IF
World History
Unit 1 · Module 1 · Lesson 1
  1. 1Overview
  2. 2Read
  3. 3Practice
  4. 4Respond
  5. 5Submit
Overview · Step 1 of 5
The Geographer (1669), Johannes Vermeer — scholar at a desk consulting maps
Johannes Vermeer, The Geographer (1669). Städel Museum, Frankfurt · Public Domain
~60 min
3 main ideas
6 vocab terms
5 practice + 1 written
What you'll do
Step 2
Read

A short article on what historians actually do. Listen, highlight, take notes.

Step 3
Practice

Five questions that check your reading. Use your notes any time.

Step 4
Respond

Write one short paragraph that puts an argument together.

Main ideas

Three things you should leave with

I
History is not a list of facts to memorize — it is an ongoing argument built on evidence, and historians begin their work by asking carefully framed questions.
II
Good historical questions come in two types: compelling questions that frame big issues, and supporting questions that break those big issues into researchable parts.
III
Historians decide what counts as significant using specific criteria — scale of impact, duration, and relevance to later events — and those judgments can be debated.
Vocabulary

Six terms to know

Auto-defined on first appearance in the reading.

CategoryTermDefinition
Sources
Primary sourcen.
A document or object created during the time period being studied, by someone who experienced the events.
Sources
Secondary sourcen.
A work created later that interprets or analyzes primary sources.
Questions
Compelling questionn.
A broad, open-ended question about an enduring issue that drives historical inquiry.
Questions
Supporting questionn.
A narrower, specific question that helps you gather evidence to answer a compelling question.
Analysis
Historical significancen.
A judgment about why an event, person, or development matters — based on scale, duration, and lasting impact.
Analysis
Contextualizationn.
Placing a source or event within the time, place, and circumstances in which it was produced.