Unit I - Cause and Effect

DIRECTIONS:

It’s time to review what we learned. Complete the cause and effect flow chart.

Follow the model.

After completing the chart, Long Essay Question: “Evaluate the extent to which European colonization caused a positive effect on Europeans and Native Americans.”

Students should refer to their completed charts to support their claim using specific historical evidence.

Long Essay Question

Identify key elements: 

1. Historical period: Note the specified time frame. 

2. Historical thinking skill: Determine the skill required (causation, comparison, or continuity and change over time). 

3. Prompt's categories: Understand the specific historical concepts or events the prompt asks you to address. 

 Structuring Your Essay   

Thesis Statement (1 point): 

Develop a clear, historically defensible claim that directly responds to the prompt.  Establish a line of reasoning by outlining the categories or points you will use to support your argument. 

Contextualization (1 point): 

Place your argument within a broader historical context. 

Use specific, relevant historical evidence to connect the broader context to the topic of the prompt. 

Evidence (2 points): 

Describe at least two specific historical examples (e.g., events, individuals, policies) relevant to your argument. 

Support your argument by explaining how these examples prove the topic sentences of your body paragraphs and, in turn, your thesis. 

Analysis and Reasoning (2 points): 

Historical Reasoning (1 point): Frame your argument using the historical thinking skill required by the prompt (causation, comparison, or continuity and change). 

Complexity (1 point): Develop a nuanced argument that shows complexity by incorporating evidence or reasoning that supports, qualifies, or challenges your main argument. 

Key Strategies for Success   

1. Plan before writing: Brainstorm evidence and organize your argument to create a cohesive essay. 

2. Connect evidence to the argument: Explicitly explain how your evidence supports your claims using phrases like "this shows" or "which proves". 

3. Understand the rubric: Focus on earning each of the six possible points by fulfilling the criteria for each category.