The Target Standard 2

1. The TargetStandard 2 Documents and artifacts give us information from the past.

2. Did You Know? • All of the events you experience are part of your history but you probably won’t remember them. That’s because those events won’t be as important to you when you grow up.

3. Did You Know? • Sometimes events occur that leave a clue about when they happen. Maybe you have your picture taken for winning a contest. Maybe your mom or dad writes your activities on a calendar.

4. Did You Know? • A clue, such as your picture, is called an artifact. Artifacts are things made by human hands. The bowl you made of clay when you were young, as well as your report cards, are artifacts.

5. Did You Know? • We can learn a lot about people by examining what they have. What would we learn about you by looking in your backpack?

6. Did You Know? • Documents are another way to learn about people and events. A document is a piece of writing that gives information. Your report card and your birth certificate are both documents because they give information about you.

7. Did You Know? • An artifact that has information about the time it was made is called a primary source. What might we learn from this primary source? http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/VRDbimages/pf072/pf072479.jpg

8. The TargetStandard 3 Artifacts and documents are used to write history.

9. Did You Know? • When we look at an artifact the way an historian does, we ask questions that make us think about what it means or how it was used. Look at this artifact and think about this question: did colonial children brush their teeth? Explain your answer. http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20050525/a786_5803.jpg

10. Did You Know? • Thinking about artifacts and documents should make us think deeper than just what we see. The brush looks a little like a modern brush but there are only holes, no bristles. How do you explain it? That is historical thinking!