Historical Thinking: Changing Classrooms for Changing
Times
Slide 3
Note to the Reader: I have taught 8 th grade U.S. history for 8
years now. I knew at the end of the May 2014 school year that if I
did not do something drastic in my classroom that I would not be
teaching much longer. I felt I had hit a brick wall. I thought
maybe it was what I taught, where I was at, or even the age of the
students. I put in for a transfer to the high school and did not
get the job. I knew after the interview, I was no where near
prepared to teach high school. In June, the people that I am
closest to were honest with me, and told me that I was the only one
that had the control and power in my own classroom. If I was tired
of the way I was teaching, to change it. If I was tired of having
the same state test scores to change what I was doing. This
resonated with me and I acted bigger than I thought I ever would.
When Historical Methods started I chose my classroom as my research
topic, to be accountable for the changes I was making in my
classroom. Whether successful or not, I had to put these changes
into place and stay with it, because now I had a media project due.
My biggest fear has been; are these changes too drastic, and yesare
the students going to test well if I turn my classroom over to them
and me work as their facilitator? This was scary for me, because I
make small (emphasis on small) changes each year, but nothing of
this magnitude. The results have proved positive beyond my wildest
dreams, and I am now having the best year I have ever had teaching
8 th grade U.S. history. I am thankful I did not get the job at the
high school. It forced me to reevaluate my choices, and make a
change for my students, to create an environment of success that my
students have so far, loved.
Slide 4
Education Week Teacher
Slide 5
Slide 6
Ferris Buellers Day Off According to historical thinking
advocates, lecture has a time and place in the classroom. However,
a classroom built around lecture can be considered dull, and an
easy way to package information, instead of making the students do
the work themselves. In these types of classrooms, experts say,
that students copy information from a PowerPoint, or overhead. This
creates a classroom where students are not engaged with the
information. Engaging the information means using the information
to create arguments and come up with solutions. Here is an example
of a lecture centered classroom. (This video is used in many of my
staff development meetings) Bruce A. Lesh, Why Dont You Just Tell
Us the Answer? Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12
(Portland Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011) 125-126
Slide 7
There are many different definitions on how to create
historical thinkers, but the idea in all of them is the same: To
use sources in the classroom to create curiosity, asses evidence
(historical inquiry), and develop a response to an effective
historical question. What is Historical Thinking? Stanford: History
Education Group
Slide 8
Disciplinary concepts for Historical Thinking lessons:
1.Causality 2.Chronology 3.Multiple Perspectives 4.Contingency
5.Empathy 6.Change and Continuity over Time 7.Influence /
Significance / effect 8.Contrasting Interpretations 9.Intent /
Motivation
Slide 9
Causality: This is going to be a study of why things happen.
Usually at the end of chapters in textbooks the summary questions
stress causality, or having students study why things happen. This
encourages students to focus on an interpretation of who or what
caused an event.
Slide 10
Chronology: When students put things in chronological order
they are able to create an argument for causality.
Slide 11
Multiple Perspectives: This is when a teacher presents to
students an array of documents from a single event. It is important
to keep the documents narrow to the time period. Diaries,
government documents, or pictures for this type of lesson create an
interpretation of the peoples thoughts that lived during this time
period. If you provide films, textbooks, or things more current you
run the risk of students trying to interpret different
historiography and this not the purpose of multiple
perspectives.
Slide 12
Contingency: Something dependent of a possible outcome.
Teaching contingency helps students learn to how to predict a
future outcome.
Slide 13
Empathy: The understanding of the way people in past
institutions, social practices, or actions saw things. Empathy
means trying to make sense of past actions and the reasons for
them. It is not trying to become another person such as roleplaying
activities in the classroom *Empathy ask questions such as Why did
an individual or group of people... act in a certain way? (Lesh,
155)
Slide 14
Change and Continuity over Time: This allows students insight
into how and why the telling of historical events change over time.
(How have historians changed their views on historical events)
Slide 15
Influence / Significance / Effect: Once an investigation of an
event takes place, students are then able to formulate ideas,
arguments and conclusions about the influence, significance and the
effect it had on the time period and how it effects the world
today. *What are the limitations and opportunities made possible by
past decisions?
Slide 16
Contrasting Interpretations: When students are provided
multiple perspectives they realize that history is not just a set
of correct answers but a rich landscape of historical
interpretations. They learn that historical interpretation is also
subject to change depending of the days issues and as new
information is uncovered.
Slide 17
Intent vs. Motivation: Intention is the will you have to do
something. *EX: I want to do a sport. Motivation is the inside
voice that pushes you to do it. *EX: I want to do a sport because I
want to be fit. Students look for intent and motivation to
historical figures while completing their investigations. It is
sometimes hard to distinguish between the two.
Slide 18
The Historical Thinking Model: 1.A focused content driven
question (questions, not answers, should drive instruction)
2.Initiate the investigation (access prior knowledge, provide
background information) 3.Conduct the investigation (have relevant
and conflicting sources) 4.Report interpretations and class
discussion (share various interpretations and ideas 5.Debrief
student investigations 6.Assess student comprehension
Slide 19
1. Focus Content Driven Question: The question should be though
provoking, and help deepen a students understanding of the content.
Question should be central to the curriculum of the teacher.
Example Question: (Early Republic Unit John Adams Presidency) Do
Presidents have the right to suspend civil (individual) liberties
in times of war and crisis in the United States?
Slide 20
2. Initiate the investigation: Hook the student's attention and
then access prior knowledge (3 parts) Part 1: Bellringer Project
Sedition Act and answer these questions: What is this document
saying? Does it violate the Constitution? Defend your answer with
proof.
Slide 21
Part 2: Have students in groups of three read one part of a
civil liberties timeline then discuss the common theme. In their
groups they come up with the common themes from these summaries,
then discuss as a class whether it is appropriate to suspend
individual liberties when the United States is in crisis. 2.
Initiate the investigation: CONT.
Slide 22
Part 3: Hand out the Graphic Organizer. Read the background
information on John Adams Presidency. Summarize the background
information, then write it in the middle triangle. As a group, then
as a class, they will discuss their background knowledge and what
was carried over from Washingtons Presidency. When they discuss as
a class, lead class with appropriate questioning 2. Initiate the
investigation: CONT.
Slide 23
3. Conduct the investigation: 1.Now go back and discuss the
bellringer. What were some of the answers and talk about whether it
is Constitutional. (By this time the students know the Bill of
Rights and the Supreme Courts job. They should be able to defend
their answers. 2.Hand out the primary sources (the laws passed
during Adams presidency) and have the students divide them up. Once
they have finished reading, summarizing and putting the information
in the chart, they share their info for the other students to fill
in their charts.
Slide 24
4&5 Report and debrief interpretations Class discussion,
share various interpretations and ideas Go over documents and notes
as a class.
Slide 25
6. Assess student comprehension: Here the students wrote an
essay using the information they had for Adams presidency. They
will give opinions and defend their answers based on classroom
notes, discussions, primary sources, and background knowledge.
Slide 26
My Classroom: Critical Thinking Boards
Slide 27
These are the themes that are throughout the lesson. Specific
questions should be asked in order to guide the information the
students are processing. Text, Context, and Subtext: Bruce A. Lesh,
Why Dont You Just Tell Us the Answer? Teaching Historical Thinking
in Grades 7-12 (Portland Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011) 39 I
know you think that but where is the evidence to support your
answer?
Slide 28
1. What is visible/readable? 2. What information is provided by
the source? Text: Ibid,. 39
Slide 29
1. What was going on during the time period? 2. What background
information do you have that helps explain the information found in
the source? Context: Ibid,. 39
Slide 30
Ask questions about the following: 1. What is between the
lines? 2. Author: Who created the source, and what do we know about
that person? 3. Audience: For whom was the source created? 4.
Reason: Why was this source produced when it was? Subtext: Ibid,.
39
Slide 31
Bibliography Ferlazzo, Larry. Response: Teaching History By
Encouraging Curiosity Education Week Teacher. (May 31, 2014)
accessed October 1, 2014,
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2014/05/response_teaching_history_by_encouragin
g_curiosity.html *Editorial Projects in Education is an
independent, nonprofit publisher of Education Week. EPE's mission
is to raise awareness and understanding of critical issues facing
American schools. Lesh, Bruce A. Why Dont You Just Tell Us the
Answer? Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12. Portland
Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011. *This book is a guide for
teachers wanting to use the historical thinking model in their
classroom. He goes step by step using different teaching standards
for each chapter to show how historical thinking strategies can be
used successfully in the classroom
Slide 32
Stanford History Education Group. Charting the Future of
Teaching the Past. http://sheg.stanford.edu/ This website was put
together by Stanford Universities' Historical group. It offers
lessons on historical thinking, and details how to implement it
into the classroom. Teachinghistory.org. What is Historical
Thinking? http://teachinghistory.org/historical-thinking-intro
Teachinghistory.org is designed to help K12 history teachers access
resources and materials to improve U.S. history education in the
classroom. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the
Center for History and New Media (CHNM) has created
Teachinghistory.org with the goal of making history content,
teaching strategies, resources, and research accessible Wineburg,
Sam. Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the
Future of Teaching the Past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
2001