Same Social studies › Reading sources › SOAPSTone
What is SOAPSTone?
SOAPSTone is a checklist for reading a document closely. Speaker: who made it? Occasion: when, where and what was happening? Audience: who was it for? Purpose: what did the speaker want? Subject: what is it about? Tone: what attitude does it show? Answering all six turns a hard old text into something kids can explain.
- S, O, A: who, when and for whom.
- P, S: why and about what.
- Tone: the attitude, shown by word choice.
Why schools teach it
Old documents are hard to read cold
Students are expected to identify an author's point of view and purpose (RH.6-8.6) and cite specific evidence from sources (RH.6-8.1). Primary sources use old words and assume things readers then knew. SOAPSTone gives kids an entry point before they tackle every sentence.
The same checklist works for speeches, letters, laws, posters and even paintings. Many teachers also use it in English class.
At the kitchen table
What to say, and what to skip
Say this
Who wrote this, and what do you know about them?
SpeakerWhat was happening when it was written?
OccasionWho was supposed to read or hear it?
AudienceWhat did the speaker want them to do or believe?
Purpose
Skip this
- Mixing up subject and purpose.Subject is what it's about. Purpose is what the speaker wanted.
- “The tone is happy.”Use precise words: hopeful, angry, solemn, urgent.
- Reading every word before starting.The source line (who, when) often answers S and O first.
See it in action
SOAPSTone for the Gettysburg Address, 1863
Speaker, Occasion, Audience
President Lincoln · dedicating a soldiers' cemetery during the Civil War · the crowd and the nationPurpose and Subject
To honor the dead and urge the Union to keep fighting · the meaning of the warTone
Solemn and hopeful
Some teachers drop the “one” and use SOAPS, or add “-tone” as a sixth step.
Free practice sheet
Make a SOAPSTone sheet
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Parents also ask
What does SOAPSTone stand for?
Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone.
Is the speaker always the writer?
Usually. For a law or a group statement, the speaker is the group or government.
Where do kids find the occasion?
The source line, the date, and what they've learned in class about that time.
Is SOAPSTone used outside history?
Yes. English teachers use it for speeches, essays and ads.