Letter of Protest: Student Sample Analysis
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STUDENT SAMPLE 1: LUCY
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
2- Lucy introduced her letter with this short paragraph “Hello, my name is Lucy Yang, a traveler from Europe, here to ask if you can abolish the slave trade”. I gave her a rating of two because she created a vague role “traveler from Europe”, and used her own name. The rest of the letter did not reference the role at all.
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
1- Lucy (and all the students) did not need to practice traditional interpolation in this work because there were no large gaps in the historical record. However, she did need to make an educated guess about the perspective of her adopted role. She should have asked herself, “What were the possible reactions of European travelers when they witnessed the acts of slave traders?” Such a thought process would have made her argument more passionate and possibly more organized.
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
N/A
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
2- The beginning of Lucy’s paper demonstrates how she was incapable of truly adopting a role different from her own. Her two-sentence introduction mentioned a vague role of European traveler and she uses her own name. The body was one long paragraph (one and a half pages long) that listed the many horrific practices outlined by the primary sources. The tone of the body paragraph was generally detached, “another thing that happened at a time was that a captain of a slave trade once pored melted lead on some of his slaves when they refused to eat their food.”
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
4- Lucy used very relevant facts to support her argument in the letter. Her tone, although detached, had a suitable formality for a historical letter. There were no anachronistic terms or arguments.
I struggle with how to analyze some of the period terms that she used in the letter. On one hand she borrowed terms from the primary sources that are very appropriate for the period such as “flogging” and “windlass”. On the other hand, she probably lifted too many words and phrases without citing. She needed to re-phrase more of the evidence in new words to exhibit her comprehension of the material. Because she described the atrocities with words and phrases similar to the text, I am concerned that she did not truly understand the primary sources.
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A- However, I would argue that a majority of the paper was clearly her point of view.
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
3- While Lucy incorporated the relevant facts, they were not properly organized. Lucy listed one inhumane practice after another. She also offered some of her arguments in that list.But without the organized paragraphs, I did not see the synthesis of information. With paragraphs she could have organized the many atrocities of the slave trade into thematic or chronological categories.
STUDENT SAMPLE 1: MATHEW
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
5- Mathew developed a detailed persona, and committed himself to that perspective throughout the letter. His first paragraph established the character, the specific role of “Jonathon Gregorson, the head of the department of Trading and Commerce in the Great Britain’s Royal Government”. In that same paragraph, he also stated his clear and passionate opposition to the slave trade, using terms such as “horrific shock” and “inhumane crime”. Throughout the reading, Mathew’s formal tone was consistent with his character, ending with the phrase, “God Save the King”
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
5- The sources themselves did not leave much to the imagination; there were few gaps that needed to be filled with interpolation. However, for his adopted role, Mathew went above and beyond to create a historical character without any noticeable holes or questions, he considered gaps that other students did not necessarily consider. For example, he addressed why his character was traveling and even who would deliver the letter, “ I am sending my personal assistant to deliver this letter and bring back your response”
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
N/A
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
5- Mathew’s adoption of his role was very thorough. He committed to the persona of an outraged citizen of the British Kingdom. Mathew did not use the formal academic tone that he traditionally uses for his assignments in my class. Instead, he demonstrated a level of passion “How would you feel, your majesty, if you were stolen from your family?... How would you feel to be enslaved for being innocent?”
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
5- Mathew demonstrated an impressive level of commitment to the historical context. Beyond the appropriate language, he used phrases and ideas that were unique to the context. He concluded the letter with “Long Live the King” and created a role that was both believable and detailed
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
5- Mathew presented all of the necessary primary source materials in his letter. I was particularly impressed by his ability to incorporate the evidence without breaking his character
STUDENT SAMPLE 1: MARIA
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
4.5- Maria really committed herself to the role of a reformed slave trader. In addition to the textual evidence, she was not afraid to explore the question of how an ex-slave trader might view his actions and his legacy. Marie explored her character’s entire transformation.
"When I first started out with this trade I just saw the Africans as animals because that’s what I had been taught. But when I saw and truly looked and listened to these people I realized everything that I had believed had been wrong. It wasn’t right for me to continue working for as long as I did but I didn’t want to stop receiving the money that I did. Now I think back to the 20 years I went on trading people as if they were property, it just disgusts me.
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
5- As I explained earlier, there were very few gaps that needed to be filled in the sources. However, Maria’s well thought out back-story addressed many questions that an individual may ask of slave traders. For example, if some were religious, why did they engage is such an inhumane trade?
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
N/A
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
5- Maria clearly defined her adopted role as an ex-slave trader. She may have harbored similar opinions and emotions regarding the slave trade as her historical character. However, when she explained the slave trader's transformation from a detached, greedy merchant to a remorseful older man, Maria clearly distinguished herself from the role.
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
4- Maria incorporated the primary sources without disrupting the narrative. She even included appropriate Spanish language to acknowledge the nationality of the historical character. Overall, her language was formal (if not always grammatically correct) and suitable for the historical context. In only one sentence did she truly break the character with an anachronistic vocabulary word, “Hopefully you won’t be as stupid as the King of England…”
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
5- Maria incorporated evidence from the primary and secondary sources without disrupting the narrative.
FULL GROUP ANALYSIS