THE HISTORY NOTEBOOK

1. THE HISTORY NOTEBOOK A Tool for Content, Connections, and Assessment Anthony Fitzpatrick Vice President of Professional Development Services The American Institute for History Education

2. Florida Sunshine State Standards • SS.8.A.3.1 Explain the consequences of the French and Indian War in British policies for the American colonies from 1763 - 1774. • SS.8.A.3.2 Explain American colonial reaction to British policy from 1763 - 1774. • SS.8.A.3.3 Recognize the contributions of the Founding Fathers (John Adams, Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, George Washington) during American Revolutionary efforts. • SS.8.A.3.4 Examine the contributions of influential groups to both the American and British war efforts during the American Revolutionary War and their effects on the outcome of the war. • SS.8.A.3.5 Describe the influence of individuals on social and political developments during the Revolutionary era. • SS.8.A.3.6 Examine the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution. • SS.8.A.3.7 Examine the structure, content, and consequences of the Declaration of Independence. • SS.8.A.3.8 Examine individuals and groups that affected political and social motivations during the American Revolution.

3. Why is Note-taking important? • Students synthesize content and have the potential to connect content and prioritize information. • Students employ research based strategies and will be ready to formulate their own opinions. • Students begin to take ownership of the information.

4. Introducing it into your classroom. • Develop a format by which students will take notes in your class and model it. • Include a process by which students interact with the content via linguistic and non-linguistic means. • Linguistic = outlines, summaries. • Non-linguistic = Venn diagrams, T-Charts.

5. A Basic Note-taking primer: • Notes should not be verbatim. • Notes should be viewed as a work in progress. • Notes should be used as a study guide prior to assessments. • Effective notes tend to be more detailed. (A result of initial note-taking and secondary additions)

6. So what is a “History Notebook”?

7. The History Notebook is based on a note-taking form called “Cornell notes” and incorporates content, themes, questions and reflections. Before we get to the format, we need to talk about THEMES!

8. Political Economic Social Cultural Intellectual Religious Geographic ESP-SPEECH Here are Generic History Themes Feel free to modify, add, delete as you see fit in your classroom.

9. Other Supplies for the Notebook • 3- hole Lined Paper. • Highlighters or some other color coding mechanism (post-it flags, stickers etc.). • 3-ring binder.

10. Standard Notebook Sample Political: These efforts give greater political power to the people Economic: The government is taking a larger role in controlling businesses and trying to ensure equity in competition. Social: Government intervention changes the dynamic of the family and tries to protect and enhance the lives of citizens The government took a larger role in the economy when we went from the Articles to the Constitution. The political system is corrupt now – did these measures really work I am confused about how public ownership of big business works?? Child Labor is interesting – do you know what it was like for the kids? • Themes of progressivism A. Democratizing government 1. Direct primaries 2. Initiative, referendum, recall, and other local actions 3. Direct election of senators B. Regulation of giant corporations 1. Public ownership 2. Trust-busting 3. Regulation of big business C. Social justice 1. Child labor 2. Night work and dangerous occupations 3. Stricter building codes and factory inspection acts 4. Pressure for prohibition

11. Notebook with Worksheets Things that are confusing or that I’d like to know more about. THEMES Trends I detect in themes and/or personal reflection. Worksheet or large diagram

12. Elementary Start-ups!(Just in case the Notebook isn’t your thing) Get kids to begin clarifying and reflecting with boxes: 1 box can be called a “Doubt Shout” Give students Quarter sheets of paper to place in a box at the very beginning or very end of class that contain questions they have (confusion or things they want to know more about) 1 box can be called a Think Tank This is where students put in their personal reflections.

13. LEFT SIDE Themes matched up with corresponding content Detection of trends AND personal opinions, reflections of the synthesis. RIGHT SIDE Outline, Lecture notes, Content diagrams Things that are confusing AND questions for further exploration Notebook Format

14. Notebook Process- Right Page • Students will take notes on the top ¾ of the right-hand page. (in-class or homework. The format can be outline, summary, diagram. • At the bottom of the right-hand page, students will make a note of anything that is confusing or anything they wish to know more about.

15. Notebook Process – Left Page • Students will indicate the content theme and why it fits with that theme. (top ¾ of page) • Students will then color-code the theme. • there can be more than one theme. • Everything won’t be themed – students should begin to prioritize better throughout the year

16. Left Page Process - Part 2 • At the bottom of the page, students will comment on thematic trends and provide personal reflections.

17. Any Questions at this point?

18. How will this help me to assess my students? • Open-ended questions can be created broadly to allow students to generate their own opinions based on their reflection and interactions with over-arching themes. • As the year progresses, your questions will expand and the students will be able to identify trends and progressions within history.

19. Broad-range questioning Evaluate the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation in balancing the needs of the people, national and state governments after the American Revolution.

20. Broad-range questioning cont’d. • Which figure during the American Revolution would you like to have dinner with and why? • Which US colony would you be most successful in and why? • Or pick a particular person and ask the same question.

21. And if you’re feeling brave . . . Evaluate the effectiveness of the American Revolution in solving the issues brought forth in the Declaration of Independence.

22. So what is the next step? • Effective writing! • One of the greatest challenges (in my opinion) for students is to truly generate their own original thought. A true THESIS statement, backed up by rich content knowledge. • Hopefully, when students interact with the content and begin to introduce their own personal reflection – this will become easier.

23. Time to practice assessments Let’s try to come up with some questions based on the samples provided and your standards!

24. Florida Sunshine State Standards • SS.8.A.3.1 Explain the consequences of the French and Indian War in British policies for the American colonies from 1763 - 1774. • SS.8.A.3.2 Explain American colonial reaction to British policy from 1763 - 1774. • SS.8.A.3.3 Recognize the contributions of the Founding Fathers (John Adams, Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, George Washington) during American Revolutionary efforts. • SS.8.A.3.4 Examine the contributions of influential groups to both the American and British war efforts during the American Revolutionary War and their effects on the outcome of the war. • SS.8.A.3.5 Describe the influence of individuals on social and political developments during the Revolutionary era. • SS.8.A.3.6 Examine the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution. • SS.8.A.3.7 Examine the structure, content, and consequences of the Declaration of Independence. • SS.8.A.3.8 Examine individuals and groups that affected political and social motivations during the American Revolution.

25. Do I grade the notebook? • Yes – absolutely • I grade while the students are taking tests. • I grade on organization and completeness. • It is the only chance for students to “make-up” missed work. • It gets me away from my desk during the tests. It forces me to circulate around the room.

26. Any last questions, comments, suggestions? Remember: If you find only part of this useful, change it, make it your own.

27. afitzpatrick@aihe.info Please feel free to contact me if you need anything.