History: Annotating Primary Sources

Skill focus: Annotating Primary Sources

Photo: Garuda / Pexels

For the parent

Today we'll work on annotating primary sources. Read the passage closely, with a pencil. Identify the thesis. Mark moves the author makes — diction, repetition, structure. Strong readers question the text instead of just consuming it.

What you'll need

pencil
paper
highlighter (optional)

Warm-up

Read any short paragraph you have nearby. Identify the verb in the first sentence. Verbs reveal an author's stance.

Vocabulary

algorithm

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

simplest

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

recipe

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

instructions

Look up this word in a dictionary, then use it in a sentence.

Sentence frames

The central claim of this passage is .

The author supports this with .

I would push back on this by .

A reasonable counter-argument would be .

Guided practice

1
Read this passage: "An algorithm is, at its simplest, a recipe — a set of instructions for solving a problem step by step. The newer algorithms, however, do something the old recipes did not: they learn from us. Every scroll, every pause on a video, every thumbnail you click teaches the system what to show next. The system, in turn, shapes how long you stay, what you feel, and sometimes what you come to believe. There is nothing inherently sinister in this. Personalization can be useful — it surfaces music we like, books we'd never have found, news from communities we belong to. But personalization also rewards the patterns that already exist inside us. If you tend to click on outrage, the feed learns to give you outrage. If you click on calm, you may get more calm. The result is an attention economy in which our own habits are quietly trained back at us, often by systems whose creators no longer fully understand them. The honest question is not 'should algorithms exist?' — they will. It is whether each of us, and the institutions we trust, can build the discipline to notice when our attention is being shaped, and to push back when it is being shaped against our interests." Q: Summarize the central claim in one sentence.
Parent tip: Read aloud once, then ask your child to read it back. Underline answers together.
2
Using the same passage, answer: What metaphor opens the passage and what does it accomplish?
Parent tip: Point back to the line in the text that proves the answer.

Your turn

1
Identify two effects of personalized feeds described in the passage.
2
What does the author concede in favor of personalization?
3
Reword the author's 'honest question' into your own words.
4
Cite a phrase that signals the author's concern despite the balanced tone.
5
Draw a picture of one moment from the passage.
6
What feeling does the passage give you? What word in the text supports that feeling?
7
Underline one sentence you think is the most important. Why?
8
What is one word from the passage you didn't know? Look it up and write a kid-friendly definition.
9
Why do you think the author wrote this?
10
Find one verb in the passage. Write it here.

★ Challenge

Write a 3-sentence summary of the passage in your own words.

Reflection

What is one thing you'll remember from this passage tomorrow?

For the parent

Answer key

guided #1Modern algorithms learn from user behavior and, in turn, shape that behavior — a process that benefits but also risks each user.

guided #2A 'recipe' — it makes the technical concept of an algorithm accessible to non-technical readers.

independent #1They shape what we feel, how long we stay, what we believe; they reward our existing patterns; they create an attention economy (any two).

independent #2It can surface useful things — music, books, news from one's communities.

independent #3The real question is whether we can notice when our attention is being shaped, and resist when that shaping works against us.

independent #4'Sometimes what you come to believe' / 'whose creators no longer fully understand them' / 'shaped against our interests.'

independent #5Open response — visual response.

independent #6Open response — reader response with text evidence.

independent #7Open response — student picks a key sentence and justifies.

independent #8Open response — vocabulary lookup.

independent #9Open response — author's purpose.

independent #10Open response — varies by passage.

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