9. Document-Based Questions (DBQs)

Document-based questions are for all students, from elementary school through high school. They prepare students to:

• consider multiple perspectives
• reconcile differing positions
• evaluate the strength of particular arguments
• develop critical thinking skills
   

Traditional document-based questions require students to interpret historical records and express their understanding effectively through well-written essays.

Examples of uses for DBQs:

• K-3 teachers can assess their pupils’ abilities to draw information from a photograph or written record on a worksheet or through class discussion.
• 4-6 teachers can present a group of historical records to a class with questions designed to introduce a unit of study.
• Middle and high school teachers can hand out a single document and ask students to relate it to their previous night’s reading assignment.
• Take-home DBQs allow students and teachers to break away from the usual essay format in favor of a lengthier and more developed piece of writing, based on a wider array of research.
• Document-based questions can also be part of a more involved performance task, which may include the production of work other than essays and may include a display of student work and discussion of student analysis and evaluation of the document(s).
• Since documents provide first-person accounts of events and activities, they can offer great insights into other cultures. They offer teachers a way to compare and contrast perspectives from various cultures around the globe.

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