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STUDENTS LEARN THE ART OF EXPRESSING HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS. Reading, writing and detecting. Presented by Martha Battle and Trudy Delhey, Cobb County School District, Marietta, GA. http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thinking.pdf.
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STUDENTS LEARN THE ART OF EXPRESSING HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS Reading, writing and detecting Presented by Martha Battle and Trudy Delhey, Cobb County School District, Marietta, GA
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thinking.pdfhttp://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2007/Crit_Thinking.pdf
Texts, Primary Sources, Documents, Reading: a preliminary step toward learning and investigating
President Benjamin Harrison's declaration in honor of the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World DISCOVERY DAY 21 OCTOBER PROCLAIMED A NATIONAL HOLIDAY BY THE PRESIDENT (Washington, July 21) The following proclamation was issued this afternoon by the President: I Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America . . . do hereby appoint Friday, Oct. 21, 1892, the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, as a general holiday for the people of the United States. On that day let the people so far as possible cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life. Columbus stood in his age as the pioneer of progress and enlightenment. The system of universal education is in our age the most prominent and salutary feature of the spirit of enlightenment, and it is peculiarly appropriate that the schools be made by the people the centre of the day's demonstration. Let the national flag float over every school house in the country, and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship. In the churches and in the other places of assembly of the people, let there be expressions of gratitude to Divine Providence for the devout faith of the discoverer, and for the Divine care and guidance which has directed our history and so abundantly blessed our people. New York Times, July 22, 1892, p. 8
Sourcing: Before reading the document ask yourself: Who wrote this? What is the author’s point of view? Why was it written? When was it written? (A long time or short time after the event?) Is this source believable? Why? Why not? Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts
“Ahistorical” thinking may be the psychological condition at rest, a kind of blissful state….. Complexities of disciplinary history needn’t get in the way of our snap judgments and facile analogies… Surface similarities between past and present… DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT REQUIRES EFFORT--- INTERROGATING SOURCES, PUTTING THEM ON THE STAND AND DEMANDING THAT THEY YEILD THEIR TRUTHS OR FALSEHOODS. How is historical thinking “unnatural?” From Wineberg, “Unnatural and essential: the nature of historical Thinking” Teaching History 129, Dec. 2007, The History Association
What else was going on at the time this was written? What was it like to be alive at this time? What things were different back then? What things were the same? What would it look like to see this event through the eyes of someone who lived back then? Contextualizing: Imagining the setting
The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening Leaders 1710 1720 Enlightenment thinkers and their contributions Enlightenment is... Enlightenment summary Diest Philadelphia showplaces 1 2 3 Ben Franklin's contributions to the colonial Enlightenment Pietism German Puritan Scots Irish New Lights The Great Awakening Northern religious upheaval 1 2 3 4 Southern religious upheaval 1 2 3 Results
We often scaffold, read primary sources together, encourage students with meaning for words, phrases, add context, etc. How often do we MODEL how we would read and interpret a document for them? Are we reluctant for fear they will tune out? How do we make this valuable for them? Do we think they are always supposed to be “learning what is in it?” Modeling historical thinking for students Modeling examples from the 2012 APUSH DBQ
Information from the document? Inferences from the document? Links to “outside information” and context?
Information from the document? Inferences from the document? Links to “outside information” and context?
What new questions arise as the historian/student attempts to analyze the material? Where are the gaps in knowledge? What new thing can we learn? Specification of ignorance
http://sheg.stanford.edu/ SEE ALSO HTTP://WWW.HISTORICALTHINKINGMATTERS.ORG
Putting reading and writing together as history scene investigators: Activities that elicit persuasive writing results
Common Core Literacy is often introduced as moving all classrooms to “look like” an AP classroom. Why? What elements of Common Core challenge all teachers to incorporate reading and writing in more rigorous ways? The “DBQ Project” facilitates a district’s communication and experience. Where do we go from here? Blending APUSH and the common core literacy goals for reading and persuasive writing
Lesson Plan: (title) Lesson designer (s): School Lesson Origin: (web site, modified from, original) Georgia Performance Standard: Essential Question: (Learning Question) Materials: (include at least one primary source) Common Core Historical Literacy Standards/Skills (LDC Module) What Task? What Skills? What Instruction? What results? REACHING OUR GOALS
Task 1 Template: After researching ________ (informational texts) on ________ (content), write a/an ________ (essay or substitute) that argues your position on ________ (content). Support your position with evidence from your research. L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views. L3 Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position. (Argumentation/Analysis) Task 1 Social Studies Example: After researching academic articles on censorship, write an editorial that argues your position on the use of filters by schools. Support your position with evidence from your research. L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views. L3 Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position. (Argumentation/Analysis) http://www.literacydesigncollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LDCTemplateTasks.pdf Argumentation template tasks (LDC)
1. Investigate the reason for the collapse. Read the document(s) assigned to your group. 2. Working with partners or individually, construct a written defense of the reason the tower collapsed. Be sure to use evidence from the documents and background story. 3. What additional things would you like to know about the collapse of the tower? Might any further knowledge change your mind? Why did the molasses tower collapse?
AP Vertical Teams Guide Exercises in Thesis Development, Topical Organization, Topic Sentences, Use of Evidence and Conclusion using the 1993 “Compare New England and the Chesapeake” DBQ. Differentiation Needed?
Students need practice and repetition to make historical investigation more “natural.” Designing activities that imbed historical thinking
Example: “Two Points of View on the Homestead Act.” 1. Alvin Coffey Finds Success in Californiaby Sue Bailey Thurman 2. Lesson activities emphasizing historical thinking George LagergrenNative American Tribe: Chinook The Newberry Library
Two points of view on the Homestead Act Questions to Consider 1. What major eras of U.S. History did Alvin Coffey’s long life span? How was his life intertwined with these major events? 2. Describe the tone of the article about Alvin Coffey, published in 1952. Does the author seem to be describing Alvin Coffey in admiring terms? 3. How does the article about Alvin Coffey persuade the reader that his success in establishing his family in the West was a positive experience? What words are used to help persuade? 4. Another context for the establishment of families new in the West after the Homestead Act was passed in 1862 is expressed by the Native American George Lagergren. What opinion does he express about the Homestead Act? What was government policy toward Native Americans at that time? 5. While some groups of people can benefit from government actions, others can be negatively impacted. How do the accounts of these two people illustrate that problem? 6. What do the two points of view illustrate about the problems faced by historians in telling a full picture of events? By 1934, 10% of all U.S. lands were owned by individuals that had been granted homesteads. http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his1005fall2010/tag/homestead-act/ Alvin Aaron Coffey July 14, 1822 Madison County, KY Oct. 28, 1902 Oakland, CA Only black member of the CA Society of Pioneers http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11746945 http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/coffey.html
Use one of the sets of documents provided in the packet, one of the Literacy Design Collaborative models and the lesson activity sheet. Create an activity “investigation” for whatever duration of class time you need. Identify some Historical Thinking Skills imbedded in the activity. Be sure to incorporate a written component. Share your proposal with another group or individual. Putting historical thinking activities in daily practice
Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War http://teachinghistory.org/best-practices/teaching-with-textbooks/2042 Would your students need a graphic organizer or other scaffolding to make an effective comparison? In what ways does this exercise fit the CCGPS Historical Literacy Standards? Resources for the Classroom
…..the teaching of history serves three functions at once. One, obviously, is intellectual. History is the grandest vehicle for vicarious experience: it truly educates (“leads outward” in the Latin) provincial young minds and obliges them to reason, wonder, and brood about the vastness, richness, and tragedy of the human condition. If taught well, it trains young minds in the rules of evidence and logic, teaches them how to approximate truth through the patient exposure of falsehood, and gives them the mental trellis they need to place themselves in time and space and organize every other sort of knowledge they acquire in the humanities and sciences. To deny students history, therefore, is to alienate them from their community, nation, culture, and species. The Three Reasons We Teach History by Walter A. McDougall, FPRI Newsletter, February, 1998.
Thanks for coming. Enjoy the rest of your conference. Martha and Trudy