Synthesize MG-7 6-Question Source Card analyses across 8 classical civilizations — applying Wineburg's 4 questions + NMAI 5th living-descendant move + WHA 6th whose-translations-and-silences move to Diocletian's Edict, Ashoka's Rock Edicts, Aryabhatiya, Sima Qian's Shiji, Ban Zhao's Lessons for Women, Shapur I's Naqsh-e Rostam inscription, Ezana's Stele, Tikal Stela 31, and Justinian's Code
Exercise Difficulty 5 ~30 min hist.g6.s.ex_45

Synthesis Essay

MG-7 Interactive Physical / non-image

8.5x11 inch laminated double-sided card. FRONT: 'MG-7 Ancient-and-Classical Source Card' header; 6 numbered questions: (1) SOURCING — Who created this source? When? Where? Why? (Wineburg Move 1); (2) CONTEXTUALIZATION — What was happening at the time and place this source was created? What had just happened? What was about to happen? (Wineburg Move 2); (3) CORROBORATION — Does another source from the same time and place agree or disagree? Is the creator a partisan? (Wineburg Move 3); (4) CLOSE READING — What does the source literally say in its words? What does it leave unsaid? (Wineburg Move 4); (5) LIVING DESCENDANTS — Who today is a living descendant of the people who created or were addressed by this source? How do they treat this source as a living heritage? (NMAI Essential Understanding 5 extended); (6) WHOSE TRANSLATION? WHOSE SILENCES? — Who translated this source into English and when? What perspective is MISSING from this source (e.g., the slave perspective on Diocletian's edicts, the dasi/dasa perspective on Ashoka's edicts)? (WHA / SHEG move). BACK: scaffolded sentence frames for each question; a short-form version (4 Wineburg-only questions) for students still building source-analysis stamina.

Prompt

Synthesize MG-7 6-Question Source Card analyses across 9 primary sources from the unit (Diocletian's Edict + Lactantius + Justinian's Code + Procopius + Ashoka's Rock Edicts + Aryabhatiya + Sima Qian's Shiji + Ban Zhao's Lessons for Women + Shapur I's Naqsh-e Rostam + Ezana's Stele + Tikal Stela 31). Write 4-6 paragraphs articulating the unit's central thesis on whose sources we have, whose translations we read, and whose silences we must name.

How it's presented
mode text
Answer criteria
type rubric scored
rubric
References 5+ primary sources from list; identifies translators by name where appropriate (Graser/Lauffer for Diocletian; Nikam/McKeon for Ashoka; Clark/Shukla for Aryabhatiya; Watson for Shiji; Huyse for Shapur; Munro-Hay/Bowersock for Ezana; Martin/Grube for Tikal); names specific 'whose silences' for at least 3 sources; concludes with synthesis on whose sources/translations/silences
Hints
  1. MG-7 applied to 9 sources across the term.
  2. Move 6 is the key — whose translations and whose silences.
Misconceptions to watch
  • Listing sources without analysis
  • Forgetting Move 6 silences
Used in lessons