"Reforming Spirit, 19th Century", Regents US History Short Essays

Reforming Spirit, 19th Century Regents US History Short Essays This teaching resource helps students develop historical analysis skills for the updated New York State Regents US History exam. It contains two sets of primary source documents with accompanying essay prompts formatted after the state prototype. Set 1 prompts students to describe context and explain cause/effect, similarities/differences between ideas in the sources. Set 2 also describes context but analyzes how audience, purpose, bias or point of view affects one document's reliability. Using one set monthly develops skills interpreting texts historically, engaging context, and assessing reliability—abilities measured by the short essay task. Pairs of student essays can then be studied anonymously during whole or small group instruction to improve strategies. This complete Part II resource builds authentic historical thinking exemplified on the Regents.