Unit 4: Lesson 1

Stop-and-Frisk

Handout 2
Nonfiction Source Evaluation
(adapted from Stanford Historical Education Group, Historical Thinking Chart,
https://sheg.stanford.edu/historical-thinking-chart)

Nonfiction Reading Questions Students should be able to . . . Prompts

Skill
• Who wrote this? When and where was it • Identify the author’s position on the • The author probably
Sourcing written? event. believes . . .
• What is the author’s perspective or stake in • Identify and evaluate the author’s • I think the audience is . . .
the argument? purpose in producing the document. • Based on the source information, I
• Who is the intended audience? Why was it • Hypothesize what the author will say think the author might . . .
written? before reading the document. • I do/ don’t trust this document
• Is it reliable? Why? Why not? • Evaluate the source’s because . . .
trustworthiness by considering
genre, audience, and purpose.

• What claims does the author make?
Close Reading • What evidence does the author use?
• What is the strongest argument? Why?
What is the weakest argument?
• What language (words, phrases, images,
symbols) does the author use to
persuade the document’s audience?
• How does the document’s language indicate deliberately.
the author’s perspective?
• What do other documents say?
Corroboration • Do the documents agree? If not, why?
• What are other possible
documents?
• What documents are most reliable?
STANFORD HISTORY EDUCATION GROUP
• Identify the author’s claims about an • I think the author chose these
event. words in order to . . .
• Evaluate the evidence and • The author is trying to
reasoning the author uses to convince me . . .
support claims. • The author claims . . .
• Evaluate author’s word choice; • The evidence used to
understand that language is used support the author’s
claims is . . .
• Establish what is probable by • The author agrees/disagrees with…
comparing documents to each • These documents all agree/ disagree
other. about . . .
• Recognize disparities between • Another document to consider
accounts. might be . . .
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