(This is the document analysis guide for Carmelita Lamb’s curriculum unit, “Tribal Legacies of Pathfinding.”)
- What kind of document is this? How do you know? (a letter, an ad, a receipt, a government document, a diary, or journal entry?)
- When was it written? Is there a date or other information that indicates this?
- Who wrote or created the document? How can you tell?
- For whom was the document written or created? How can you tell?
- Where was the document written or created? How can you tell?
- Why was the document written? Cite the evidence indicating its purpose.
- Does the document reveal the writer’s mood? (does it convey anger, happiness, regret, surprise?)
- Does the document provide any clues about the relationship between the writer and the audience?
- List three things the author said that you think are important.
- List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written
- Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document.