Transcript Thesis_Statement_Ppt

Creating Focus for History Day Projects
Courtesy of Minnesota State History Day
2010/2011
Sample Theme: Turning Points in History
Mystery Topic: The Battle of Gettysburg
Contestant #1
Thesis: The battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1-3, 1863. The Union Army won
the battle and killed or wounded thousands of Confederate soldiers.
Contestant #2
Thesis: After three days of fighting in July of 1863, the Union Army won the Battle of
Gettysburg. This was an important turning point in the Civil War.
Contestant #3
Thesis: The Union victory at Gettysburg in July of 1863 was a critical turning point in
the Civil War. Lee’s decision to invade the North was a gamble that cost his army dearly
in lives and equipment. After Gettysburg, the Confederates began a slow retreat that
ended with Lee’s surrender in the spring of 1865.
Cast your vote. Which contestant had a thesis that best fits the
criteria for a good thesis?
Record your vote and reasons for your vote on your advanced
organizer.
And the winner is. . .
Contestant #3
Thesis: The Union victory at Gettysburg in July of 1863 was a
critical turning point in the Civil War. Lee’s decision to invade the
North was a gamble that cost his army dearly in lives and
equipment. After Gettysburg, the Confederates began a slow
retreat that ended with Lee’s surrender in the spring of 1865.
WHO? Union Army, Confederate Army, General Lee
WHAT? Battle of Gettysburg, Union Victory
WHEN? July 1863 & Spring 1865
WHERE? Gettysburg
CONNECTION TO THEME?
Union victory at
Gettysburg was the “ critical turning point” in the Civil War.
WHY IMPORTANT IN HISTORY? Lee’s decision cost
Confederate army in lives/equipment, resulting in Lee’s (the
South’s) surrender two years later.
An opinion that has no support in the text.
A summary of the text.
Something that is obvious/fact.
Simply to list
similarities/differences.
A generalized (broad) topic.
A sentence that tells the topic & points you will
make. It may include context for your topic.
What you are going to prove & support in
your paper.
A statement(s) that gives your position on your
topic, supporting points, & the “so what”.
In the late 19th century,
Minneapolis and St. Paul
encountered a growing
transportation problem.
Thomas Lowry and his
Twin Cities Rapid Transit
Company successfully
explored the use of
electric streetcars, which
led to an easier exchange
of people and the growth
of the first suburbs.
This thesis statement was
written by two eighth
grade exhibitors for
History Day 2004. The
theme that year was
“Exploration, Encounter,
Exchange in History.”
Look at this thesis, find
the theme words.
Answer the questions
listed on your advanced
organizer.
• Who is involved?
– Citizens of the Twin Cities, Thomas Lowry & his
company
• What is the original problem?
– Growing transportation problem in the cities
• When did it happen?
– Late 19th century (1800s)
• Where did it happen?
– In the cities of Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota
• What was the solution to the problem?
– Use of electric streetcars
• Why was that solution important OR how did
it change things?
– Led to the growth of the first suburbs; “urban
sprawl” is a problem in the U.S.A. today
– Mass transit, the “easy exchange of people,” is
important to the infrastructure of large cities
TOPIC:
– Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
WHO: Who was involved? Who was affected?
– Rosa Parks; citizens in Montgomery, Alabama; civil
rights leaders; Montgomery’s city government
officials
WHERE: Where was/were the place(s) it took place?
– Montgomery, Alabama
WHAT:
What happened? What was the main event?
– Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public
bus, which violated a city law requiring
segregation. She was arrested and went to jail.
Civil rights leaders organized a boycott of city
buses to challenge the law as unconstitutional.
The economic impact of the boycott forced city
leaders and the bus company to enter into
negotiation with the civil rights leaders.
WHY: Why did it happen? What caused it?
– Civil rights leaders wanted to overturn segregation
laws.
WHY: Why is it important? What were the
successes/failures/consequences?
– The boycott forced debate over the issue and
succeeded in overturning the law requiring
segregation. This success inspired similar protests,
helping end segregation and secure greater equality.
P
WHEN: When did it happen? How long of a
time period was it?
Parks was arrested on Dec. 1, 1955; the boycott
started on Dec. 5th and lasted for 382 days.
CONNECTION TO THEME: What was debated
within this event/idea/situation? OR What was
diplomatic about this event/idea/situation?
Advocates for civil rights challenged segregation as
unconstitutional while city leaders and citizen
groups stood behind the Montgomery law that
preserved segregation on public transportation.
The ideological differences created social conflict
that required great debate between groups.
CONNECTION TO THEME: What were the
successes, failures and/or consequences?
– The economic impact of the boycott succeeded in
forcing the bus company and city leaders into
debate with civil rights leaders, causing the city to
eventually remove the law. Consequently, civil
rights advocates around the country were inspired
to take similar non-violent action.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER INTO A THESIS STATEMENT:
– On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for
violating a Montgomery, Alabama, law that required
segregation on public buses. Montgomery area civil rights
leaders organized a non-violent boycott of public buses
which forced the bus company and city officials into
debate over segregation. The boycott succeeded in forcing
the city to repeal the law. Consequently, civil rights
advocates around the country were inspired to take similar
non-violent action, helping end segregation and secure
greater equality for African-Americans in the U.S.A.
CAN YOU PROVE IT?:
HOW? EXPLAIN:
Yes
– City officials and the bus company refused to come to a
compromise over segregation on buses until the boycott
made a significant financial impact. Civil rights leaders in
other parts of the country sent letters and requests to the
Montgomery boycott participants seeking advice on how
to start similar protests in their areas. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. used what he learned in Montgomery and applied
it in other cities. These are documented in meeting
minutes, testimonials, newspaper articles, speeches, and a
timeline of events.
THE THESIS STATEMENT:
A thesis statement is a central thought that holds your entire
National History Day (NHD) project together. In the beginning,
we like to call this a working thesis, because as you gather
your research, this thought can evolve. By the time you
present your NHD project, however, you should have a
concrete thesis that is supported by evidence.
Thesis = Topic + Theme + Impact. In other words, you
are not just introducing your topic, you are creating an
argument that expresses your topic’s significance and
demonstrates how the theme plays a central part.
DON’T: Martin
Luther was born in
1483. He started the
Reformation. (Fact)
DO: Beginning in 1517,
Martin Luther sparked
widespread debate against
Roman Catholic religious
practices, especially the sale
of indulgences, corruption,
and the emphasis on
salvation through good
works. When diplomacy
with the Papacy failed,
Luther’s arguments
succeeded in igniting a
religious movement,
creating a new sect of faith,
and later bringing change to
the Roman Catholic Church.
AA
DON’T: Indians
fought over Alcatraz
Island. Why do you
think they would do
that? (Rhetorical)
DO: American Indians
under the banner of “Indians
of All Tribes” debated with
government officials over
political and social
discrimination. In protest,
the group reclaimed Alcatraz
Island in 1969 as Indian land.
Though the group’s primary
goals failed to reach fruition
through active diplomacy,
protestors succeeded in
spreading awareness to the
American public and
consequently ignited the
modern American Indian
Movement.
AA
DON’T: Had the
Continental Congress
voted against the
3/5 Compromise,
America could have
avoided a Civil War.
(“What if?” history that
cannot be supported
with evidence.)
DO: When members of the
Constitutional Convention started
laying the groundwork for a new
American government in 1787,
debate ensued over slaves and
their place in a representative
government based on population.
The resulting 3/5 Compromise
succeeded in ending the initial
conflict, allowing the 13 states to
move forward as a unified nation;
however, by failing to come to a
definitive conclusion over the
issue of slavery, Constitutional
framers established the U.S.A.
with an unstable base that would
continue to cause discontent until
it exploded into civil war.
AA
DON’T: The 1960’s
presidential debate
was the first to be
shown on television
and was really
important. Want to
know why? Read
more below. (Fact,
Rhetorical, Incomplete)
DO: Senator John F. Kennedy’s
ability to master television as a
communication medium during
the 1960 presidential debates
helped secure him the presidency
over Vice President Richard M.
Nixon. Access to live, visual
information succeeded at shifting
viewer’s attention from the issues
to more superficial attributes
such a poise, appearance, and
style, undermining the
importance and long-standing
tradition of open debate.
Consequently, Kennedy’s victory
marked a new era of political
campaigning and changed the
way voters understand and
receive their candidates.
AA
DON’T: Adolph
Hitler was an evil
man that killed a lot
of Jews. (Opinion)
DO: Following the “Great War,”
Adolph Hitler blamed Germany’s
downfalls on the country’s Jewish
population causing discrimination,
violent action, and a mass exodus of
European Jewry. Various parties with
social, political, and economic
interests, including U.S. Secretary of
the Interior Harold Ickes, initiated
debate over immigration to the
Alaskan Territory in 1938. The failure
to reach a diplomatic compromise
resulted in an end to negotiations,
closing an opportunity for population
growth in Alaska and leading to the
death of many, such as the Jews of
Neustadt, Germany, who believed the
United States’ last open frontier to be
their only remaining hope for refuge.
Choose a sample “DO’S”
statement & identify:
The Debate:
The Diplomacy:
Successes, Failures, and/or
Consequences:
What must be proven in order
for this statement to be true?
What evidence will we need to
support our claims?
Where might we find this
evidence? (Consider
documents, statements,
opinions, and other sources.)
Consider your own working
thesis & identify:
The Debate:
The Diplomacy:
Successes, Failures, and/or
Consequences:
What must be proven in order
for this statement to be true?
What evidence will we need to
support our claims?
Where might we find this
evidence? (Consider
documents, statements,
opinions, and other sources.)
Construct a working thesis for your
History Day project and evaluate your
thesis using the format on the
advanced organizer.
TITLE
BACKGROUND/
BIG PICTURE
CONTEXT
BUILD-UP
THESIS
THE
HEART
OF THE
STORY
SHORT-TERM/
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
LONG-TERM
IMPACT/
CHANGE
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
THESIS
BACKGROUND/
BIG PICTURE
CONTEXT
LONG-TERM
IMPACT/
CHANGE
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
SHORT-TERM/
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
BUILD-UP
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
THE HEART
OF THE
STORY
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
SUPPORT