The thesis is also the lighthouse guiding the entire project, meaning that it helps the student make decisions about what to include, and what to exclude, in their final project. when they are making their argument, they need to decide if that photo, quote, or other primary source connects to the thesis if not, it doesn’t belong in the final project. T he most important finding of our studies was that reading from multiple segments combined with writing an argumentative essay yielded deeper understanding of the material than any other condition… p. 381 h aving individuals use multiple sources…and write argumentative essays constitutes a combination of procedures that helps to maximize processing. 387 it is also desirable to have students construct and synthesize their own histories from documents, which can help students develop an understanding that history is more than ‘someone else’s facts.’ p.387 quotes from: james f.

Voss and jennifer wiley, a case study of developing historical understanding via instruction: the importance of integrating text components and constructing arguments, in knowing, teaching, and learning history: national and international perspectives, ed. Stearns, peter seixas, and sam wineburg new york: new york university press, 20 , 375 389. what are claims and evidence? a strong thesis is a great beginning to the history fair project, but it means nothing if it is not developed with solid claims and persuasive evidence. the best history fair projects usually break apart their argument into five main sections, or claims, that develop the ideas raised in the thesis. The events and actions which developed, short term impact, and long term significance – four key elements in any history fair project. Just like in a courtroom, the case is only as strong as the evidence which supports it. in the history fair, primary and secondary sources provide the evidence for the claims. photographs, quotes, graphs, statistics, maps, and many other sources develop the ideas posed by the student. classroom possibilities in order to help students better understand the relationship between research and the final history fair project, you may choose to have your students take apart a sample project to see how another student has used claims and evidence to support a thesis. Using sam bouman’s paper, fed by fear: the fbi’s crusade against fred hampton and the black panthers and the five claims listed above, have your students identify the types of evidence that bouman uses to convince the reader of his claims.

What points does he use to develop his claim? what types of sources did he consult to draw his conclusions? follow the footnotes are the sources reliable? why or why not? did the student use his evidence appropriately? you may want to break apart your class into five groups and assign each group a different claim, and paper excerpt, to investigate. As a possible extension activity, you may consider bringing in the original sources bouman cites and ask the students to compare the original text with how it is used by the student. recommended resources for making an argument college writing centers and historical institutions have many excellent ideas for teaching students to write a thesis and support an argument. the following links contain a few of our favorites: what’s your point? a more light hearted approach to introducing thesis from mr. Cloud state university contrasts examples of weak and strong theses statements by breaking down key characteristics broad vs.

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Specific, etc. weighing the evidence interactive exercise from the national archives that asks students to weigh the strength of primary source evidence for two opposing theses on popular u.s. History topics freedman’s bureau, general douglas macarthur, etc. the activity effective in any history classroom brilliantly models what students must do for themselves in their history fair projects. This argument is both stronger and weaker than the other arguments for the existence of god. It is stronger because its data its evidence are some facts of history, things that have happened on this planet, rather than principles or ideas.

But it is weaker because the historical data amount only to strong clues, not to deductive proofs. The argument from history is the strongest psychologically with most people, but it is not the logically strongest argument. It is like footprints in the sands of time, footprints made by someone great enough to be god. A fourth argument from history, the strongest one of all, is the argument from miracles. Miracles directly and inescapably show the presence of god, for a miracle, in the ordinary sense of the word, is a deed done by supernatural, not natural, power. If miracles happen, they show god's existence as clearly as reproduction shows the existence of organic life or rational speech shows the existence of thought. If i were an atheist, i think i would save my money to buy a plane ticket to italy to see whether the blood of saint januarius really did liquefy and congeal miraculously, as it is supposed to do annually.

I would study all published interviews of any of the seventy thousand who saw the miracle of the sun at fatima. Yet, strangely, almost all atheists argue against miracles philosophically rather than historically. Those who do soon cease to be atheists 151 like the sceptical scientists who investigated the shroud of turin, or like frank morrison, who investigated the evidence for the myth of christ's resurrection with the careful scientific eye of the historianand became a believer. His book who moved the stone? is still a classic and still in print after more than sixty years. The evidence is there for those who have eyes to see or, rather, the will to look. God provided just enough evidence of himself: enough for any honest and open minded seeker whose heart really cares about the truth of the matter but not so much that dull and hardened hearts are convinced by force. He could have remained on earth, offered to walk into any scientific laboratory of the twentieth century, and invited scientists to perform experiments on him.

He could have come down from the cross, and then the doubters would have believed. Why did he not reveal himself to all? he will, on the last day, when it will be too late to change sides. The evidence for him, especially his miracles, is clear enough throughout history so that anyone with an honest, trusting, and seeking heart will find him: all who seek find.