Teaching for Historical Understanding

1. Teaching for Historical Understanding March 29, 2012

2. Quickwrite How do you actually teach students to understand history and think like historians? Provide an example of what you will do in your own classroom.

3. Historical Thinking Chronological Thinking Historical Comprehension Historical Analysis and Interpretation Historical Research Capabilities Historical Issues: Analysis and Decision Making

4. Essential Questions Essential Questions: An essential question is "a question that lies at the heart of a subject or a curriculum (as opposed to being either trivial or leading) and promotes inquiry and uncoverage of a subject. Essential questions thus do not yield a single straightforward answer (as a leading question does) but produces different plausible responses, about which thoughtful and knowledgeable people may disagree." An essential question can be either overarching or topical (unit-specific) in scope.

5. Examples Why do people explore? What happens when cultures collide? How did the movement toward revolution cause the Declaration of Independence to be written? What factors contribute to war? How is the Constitution a living document? Is there such a thing as a "just" war? Who were the "winners" and who were the "losers" in ________? (women’s movement, civil rights movement, child labor reforms)

6. Using Primary Sources to Teach Historical Understanding

7. Political Cartoons • Cartoon analysis guide • Have students label elements of political cartoons • Symbolism • Exaggeration • Labeling • Analogy • Irony

8. Prints & Photographs • Zoom in strategy (use magnifying glasses) • Prequel/ Sequel

9. Continued… Dividing the image

10. Continued… Put yourself in the image Thought Bubbles 30 Second Look and Then Dig Deeper

11. Analyzing Maps • The Devil is in the Details • Give students pieces of a map and have each student examine one piece of the map. • Have them record what they know on sticky notes and place on the map. • Then have them share with a partner or larger group. • Finally, have students put the map together to see the “big picture.”

12. Analyzing Documents • Quote MVP • Give students quotes and ask them to select their MVP (most valuable point) related to the lesson essential question. • Tampering with History • Change the document so it’s easier to read for struggling readers. • Jigsaw with cooperative learning groups

13. Music/ Sound Recordings • Use a song or sound recording as a class opener. • Using music to teach a certain time period in history • Example: Civil War music, Great Depression, etc. • LOC Jukebox (www.loc.gov/jukebox) • LOC Sound Recordings • Example: WPA Slave Narratives http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/

14. Using Art to Teach Historical Analysis • “Reading” a Portrait • Smithsonian American Art Museum • Discussion of art as a primary vs. secondary source

17. General Strategies • Weighing the evidence • Example: Give students 5-7 documents related to causes of the Civil War. Students have to “weigh” which documents carry more weight and answer the essential question. • Civil War Causes and Effects http://docsteach.org/activities/3895 • Sorting/categorizing primary sources • Five senses chart • Students analyze various documents and record what they hear, see, taste, feel, and smell.

18. Continued… • Historical Debates • Have students play the role of historical figures. • Four Corners • Pose a historical question and ask students to move to the corner of the room they agree with. Label corners agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree. • For example: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War.

19. Continued… • DBQs (Document Based Questions) • Check out the DBQ Project (www.dbqproject.com) • Reading Like a Historian http://sheg.stanford.edu/?q=node/45 • Sourcing, Contextualizing, Corroboration, Close Reading • Wordle (www.wordle.net) • Copy and paste text to create a visual image • Great discussion starter and to compare documents

20. DBQ Project