Sourcing a Primary Document

This historian think aloud shows a historian reading an edited statement by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) regarding the 1925 Scopes Trial. Specifically, this 73-second video shows a historian considering the source of this document and generating questions, before launching into the document’s contents.

The accompanying audio commentary, Using the Think-Aloud, points out what the historian is doing so viewers can see why her questions and processes are called historical thinking. These two features work together to help viewers visualize thinking processes that are usually implicit and hidden.