Interpret primary sources

Contextualizing: Imagine the setting surrounding this source: How was the world that made this source different than our own?

S:Speaker

• -identify the speaker/creator of the document

• WHO is the person?

•  What does this document say about the speaker?

O:Occasion

• when was the document created? What event(s) and/or era(s)

• provide the backdrop and context for the document? 

• What was going on in history that might help explain why this document was created when it was?

•  What was the specific event/issue of the time that prompted the document’s creation?

A:Audience

• for whom was the document created?

• Who does the speaker plan on delivering this message to?

• What does the author think about his/her audience? 

• Why is the audience paying attention to this document?

P:Purpose

• for what reason was this document created?

• What does the speaker hope to accomplish? 

S:Significance

• why is this document important?

• What does it say about the era in which it was created?

• What, if anything, did it lead to?

• What was the response to the document?