There are many useful strategies available to help you understand and interpret all the information that you learn in this course. The two most important strategies are the course themes and the historical thinking skills. There are acronyms to help you remember these such as SPICE for the course themes and HIPPO for the historical thinking skills.
SPICE
SPICE is used to compare and contrast information and it helps you analyze and understand it better.
Social: look for social, racial, ethnic, and religious groups; gender roles and relationships
Political: look for political structures and forms of governance; legal system; political groups; the relationships between the individuals and states
Interaction Between People & Environment: look for the impact on the environment; environmental impacts on the people, culture, and technological resources; demography; patterns of movement and settlement; disease; population growth/ decline; rise of agriculture
Cultural & Intellectual: look for art, literature, philosophy, architecture, math & science, belief systems, religions, ethical and moral values, and ideologies
Economic: look for the creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; natural, human, technological, and capital resources; agricultural and pastoral production; trade & commerce; labor systems
Political: look for political structures and forms of governance; legal system; political groups; the relationships between the individuals and states
Interaction Between People & Environment: look for the impact on the environment; environmental impacts on the people, culture, and technological resources; demography; patterns of movement and settlement; disease; population growth/ decline; rise of agriculture
Cultural & Intellectual: look for art, literature, philosophy, architecture, math & science, belief systems, religions, ethical and moral values, and ideologies
Economic: look for the creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; natural, human, technological, and capital resources; agricultural and pastoral production; trade & commerce; labor systems
HIPPO
HIPPO is used to analyze documents, which is important for DBQ's.
Historical Context: think about what was going on when the document was written and how it helps you understand it better
Intended Audience: identify the person or group that the author is trying to reach and inform or influence and how this impact the author's message
Point of View: think about who the author is and how their background impacts their written perspective
Purpose: think about why the author created this source
Outside Information: think about the specific historical information outside of the document and connect the two
Intended Audience: identify the person or group that the author is trying to reach and inform or influence and how this impact the author's message
Point of View: think about who the author is and how their background impacts their written perspective
Purpose: think about why the author created this source
Outside Information: think about the specific historical information outside of the document and connect the two