a detective
reconstructs a crime.


The Questions a Historian Asks
What happened?

When did it happen?

Who was involved?

How and why did it happen?

THE I MPORTANT EVENTS
MICHIGAN HISTORY
Events in
Michigans
History
What HAPPENED
in this place in the past?

Proof can be found in two kinds of sources.

PRIMARY SOURCE

SECONDARY SOURCE

To answer this question you
need PROOF!


RECORDS MADE BY PEOPLE WHO SAW OR
TOOK PART IN AN EVENT.

EXAMPLES: JOURNALS, LETTERS,
PHOTOGRAPHS

Primary Sources
NOT A DIRECT LINK TO AN EVENT

RECORDS OF AN EVENT WRITTEN BY
SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT THERE AT
THE TIME.

EXAMPLES: TEXTBOOKS
Secondary Sources
Mystery Source
One

Directions: In your
group, work together to
determine what kind of
source this is, when you
think this was created,
and how you think it
was created. Be sure to
include supporting
evidence (an
explanation of your
answer).
TO UNDERSTAND THE
STORIES OF THE PAST, YOU
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE
PEOPLE IN THE STORIES
AND THE TIMES IN WHICH
THEY LIVED.

Who was Involved?
Historical Empathy

In this way you can understand the
actions and feelings of people from
other times and places.
Historical Perspective
By reading the words of people of the
past, you can come to understand
their point of view. Points of view
are shaped by factors such as age,
culture, religion, etc.
Primary Source
One

Does this historical
map help us
understand much
about the people in
early Michigan?
Mystery Source Two
In the early part of March, the fifth day, I think, at seven oclock in the morning we left Detroit,
all snugly packed in two sleighs. There was not much of a road, only the Indian trail. We
arrived at Royal Oak at sundown, and stayed at William Thurbers overnight.
After a good warm supper, the beds were made on the floor and all camped for the night
After a hearty breakfast the teamsters called out, All aboard for Pontiac! and soon we were
snugly packed for another days journey.
At noon we arrived at the famous town of Pontiac. The town consisted of one little
log house, containing three families and a few workmen, who were felling oak trees for timber
to construct the Pontiac mill. At this house we took dinner that was spread on boards laid on
barrels. After dinner we left the little town for Silver Lake, where we arrived about four oclock
p.m.
The workmen had occupied a little log shanty while building the house for the
family. The (house) was unfinished.the logs were all up and the roof was on and a rough
floor laid down. The house was fifty feet long and twenty wide, with a ten-foot hall running
through the middle. In the hall was a closed staircase leading to a half-story room above,
and also down into the cellar.
Our first night. a field bed was spread on the loose floor, and a large fire was built
in the earthen hearth. We fell asleep talking about the big fire, the big logs which the house
was made of, and all the strange thingsaround us.

Mystery Source Two Analysis Sheet
What kind of a document is this?

Who do you think wrote this? On what evidence did you base your answer?

When do you think it was written? On what evidence did you base your answer?

What is being described?

What is an example of the writers feelings?

What is the point of view of the writer?

What does this source tell us about early Michigan history?


Extra Information about this Source
This was written by M.A. Hodges, the daughter of
Major Oliver Williams, an early settler in Oakland
County.

The Williams family moved from Massachusetts to
Michigan in 1818.

They traveled by wagon from Massachusetts to Buffalo,
New York and then by boat to Detroit.

In 1819 they traveled by sleigh to the banks of Silver
Lake in present-day Waterford Township where they
started a farm.

Mystery Source Two Analysis Sheet
Answer Sheet
What kind of a document is this?
A diary or a memoir

Who do you think wrote this? On what evidence did you base your answer?
It was probably written by a pioneer who was traveling to a new home in the wilderness.
We think this because it describes traveling to Detroit and on to Pontiac in sleighs.

When do you think it was written? On what evidence did you base your answer?
The early 1800s because Pontiac is just a small town then and it says they were traveling
on an Indian trail.

What is being described?
How a pioneer family got to their land and what their house was like.

What is an example of the writers feelings?
He or she may have been a little scared because he/she talked about the strange things
around us.

What is the point of view of the writer?
This is the point of view of a pioneer as they traveled to a new and strange home.

What does this source tell us about early Michigan history?
It describes what it was like for pioneer families to travel to new land and start a home in a
new place. It describes how they traveled and what their homes were like.




When did it Happen?
Historians are concerned about
CHRONOLOGY

One way to build a story of the past is
to put events related to that story in
the order they happened.





Timeline
A timeline is a diagram that
shows the order of events that
took place during a certain
period of time.

Timelines can help you
understand how one event may
have led to another.

DIRECTIONS:

PLACE THE TIMELINE CARDS IN THE
CORRECT SEQUENCE ORDER.
ACTIVITY: Michigan History
American Indians were the only people living in Michigan.

French explorers visited Michigan.

The French began a fur trade business in Michigan.

The British took control of Michigan.

Michigan became part of the United States.

The Erie Canal opened and more people settled in Michigan Territory.

Michigan became a state.

Lumbering and mining began as important economic activities in Michigan.

Manufacturing became very important in Michigan.

Activity: Timeline Sequence
Chronology for Michigan History
Now
50 years ago - 1950
100 years ago - 1900
200 years ago - 1800
300 years ago - 1700
150 years ago - 1850


Chronology of Michigan History
Timeline Event
Before 1700 American Indians were the only people living in .
Around 1700 French explorers visited .
Between 1700 and 1800 The French began a fur trade business in .
Late 1700 after the French The British took control of .
Late 1800 after the British became part of the .
Between 1800 and 1850 The Erie Canal opened and more people settled in .
Between 1800 and 1850 after the
opened
became a state.
Between 1850 and 1900
Lumbering and mining began as important economic
activities in .
Between 1900 and 1950 Manufacturing became very important in .
MANY EVENTS IN HISTORY ARE LINKED
TO OTHER EVENTS.


To find the links you will need to
identify causes and effects.

How and Why did it Happen?
A cause is any
action that makes
something else
happen.

What happens
because of that
action is an effect.

Most events in
history have
many causes
and many
effects.

EVENT EVENT

CAUSE

CAUSE

EFFECT

EFFECT
Lesson One: Graphic Organizer
What
happened?
Primary
Sources
Secondary
Sources
The Questions
Historians Ask
Timelines
Chronological
Order
When did it
happen?
Effects
Causes
How and why
did it happen?
Point of
View
Actions
and Feelings
Who was
involved?





history

the study of the past


Example: When you study history you
study about people and events of the past.

1
historian

a person who studies the past

Example: A historian studies clues from
the past.

2
evidence

proof that something happened

Example: Historians look for evidence of
what happened in the past.

3
primary sources

records made by people who saw or took
place in an event


Example: Photographs, diaries,
newspaper articles and letters are primary
sources.

4
secondary sources

records written by someone who was not
there at the time of the event

Example: Textbooks are secondary
sources.

5
chronological order

time sequence

Example: He put the events in Michigan
history in chronological order.

6
1900

1950

2000


timeline

a diagram that shows the order in which
events happened

Example: You can make a timeline of
important events in your life.

7
1998

2000

2005


point of view

how a person looks at a problem or an
event

Example: People can have different
points of view because their ages or
backgrounds are different.

8
cause

an action that makes something else
happen

Example: One cause of population
growth in Michigan was the opening of the
Erie Canal.

9
Cause
Event
Effect
effect

something that results from something else
happening

Example: One effect of the fur trade in
Michigan was that American Indians and
the French began to interact.

10
Cause
Event
Effect