AIDING OUR STUDENTS TO

INTERPRET HISTORY

CHAPTER 5

What Do You Think About History?

Making History Come Alive

Think about your own experiences when you studied history:* Was it mostly memorizing people, events, and dates for recall on tests? * Do you remember any worthwhile experiences that helped you to understand the past?“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”~ Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)

The Central Place of History in the Social Studies Curriculum

History plays a central role in the 4th-8th grade SSC 4th state history, geographic regions 5th U.S. history 6th World cultures, history, and geography 7th World cultures, history, and geography 8th U.S. history

The Nation’s History Report Card

^A 2006 Survey by the NAEP compared the progress of 4th, 8th , and 12th graders in history between 1994&2006^ Despite curriculums that focused primarily on math and language arts, every grade, and nearly every demographic saw improvement in History

Fourth Graders- 66% understood the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty-35% explained how two inventions changed life in the U.S.- 24% explained why people settled on the western frontier

Eighth Graders- 64% identified an impact of the cotton gin- 43% explained goals of the marches led by Martin Luther King, Jr.-1 % explained how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected foreign policy

A Closer Look at the Statistics

Fourth Graders- 66% understood the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty-35% explained how two inventions changed life in the U.S.- 24% explained why people settled on the western frontier

Eighth Graders- 64% identified an impact of the cotton gin- 43% explained goals of the marches led by Martin Luther King, Jr.-1 % explained how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected foreign policy

*Students are struggling with higher order thinking skills

High Quality Instruction

• The arts and music of different time periods can increase understanding and empathyabout different cultures.• Artifacts, field trips, and virtual field trips can help students visualize history.• Simulations about workers, peasants, and warlords can help students feel how it wasto live at a different time period, especially in a crisis situation.• Media has always been popular for portraying the past; now more free video clipsare available from the Internet.

All students should be engaged in a variety of interesting classroom activities to make history alive.

Bringing Issues to the Present

*Connect the past and the present from multiple perspectives when appropriate: Race, Gender, Political Affiliation, Sexual Orientation etc.*Create a supportive environment* NWHP.org

The History Wars: Deciding What is Taught in the Classroom

* How do you decide the amount of time you spend on a topic and Which perspectives do you share? ex. WWII, Vietnam, Civil rights past and present.

*1994 National Center for History in the Schools sparked a Liberal versus Conservative debate in the classroom

*Teaching State Standards

H I S T O R Y O N LY A C C O U N T S F O R A S M A L L S A M P L I N G O F T H E PA S T

W H AT I S K N O W N A B O U T H I S T O R Y T O D AY I S N O T T H E S A M E A S I T WA S T W E N T Y Y E A R S A G O

H I S T O R Y S H O U L D I N C L U D E N O T O N LY W H AT H A P P E N E D I N T H E PA S T B U T H O W H I S T O R Y I S C O N S T R U C T E D

INTERPRETATIONSOF

HISTORY

HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING

SENSE OF HISTORY

PERSPECTIVE TAKING AND EMPATHY

HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS

HISTORY DEFINITIONS AND

ISSUES

CHILDREN LEARN HISTORY OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

CHECK PRIOR KNOWLEDGE BY ASKING CHILD TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW ABOUT A SUBJECT (KWL)

Student’sPrior

Knowledge

TYPICALLY, THE EARLY PRIMARY GRADES COVER LITTLE HISTORY

IN-DEPTH APPROACH INSTEAD OF BROAD APPROACH

CoverageversusDepth

DRAMATIC PLAY OR REENACTMENTS

SIMULATION

REENACTMENTS OF HISTORY

TELEVISION NEWSCAST

Drama, Simulationand

Historical Newscast

USE FOCUS QUESTIONS TO GUIDE STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING HISTORY

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO THINK AND READ WITH A PURPOSE

STUDENTS WILL GATHER EVIDENCE TO ANSWER THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS

Using a Question or

Problem

D E C O R AT E C L A S S R O O M D U R I N G T H E T R A D I T I O N A L U N I T E D S TAT E S C E L E B R AT E D H O L I D AY S

W E B Q U E S T S O N H O W C E R TA I N H O L I D AY S A R E C E L E B R AT E D I N O T H E R C O U N T R I E S

H I S T O R I C A L , R E L I G I O U S , C U LT U R A L A N D O T H E R C AT E G O R I E S O F H O L I D AY S

C O M M E M O R AT E W I T H A T H O U G H T F U L A C T I V I T Y

T E A C H E R T O G O B E Y O N D S I M P L E E X P L A N AT I O NF O R S T U D E N T T O E S TA B L I S H VA LU E S B E H I N D A S P E C I F I C H O L I D AY

The Holiday

Curriculum

STATE STANDARDS – CONTENT IN THE PRIMARY GRADES TO BE ALIVE AND CENTERED ON PEOPLE NOT EVENTS OR DATES

ARIZONA GOES FURTHER INDICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME LINES, HISTORICAL RESEARCH SKILLS AND USE OF PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS WITH EMPHASIS ON INDIVIDUAL ACTION, CHARACTER AND VALUES

PrimaryHistory

Standards

STATE THEMES

YEARLY SOCIAL STUDIES WORK

THEME QUESTIONS

Themes

•HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE•DEAL WITH A HISTORICAL PROBLEM•GATHER DATA•REFLECT•TEACHES VALUABLE SKILLS•TEST DATA FOR CREDIBILITY AND AUTHENTICITY•LEARN TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES•LEARN TO POSE RELEVANT QUESTIONS

DOING HISTORY OR

BEING A HISTORIAN

BEING A HISTORIAN

National History Day www.nhd.org Enter competitions Historical analysis and interpretation

“Save our History” History Channel Emphasis on local history Lesson plans: http://nps.gov/learn

www.cr.nps.gov &

www.saveourhistory.com

ORAL HISTORIES

A Living Person’s recollections about his or her past about events they have personally experienced.

A Historical InquiryHelpful with groups that may not leave

traditional recordsFirsthand accounts can fascinate children http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html

PRIMARY SOURCES:• Written documents• Created by those who participated in or

witnessed events of the past• Films• Photographs• Drawings • Artifacts

The Promise of the Internet:

Primary & Secondary Sources

When should PRIMARY SOURCES be used?

Research TopicsDramatic PerformancesExhibitsDocumentariesResearch PapersWhen students participate in History Day

CRITERION: HAVE A HIGH IMMEDIATE INTEREST FOR STUDENTS

Online Resources for Primary Sources

National Archives – over 100 milestone documents from U.S. History: www.ourdocuments.gov

Library of Congress: www.loc.gov American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov Exhibitions: www.loc.gov/exhibits Global Gateways:

http://international.loc.gov/intdlhome.html The Learning Page: www.loc.gov/learnUSE COMPUTERS:

To ease the reading hurdleBring history to lifeAllow the use of primary

sources

STATE STANDARD: HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP A SENSE OF TIME AND

CHRONOLOGY

Learning about Time &

Chronology

TIME: Events fall into patternsUse of language and experienceTypically, there is a time to eat, a time to play, a time

to sleepDistinguish between present, past and future

CHRONOLOGY: Move away from personal experienceExtend our understanding of time backward and forwardDates become orientation pointsEvents fall into chronological orderBegin to understand the concepts of cause and effect &

continuity

ASTRONOMICAL CALENDARS

Calendar for Naghaid, 4th month of the Celtic lunar year.

WHEN TIME & CHRONOLOGY ARE USUALLY TAUGHT

Learn meaning of day, week, month, year

Use calendar to find dates Understand today,

yesterday, tomorrow Distinguish between A.M.

and P.M. Learn to tell time by the

clock Understand time lines Learn to translate dates into

centuries Comprehend the Christian

system of chronology- A.D. and B.C.

K – 3rd Grade

K – 3rd Grade K – 3rd Grade

K – 3rd Grade K – 3rd Grade

1st – 6th Grades Middle School Grades

Middle School Grades

1) Tell me a story you remember about your family when you were young. Any story, with any type of family member. Examples: A family

holiday, birth of a sibling, getting in trouble for the first time, etc. 2) Tell me what you remember about your favorite teacher in grade school. What was s/he like, and what made him/her your favorite?

Please go into detail.

ORAL HISTORIES

What is the

significance of

the story you are

hearing?

What do the stories tell you about the

person telling them?

What can you learn about the people / place in the story?

Do these stories tell you

anything about

the time period they take

place in?As you listen, think:

CHAPIN JR (2008) . ELEMENTARY SOCIAL STUDIES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, 7 T H ED. BOSTON: ALLYN AND BACON (PEARSON)

2006-2012 ROY ROZENZWEIG CENTER FOR HISTORY AND NEW MEDIA. AUTHOR: KIM BUEHLMAIER, BELMONT STATION ELEMENTARY

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. “ANALYZING ORAL HISTORIES.” HTTP: / /WWW.LOC.GOV/TEACHERS/USINGPRIMARYSOURCES/RESOURCES/ANALYZING_ORAL_HISTORIES.PDF

Resources