Articles on Teaching

Link to the Canadian Historical Association's Guide for Teaching Assistants in History

Link to Canada's History's publication Teaching Canada's History (October 2009).

Articles from The Social Studies http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00377996.asp

Chiodo, John J. "The Bonus Army: A Lesson on the Great Depression." The Social Studies 102(1) (2011): 33-41.

After the end of World War I, Congress enacted a bill that would reward military veterans for their service. The bill provided the veterans cash bonuses that would be paid starting in 1945. But as the nation settled into the Great Depression these veterans began to clamor for payment of their bonuses. In May of 1932, an estimated 15,000 veterans and their families made their way to Washington DC. The events of the 'Bonus Army' provide the basis of a lesson for students to examine the plight of these veterans and the eventual response of the federal government to later pass the GI Bill of Rights.

Crocco, Margaret Smith. "Teaching About Women in World History." The Social Studies 102(1) (2011): 18-24.

This article addresses the subject of teaching about women in world history in K-12 schools and in programs of social studies teacher education. It includes a review of the place of gender in teaching about world history to current and future teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University. This informal research serves as the platform for a set of recommendations concerning necessary steps for 'gender-balancing' the world history curriculum in social studies teacher education.

Source: Academic Search Complete

Obenchain, Kathryn M., Angela Orr, and Susan H. Davis. “The Past as a Puzzle: How Essential Questions Can Piece Together a Meaningful Investigation of History.” The Social Studies 102(5) (2011): 190-99.

In this article, the authors outline their findings about framing curriculum in order to teach historical thinking more effectively to elementary, middle, and high school students. They found that framing the curriculum around “essential and historical questions that guide historical inquiry can facilitate the learning process” (190-91). Essential questions (EQs), in their definition, are open-ended questions that address the big ideas of history, and, importantly, have no predetermined answer, allowing for multiple interpretations. Using essential questions allows courses to be organized around questions that promote critical and higher order thinking, instead of around answers. Once EQs, such as Should liberty be limited? are developed, teachers can use them to create grade specific historical questions; for example, for elementary students, Were the British justified in limiting the liberty of colonists who protested new taxes? (192). Doing so allows educators to construct a vertically integrated curriculum, in which the larger questions are constant over the student’s years in school. The authors want to make it clear that implementation of EQs in the curriculum involves a complete re-framing of questions based on student inquiry, instead of simply adding questions in a traditional narrative-based classroom. Using EQs helps students find recurrent themes, engage in historical inquiry, connect historical themes to current issues, and use primary sources in context.

Manfra, Meghan McGlinn and Jeremy D. Stoddard. “Powerful and Authentic Digital Media and Strategies for Teaching about Genocide and the Holocaust.” The Social Studies 99(6) (2008): 260-64.

In this article, Manfra and Stoddard wade through the expanse of digital content that deals with the Holocaust and genocide in order to identify new digital media that allow students to engage in authentic learning experiences about the two concepts. Using the three tenets of ‘authentic instruction’ outlined in Newmann and Wehlage’s (1993) framework - (1) student construction of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills; (2) student engagement in disciplined inquiry; and (3) student engagement in making connections to the world around them - the authors identify newer Internet resources that are interactive and stimulating. They discuss four categories of new media: audio/video first-person accounts; streaming video and audio accounts, such as news media; interactive geography and interactive mapping tools; and social interaction and activism sites. In each of these categories, they link the medium to the tenets of authentic instruction. They conclude with four appendices, listing several websites for each of the four categories of media discussed in the article.

Source: Katherine Joyce

Article from Canadian Social Studies http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/css

Lemisko, Lynn. “The Inside, Out: Diaries as Entry Points to Historical Perspective Taking.” Canadian Social Studies 44(1) 2010: 38.

Diaries can serve as meaningful entry points for advancing historical consciousness and developing historical thinking because they can connect readers/learners with the diverse emotions, thoughts and motivations of the people who wrote about them in particular times and places. Historical thinking and meaning-making involves exploration of both the ‘outside’ (that which would have been observable: “bodies and their movements”) and the ‘inside’ (that which would have been unobservable: thoughts, emotions, motivations) of past human actions. One of the tasks and tensions of historical work is to get to the ‘inside’ – to bring out (reveal or reconstruct) and contextualize ways of thinking and feeling represented in documents and artifacts left behind, so that we can understand both the similarities and differences in how people viewed the world. The author discusses the importance of historical perspective-taking as an aspect of historical thinking and outlines why and how teachers could assist learners in using diaries as evidence for reconstructing historical perspectives. She gives examples from three published diaries to show how these provide evidence of points of view in the context of the period in which they were written, and provides some specific suggestions of how teachers can use examples from these diaries to spark deeper probing of ideas and time periods.

Source: Freely Accessible Social Science Journals

Articles from Teaching History http://www.history.org.uk/about/index.php?id=43

Lee, Peter and Denis Shemilt. “The Concept that Dares not Speak its Name: Should Empathy Come Out of the Closet?” Teaching History 143 (2011): 39-49.

Since the 1970s, teachers and researchers in the UK have been concerned about historical empathy, the way in which students understand past beliefs, values, and practices. There was a great deal of opposition to the inclusion of historical empathy in the curriculum, for two main reasons: first, the line between historical imagination and literary invention was too often crossed; second, the term ‘empathy’ caused some misunderstanding, many believing that it signifies the need for only affective engagement with the past. The concept of historical empathy, however, rests on the assumptions that people give meaning to the world, and we need to understand past beliefs, values, and practices in order to explain what people were doing.
Lee and Shemilt then identify the three challenges posed by empathy to students: “(a) making sense of human behaviour; (b) understanding why practices that seem irrational and unreasonable today were common in the past; and (c) grasping what does and does not count as empathetic” (40). They focus on the second and third concepts, and provide a six-level progression model for how students tend to progress in understanding with the concept of empathy. They then provide more detailed explanations of the various stages, and share suggestions for advancing students through them. However, in conclusion, they argue that empathy should only be used in the classroom in an experimental capacity at this time.

Brown, Geraint, and James Woodcock. "Relevant, Rigorous and Revisited: Using Local History to Make Meaning of Historical Significance." Teaching History 134 (2009): 4-11.

The idea of engaging pupils with the relevance of local memorials is becoming commonplace in the history classroom. In Teaching History 109, Examining History Edition, Dale Banham's pupils used First World War memorials to assess the impact the war had on their local area. Building on this, Brown and Woodcock decided to give their pupils more ownership of their own series of lessons on memorials of the First World War. Inspired by the work of Phillips, Martin and Counsell, the revised series of lessons explores the significance of the war for the local community. Pupils use databases to devise their own questions. They are then asked to infer the criteria for 'greatness' implicit in the writing of E.H. Gombrich on the First World War. Finally, Gombrich's criteria are tested against the local database. Such work exploits the engagement value of local history and databases to move on pupils' thinking about historical significance. These are two aspects of history given new prominence in the UK 2008 programme of study. Both Brown and Woodcock's rationale and their teaching ideas could help add an extra focus as you revise Key Stage 3 schemes of work. A particularly useful and detailed summary is provided, giving the key concepts of significance based on discussions in Woodcock and Brown's department.

Johansen, Michelle, and Martin Spafford. “‘How Our Area Used to Be Back Then.’” Teaching History 134 (2009): 37-46.

How can oral history enquiries engage students with the study of history and help them connect their learning about the past to their present lives? How can oral history engage and develop students' understanding of history as a process of knowledge construction? What scope does local historical study provide for collaborative work between school history departments, archivists, researchers and local communities? Why are local oral history enquiries particularly suited to UK new curricular arrangements at Key Stage 3 and GCSE? Michelle Johansen and Martin Spafford reflect on these and related questions through the discussion of a remarkable oral history collaboration and provide focused guidance that will help history departments develop local oral history enquiries in future. Year 10 (age 14-15) students from across the ability range assisted in creating a real and permanent record of local history. The article describes the project activities, assesses teaching, learning and social outcomes, and offers advice on running an oral history project in a secondary school.

McFahn, Richard, and Sarah Herrity. "Riots, Railways and a Hampshire Hill Fort: Exploiting Local History for Rigorous Evidential Enquiry." Teaching History 134 (2009): 16-23.

Rigorous historical enquiry is integral to effective history teaching. The 2008 National Curriculum has recognised its importance by giving it a broader definition as a key process to include not only the use of historical sources, but also the process of students devising questions, developing hypotheses, investigating interpretations and reaching judgments. Planning longer enquiries provides students with a series of lessons in which they have the time to develop these processes more effectively. The teachers on Hampshire's history steering committee wanted to plan longer, more meaningful enquiries for their Key Stage 3 history students. The teachers wanted their students to work like genuine historians, using authentic evidence to form their own judgments. Part of the meaning-making would come through a focus on local history. This article shares the work of three teachers in three different Hampshire secondary schools, all of whom have recently planned rigorous local enquiries around the use of evidence. They have faced similar issues, but employed three divergent approaches: Richard McFahn had his pupils 'beating' a historian for suggesting the simplistic argument that enclosure led to the Swing Riots. Sarah Herrity's students found themselves assessing the typicality of their own Victorian railway town. Neil Bates' students walked in the footsteps of the past as they explored the Iron Age hill fort on which their school was built. Pupils began to consider the very nature of historical enquiry and the limitations of the historical process. Examples of resources, student work, and ideas for assessment are provided.

Anthony, Kimberley. "Were Industrial Towns 'Death-Traps'?." Teaching History 135 (2009): 16-26.

Kimberley Anthony and her history colleagues were troubled by Year 9's assumption that World War II was the only interesting thing that they were going to do in Year 9. Nineteenth century industrialization, even their own South Wales heritage on their doorstep, had always been greeted by pupils with groans. They decided to show pupils just how interesting the nineteenth century is. They chose to do this by presenting it as an historical problem concerning diversity. They started with a typical, sloppy generalization about industrial towns, and asked, how far was this true? Inevitably, pupils soon found themselves asking 'true for whom?', 'in what way? and 'to what extent?' Thus the complex, variegated world of industrial towns was gradually brought into focus and pupils were forced to replace their simplistic, black and white views of nineteenth century people's lives. When attempting to analyze the diversity of experience, pupils gradually learned to make more thoughtful claims concerning type and extent of similarity or difference that could be said to characterize the human landscape of a nineteenth century Welsh industrial town. Elements of evidential work and reflection on subsequent interpretations were also incorporated. Finally, Anthony explores a way of securing a relationship between historical thinking and wider, whole-school, generic thinking and learning initiatives.

Brooker, Ed. "Telling Tales: Developing Students' Own Thematic and Synoptic Understandings at Key Stage 3." Teaching History 136 (2009): 45-52.

Brooker is concerned that students should be able to see and make meaning out of 'big pictures' of the past. He is acutely aware, however, that teaching within well-structured enquiries and giving students the conceptual 'pegs' on which to hang their knowledge of the past may not be enough. In a radical departure from those who suggest outlining the 'big picture' at the start of a series of lessons, he experiments with asking students to identify and define the key themes for themselves in the middle or towards the end of a scheme of work. His approach depends critically on dialogue, and his strategies are adapted from the 'community of enquiry' model developed within Philosophy for Children. His experiments in two different schools reveal not only students' ability to generate and interrogate meaningful themes for themselves, but also the long-term importance of providing sustained opportunities for dialogue between students and between students and their teacher.

Nemko, Barnaby. "Are We Creating a Generation of 'Historical Tourists'? Visual Assessment as a Means of Measuring Pupils' Progress in Historical Interpretation." Teaching History 137 (2009): 32-9.

A trip to the battlefields of the First World War throws into stark relief the challenges presented by work on interpretations related to historical sites. Andrew Wrenn first drew attention to the difficulties of promoting 'objective enquiry' alongside the 'emotional responses' that such locations — and the monuments designed to memorialize them — tend to evoke. While Wrenn shared some of the strategies that he used to support conscious reflection on the creation of the memorials, Barnaby Nemko here demonstrates just how important such strategies are. Using a visual assessment approach which requires pupils to construct their own interpretations he discovers just how much power the memorial sites exert on an emotional level, blunting analytical skills that have been well developed in relation to other kinds of historical account. Nemko not only reveals the value of taking a visual approach to assessment, he also demonstrates how two different research-based models of progression — one developed by Lee and Shemilt in relation to understanding the nature of historical accounts, and the other by Seixas and Clark, specifically in relation to the understanding of historical monuments — can be used to help teachers both in assessing their pupils' existing conceptions and in planning for progression.

Allsop, Scott. "'We Didn't Start the Fire': Using 1980s Popular Music to Explore Historical Significance by Stealth." Teaching History 137 (2009): 52-9.

Allsop helped his students to uncover the implicit criteria informing someone else's attribution of historical significance to past events. That 'someone else' was Billy Joel whose 1989 song became the focus for deconstructive analysis. Through a series of activities Allsop helped his students to identify the criteria that Billy Joel seems to have been operating with. The students then experimented with applying those criteria by creating an updated version of the same song. Allsop emphasizes that the most important part of the sequence was the necessarily slow but engaging process by which students discerned, refined and discussed Billy Joel's apparent criteria. Through this, the students deepened their understanding of how individual perceptions of historical significance can manifest themselves. Meanwhile, Allsop himself deepened his own understanding of the ways in which cultural and national considerations shaped his students' reflections on historical significance in the contrasting settings of Egypt and England.

Monaghan, Michael. "Having 'Great Expectations' of Year 9: Inter-disciplinary Work Between English and History to Improve Pupils’ Historical Thinking.” Teaching History 138 (2010): 13-19.

What scope does studying a classic novel in both English and history provide for meaningful cross-curricular work and how might engaging with historical fiction help pupils engage more effectively with the realities of the past? Monoghan reports on a cross-curricular project and reflects on successes and lessons learned. The characters, settings and story lines of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” were used to encourage pupils to explore the extent and nature of similarity and difference in the early 19th century. Pupils were encouraged to ‘go with the grain of the evidence’ – the story giving a focus to the students’ historical research. Considerable logistical challenges were overcome to produce an integrated scheme of work, each lesson focussing on a particular theme, using a range of sources, so that pupils searched ‘doggedly’ for evidence that would allow their writing to create a more vivid picture of the past. The novel helped pupils unlock good, complex history, whilst feeding back a greater understanding into English, with many pupils achieving their best grades for the year.

Tuck, Stephen. "From a Great Man to a Great Man: Writing the History of the Civil Rights Movement." Teaching History 138 (2010): 54-5.

The article discusses the historiography of the US Civil Rights Movement, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr, and the history of African American civil protest. Other subjects considered include Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X, US President Barack Obama, and historical revisionism. Also presented are lesson plans for the study of the American Civil Rights Movement for British A-level students and Key stage 3 students.

Pickles, Elisabeth. "How can Students' Use of Historical Evidence be Enhanced?: A Research Study of the Role of Knowledge in Year 8 to Year 13 Students' Interpretations of Historical Sources." Teaching History 139 (2010): 41-51.

What role does knowledge play in the interpretation of documentary materials? How do history students use what they know? What kind of knowledge really 'makes the difference' and which ways of using knowledge make the most difference to the quality of students' thinking? Answering questions like these involves the careful analysis of the things that students do when they work with documents and thinking about students' conceptual understandings, linked to their knowledge of the discipline of history, as well as about the factual knowledge that students draw upon when interpreting documents. Elisabeth Pickles has explored these issues systematically and in depth through empirical research. This article reports key findings from Pickles' research and highlights implications for practice.

White, Jonathan. "Encountering Diversity in the History of Ideas: Engaging Year 9 with Victorian Debates About 'Progress'." Teaching History 139 (2010): 11-20.

Jonathan White wanted to fill a gap in his students' knowledge of the history of ideas. Despite the appearance of Marx, Smith, Darwin and Malthus in the department's work scheme for Year 9, his Year 13 students appeared to lack any meaningful grasp of these nineteenth-century intellectual reference points. White therefore set about constructing a new enquiry which would give his Year 9 students some thorough and lasting understandings of Victorian ideas. In order to maximize motivation and engagement, he decided to build an enquiry that would culminate in a lively 'in-period' debate, with students arguing for and against 'progress' from the perspective of various Victorians. The lesson sequence therefore also secured a focus on diversity as a concept: his students were required to discern and analyze the type and extent of diversity that can be found in wide-ranging Victorian views and attitudes. White explains, illustrates and critically evaluates his lesson sequence. He also shares thoughts on how he plans to improve the sequence next year.

Schnakenberg, Ulrich. "Developing Multiperspectivity Through Cartoon Analysis: Strategies for Analyzing Different Views of Three Watersheds in Modern German History." Teaching History 139 (2010): 32-9.

Studying cartoons can be an engaging experience for students but it can also present students with considerable difficulties. Cartoons are typically highly complex texts that are often very hard to interpret and students need to develop appropriate reading strategies to interpret cartoons effectively. In this article Ulrich Schnakenberg explores ways of scaffolding cartoon analysis and exemplifies cartoon analysis by interpreting cartoons relating to key watersheds in German history: the Versailles Peace Treaty (1919), 1945: Germany defeated - what now? and 1950s: allow Germany to rearm? Schnakenberg also shows how cartoon analysis can be used to explore multiple perspectives in history.

Edwards, Christopher. "Down the Foggy Ruins of Time: Bob Dylan and the Concept of Evidence." Teaching History 140 (2010): 56-63.

An interest in the potential of song as a source of evidence in the history classroom has burgeoned recently. The five Bob Dylan songs that Christopher Edwards explores here are chosen not merely for their 'literary qualities' and 'emotional charge'; they also provide a powerful commentary on the US Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s and were — arguably, at least — integral to the tumultuous events of that period. While fully recognizing their creative power and capacity to capture students' interest, Edwards' greatest concern is to exploit their potential as evidence. More specifically, building on the understanding that Lee and Shemilt's research has given us of students' misconceptions about the use of sources (Teaching History 113, December 2003), Edwards sets out to explore how compelling collections of this kind can be used quite deliberately to help students develop more powerful ways of thinking about our knowledge of the past.

Lawrence, Andy. "Being Historically Rigorous with Creativity: How Can Creative Approaches Help Solve the Problems Inherent in Teaching about Genocide?" Teaching History 140 (2010): 47-53.

After a Fellowship in Holocaust Education at the Imperial War Museum, Andy Lawrence decided that something was missing in normal approaches to teaching emotive and controversial issues such as genocide, a deficit demonstrated by recent research by the Holocaust Education Development Programme. As part of his fellowship, Lawrence created an on-line exhibition builder, which allowed students to use their creativity to construct an exhibition, using original source material, about the Holocaust. Lawrence used his exhibition builder to demonstrate that teaching potentially difficult topics need not come at the price of creativity. Examples of pupil’s ‘exhibitions’ and assessment are provided.

Source: Academic Search Complete

Articles from Social Studies and the Young Learner http://www.socialstudies.org/publications/ssyl

Hines, A. “Reflecting on the Great Black Migration by a Creating a Newspaper.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 21 (2) (2008): 4-7.

The 309 Tribune was a newspaper created by intermediate grade students as a result of their investigations into the “Great Black Migration” that took place between 1916 and 1930 in the USA. In creating their own newspaper, students learned to appreciate the writer’s perspective in reporting and responding to provocative events. Specialist teachers lent their talents to a large-scale project, culminating in a memorable final presentation which included song, drama and readings. Teacher Angela Hines reports that students were able to tap into their various talents and interests, working both independently and in small groups, creating something that was both challenging and unique. Teaching methods and resources are described, explained and justified in some detail.

Mayers, E. “The Klondike Gold Rush: Using Technology to Learn about History.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 20(3) (2008): 12-15.

An Alaskan cruise provided the inspiration to create a tailor-made unit about the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896. Author Edith Mayers demonstrates how technology can be judiciously used to glean appropriate information from internet sources, and how that information can be creatively displayed. The author shows how integrating technology into lessons can challenge students to apply computer skills and critical reading skills in meaningful ways. The goal of the unit was to show how the Gold Rush was a significant era in both Canadian and United States history, focussing particularly on the lives of individuals and families. The unit was designed to address specific strands of social studies: time, community and change, and people, places and environments. Although this unit was used with fifth graders, it would be easily adaptable for use with any grade level.

Jenks, C. “Using Oral History in the Elementary Classroom.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 23(1) (2010): 31-2.

Charles Jenks suggests that all too often, students see history only as a product: a massive collection of unrelated names and events, dates and places. He suggests that if students are presented with history as a process, they can become aware of how the product (written history) is created. Oral history is presented as a means for students to gather information and produce historical records that are relevant to them. Students interviewed their own families and in doing so, began to realize that ordinary people have a history that is worth telling and recording, including themselves.

Keiper, T. and J. Garcia. “Crossing Borders: Contemporary Immigrant Stories in Historical Context.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 22(2) (2009): 4-7.

The vast majority of USA residents have ancestors who were immigrants, whether they came voluntarily or involuntarily. These immigrants have helped to shape the social, cultural and economic history of the nation. The first part of the paper gives a useful chronology of migration to the USA from 1600 to the present day, presented in five separate ‘waves.’ The ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that initiated each wave, and how American society was shaped as a result, are discussed. The second part gives some thoughtful points for discussion about the role of migration in American society, and presents three interesting contemporary migration stories (from Mexico, Egypt and Russia) that could form the basis for immigration studies with young learners.

Downey, L. “A Century of Veterans: Researching Our Local Cemetery.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 21(2) (2009): 25-7.

Teacher Lindsey Downey describes a unique place-based project designed to uncover the stories of veterans and their families from their local community. The author gives a step-by-step account of how this project developed from setting goals, displaying students’ work, and reflective writing (to “notice deeply”). The steps of the project are described in some detail, in particular how students approached finding primary and secondary sources of information, culminating in a Veteran’s Day ceremony, during which students read out their own eulogies for local veterans. Although this unit was specifically designed with Veteran’s Day in mind, the process could be adapted to investigate the lives of other local people, using the cemetery as a starting point.

Henry, E. “Fourth Grade Historians: A Thematic Approach to Immigration.” Social Studies and the Young Learner 20(3) (2008): 4-7.

Teacher Elizabeth Egan Henry presents a step-by-step guide to a fourth grade study on immigration to the USA. First, the topic was introduced using “Coming to America” by Betsy Maestro, which provided a springboard for students to share migration stories from their own family and friends, and provide questions for further investigation. Next, further stories of migration from children who arrived in the USA from 1899 to 1901 were read aloud in class to pique the imaginations of students who were close in age. Third, an in-depth study of Ellis Island was introduced, using materials from The Ellis Island Oral History Project, photos and internet sites. This research prompted discussions about related issues such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese internment camps.

The unit was assessed based on interviews carried out by students with a family member or friend, using questions developed throughout the unit. The students then had the opportunity to further understand the immigrant experience through interactive drama, which provided them opportunities to write and paint about what they had encountered. The last task was a piece of group work which involved the students discovering as much as they could about an immigrant group that they were interested in. The results was a collection of maps, food, clothing and immigration stories that the students were keen to share with each other. On reflection the teacher notes that as a result of this unit, her students came to see social studies as a body of knowledge they had helped to create.

Source: Su Thompson

Articles from Social Education http://www.socialstudies.org/socialeducation

Westcott, Patrick and Martha Graham Viator. “Dear Miss Breed: Using Primary Documents to Advance Student Understanding of Japanese Internment Camps.” Social Education 72(4) (2008): 198-202.

The internment of Japanese American citizens during World War II is a case of prejudice and discrimination and part of national policy that is sparsely covered in most US high school textbooks. The authors detail an inquiry study on this topic aimed at middle and high school students. The core of the study is a book by Joanne Oppenheim, Dear Miss Breed, which recounts the stories of 19 children and their families who were interned in US concentration camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The book contains correspondence with Carla Breed, a children’s librarian, in response to her letters and care packages. Its use as a resource highlights the power of emphasizing human connections to events rather than presenting disembodied facts. The paper outlines all the stages of the inquiry study from preparation and planning to an assessment rubric. A useful selection of trusted websites are also given as suggestions for student research.

Kumler, Lori and Rina Palchick. “Integrating Government and Literature: Mock Civil and Criminal Trials Based on To Kill a Mockingbird.” Social Education 72(4) (2008): 194-7.

For many students, high school coursework consists of discrete subjects, each disconnected from the other. However, at the classroom level one can find many examples of integrated, interdisciplinary or cross-subject teaching, providing a broader perspective and richer classroom experience than can be provided by a single subject.
In this article, teachers Kumler and Palchick describe a series of three lessons about the justice system using To Kill a Mockingbird. These lessons were part of a year-long “Humanities Academy” which was a collaborative effort between the English and Social Studies departments. The year included presenting a student historical “Lyceum” examining politics using Watership Down, reading Antigone and then writing a modern-day tragedy based on the Presidential Elections, and undertaking community change projects in connection with Cry, the Beloved Country. In the example given, students prepared and enacted two events that did not go to trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel provides a rich context for exploring numerous historical and social studies themes. In particular, students can explore the historical perspective by comparing social currents during the 1930s, to those in the time of the book’s publication in the 1960s, and then to the present day. The project aimed to enable students to experimentally link the novel to issues around government, law and the court system. Details of the content, activities and assessment are given, along with a section on difficulties and challenges that the authors encountered.

Anson, Staci. “Using Artifacts to Understand the Life of a Soldier in World War II.” Social Education 73(4) (2009): 165-8.

Teacher Staci Anson describes how she has successfully used artifacts for grade 11 and 12 history, anthropology and archaeology. She reports, “For years, when I taught about World War II, I used primary and secondary source readings, I presented Power Points, and had my students watch newsreels and other video clips.” However, after having been given a modest grant to buy WW2 artifacts (including one man’s entire military history, and another’s letters home), the author changed the way she approached this topic. Students are able to interact with these artifacts, and are able to draw conclusions and gain understanding about what soldier life was like. Detailed ideas for student activities are provided, along with some practical suggestions about sourcing inexpensive artifacts. The author also gives examples of student write-ups, with links to the US curriculum standards for social studies, along with suggestions for further reading.

Neumann, Dave. “A Different Way of Viewing History Teaching: Balancing Competing Intellectual Challenges.” Social Education 74(4) (2010): 184-8.

This article argues that teachers can gain insight into planning effective instruction if they view the challenges they face as fundamentally intellectual (rather than practical),conceptual knowledge and historiography. Recasting these challenges as intellectual ones may seem to complicate the task history teachers face, but it deepens the wisdom of teachers’ planning by helping them to ask the right questions and thus focus on the most important elements of instruction. The author suggests that history teachers face three particular challenges - time, scale and pattern; each challenge is explained in some detail, with examples of instruction provided. The conclusion gives important suggestions for history teachers. First, teachers need substantial content knowledge for their pedagogical ability to develop. Next, the approach described in the article will only work if teachers engage in routine reflection. Finally, it is imperative that teachers routinely and systematically gauge their students’ knowledge and understanding - regularly asking “What will students take away from this lesson?” Substantial notes and suggestions for further reading are provided.

Robinson, Andy and Joan Brodsky Schur. “Advocating for Abolition: Staging an Abolitionist Society Convention.” Social Education 74(3) (2010): 178-83.

This article provides an in-depth lesson plan and comprehensive resources for an eighth grade re-enactment of an Abolitionist Society convention. The authors (both teachers) argue that role-plays have an important place in the curriculum. To understand controversies, students must re-imagine them from all sides. By the 1850s, those in favor of the immediate abolition of slavery included white men and women, as well as African Americans of both genders born enslaved and free. Students are given the opportunity to role-play a diverse cast of characters, working together for a common purpose. The students are more able to understand a complex and nuanced debate, not between those for and against social change, but among those who agree on the goal but disagree on the speed, scope manner and mode of change. The authors provide detailed background information, comprehensive lesson plans, assignments and handouts. Useful websites, books, assessment and follow-up suggestions are also provided.

Russell, William Benedict III. “The Berlin Wall: A Simulation for the Social Studies Classroom.” Social Education 74(3) (2010): 152-4.

William Russell describes an innovative and very memorable lesson in which secondary school students experience the effects of the Berlin Wall. The author argues that many students find it hard to relate to historical events that seem irrelevant to their everyday lives. Simulations can help make content more meaningful. Briefly, the students are physically divided by a “wall” of cardboard boxes, which represents the divide between East and West Berlin. The students are told that the rules of the classroom have changed – the students in the “East” being restricted in various ways (teachers are given suggestions), while the students in the “West” are given extra privileges. The teacher explains why the rules are being implemented and why the wall has been built. After some discussion, the students are invited to voice their own opinions by painting the wall. They are encouraged to use drawings, poems, quotes, graffiti, etc. to express their feelings. Once the wall is painted the students analyze the artwork using a framework of questions. The author includes a wide range of useful resources such as websites, films and books to assist teachers in developing the lesson.

Swan, Kathleen Owen and Mark Hofer. “Trend Alert: A History Teacher’s Guide to Using Podcasts in the Classroom” Social Education 72(2) (2009): 95-102.

Educators often struggle to keep pace with the latest technology – including the use of podcasts in the classroom. A “podcast” is essentially a broadcast of digital files on the web that users can listen to on their computer or digital audio player. Podcasts can be automatically delivered to an iPod or computer whenever new content is available. This unique feature of podcasts frees teachers from having to surf the web to seek out new episodes. Additionally, past episodes may be accessed from the websites that serve as searchable digital archives. While this technology is still relatively new to many teachers, the authors offer multiple ways to help understand podcasts as well as strategies for creating podcasts. They suggest guidelines for podcast choice, and give their ratings (using a scoring rubric) for a large range of podcasts that may be of use to history teachers.

Source: Su Thompson

Articles from Middle Level Learning http://www.socialstudies.org/publications/mll

Tripp, Linda, Cindy Basye, Kathy Jones and Vicki Tripp. “Teaching and Learning with Time Lines.” Middle Level Learning 32 (2008): M4-M7.

The authors assert that time lines are an underutilized resource for assisting students to think deeply about historical information. They suggest that students at elementary or early middle grades do not always deal successfully with time lines because they lack background knowledge about historical events and time line conventions. Students need guidance to understand that a time line is created by a person with a point of view about the information included and that someone who has made choices about what will be included and left out. The authors suggest that teachers can regularly engage students in higher level thinking around varied time lines by using a “Questioning the Time Line” protocol:

What purpose does this time line serve?
What events did the author select for the time line?
Why did the author select the beginning and ending points?

Creating time lines around important topics and considering how to combine various time lines forces students to prioritize and summarize information. It teaches students to become critical consumers of time lines prepared by others, as well as creators of their own historical understanding.

Stevens, Robert J. and Jared A. Fogel. “Comparing FSA Photographs by Ben Shahn: A Lesson in Media Literacy.” Middle Level Learning 35 (2009): M2-M9.

Why do some photographs grab our attention, while others are forgotten? The author of this paper begins with a series of questions that provide the framework for the lesson plan presented: Is a photograph simply a record of a moment in space and time, or can it also convey a political message? Can a photo tell us something about the opinions of the person holding the camera? Does it matter whether this person was being paid for taking the picture? This lesson helps social studies students analyze photographs critically, and as a result, better understand how the maker of an image can be a participant in the important public policy debates that each generation must engage in. Two contrasting photos and a colour poster by Ben Shahn (who was working for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression) are used. Supporters of Roosevelt’s New Deal hoped that representations of the conditions of impoverished farmers would create public support for the various federal agencies, as well as depicting the success of federal programs. The question of whether the photographers are propagandists is posed. The authors provide several interesting resources and website ideas.

King, Daniel C. “Drummer Boys: Creating Historical Fiction and Studying Historical Documents.” Middle Level Learning 35 (2009): M10-M15.

Grade 7 teacher, Daniel King, describes a creative and interesting lesson, making use of a striking image of a young soldier. The lesson was delivered at the end of a week discussing the Civil War. Initially students were asked to give ‘best guesses’ about the young man in the photograph, and after a discussion of the answers, the students were asked to create a story about him, making use of the knowledge they had already acquired. The first drafts of their stories were then peer edited, and a finished copy produced for homework. The author includes several ideas for extensions and variations on this lesson making use of various resources including letters, photographs and websites. Handouts and notes for further reading are included in the article.

Source: Su Thompson

Article from Journal of Social Studies Research http://www.TheJSSR.com

Russell III, William Benedict. “Teaching the Holocaust with Online Art: A Case Study of High School Students.” Journal of Social Studies Research 31(2) (2007): 35-42.

This article examines student's perceptions of using primary sources (online Holocaust artwork) and non-traditional teaching methods in a high school social studies classroom to help students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the content. Nine high school students (5 female and 4 male) were studied. Students were interviewed after participating in a class activity. Notes were taken during the interviews and two main themes emerged. The first theme suggested that primary sources (Holocaust artwork) increased student interest, understanding, and appreciation toward the content. The second theme suggested that when teachers use different teaching techniques (discussion, cooperative learning, etc…) students interest in the content increased and students gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the content. The results are considered promising. Furthermore, this article provides educators with useful resources for incorporating online Holocaust artwork into the curriculum. The resources include a list of useful websites for Holocaust artwork, as well as a detailed classroom activity that was used in this study.

Source: Education Research Complete

Articles from The History Teacher http://www.thehistoryteacher.org

Marcketti, Sara B. “Effective Learning Strategies in the History of Dress.” The History Teacher 44(4) (2011): 547-68.

In this article, Marcketti explains how she integrated learner-centered approaches to instruction into her university survey course on the history of dress. Using student self-reported learning outcomes, instructor observations, and end-of-term course evaluation comments, she worked to answer the questions of what learning activities helped students better understand the material; encouraged them to work hard; encouraged them to think, learn, and gain a greater interest in the material; and how students perceived these methods. In her two history of dress courses, Marcketti used four learning strategies: enhanced lectures, artifact analysis, annotated citations, and student choice projects. Enhanced lectures involve incorporating small group and full class discussion and debate, as well as images and film clips, into the lecture. Artifact analysis is the use of artifacts in the classroom to better understand them and the period in question. Annotated citations is a short reading and response assignment, and student choice projects are just that - projects chosen, from a set of broad types, and completed by the students themselves.

Based on her data collection, Marcketti concludes that the students found all four learning strategies effective in all of the areas in question. Although dealing specifically with a course in apparel history, the strategies that Marcketti uses in her classroom and discusses in the article can be applied to most, if not all, history classes.

Source: Katharine Joyce

Kelly, T. Mills. “‘But Mine’s Better’: Teaching History in a Remix Culture.” The History Teacher 44(3) (2011): 369-77.

When a student in Kelly’s Western Civilization history course remixes a newsreel about the Nuremberg Trials, the class finds the new score, Mozart’s sad and serious Requiem, a better fit than the triumphant original. Kelly then tries to convince his class about the primacy of original documents, but as many as half still thought that even though the original should be used for research, the revised version should be used for teaching, because it makes a better point. He comes to the conclusion that “the future of history teaching depends on our ability and willingness to accommodate ourselves to the rapidly accelerating, technology-driven cycle of change that is transforming the teaching, learning, research, and production of historical knowledge” (371). He acknowledges that the student was altering a primary source to make a historical argument, which he suggests is just the beginning of a trend of students experimenting with new forms of historical knowledge production. If history teachers fail to start paying attention to and teaching with these new forms of knowledge production, he argues, students may fail to find any use in traditional history classrooms.

Sheppard, Maia. “Creating a Caring Classroom in which to Teach Difficult Histories.” The History Teacher 43(3) (2010): 411-26.

The writer presents a case study of the classroom culture fostered by a university history professor whose pedagogical decisions encouraged students to make personal connections with difficult issues, events, and ideas in history and their own lives. The writer describes the efforts by this experienced teacher to create a classroom where students from diverse national, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds could challenge their assumptions about Africa by learning about and from contested and traumatic historical events.

Blutinger, Jeffrey. “Bearing Witness: Teaching the Holocaust from a Victim-Centered Perspective.” The History Teacher 42(3) (2009): 269-79.

In order to enhance student understanding of the issues surrounding the Holocaust, it must be taught from a victim-centered, as well as a perpetrator-based, perspective. An annotated bibliography of Jewish and non-Jewish survivor narratives about the Holocaust is presented, and some methodological problems associated with the use of survivor narratives are discussed.

Browning, Judkin. “Of Water Balloons and History: Using Wargames as Active Learning Tools to Teach the Historical Process.” The History Teacher 42(3) (2009): 297-313.

An instructional unit that uses active learning to teach the historical process is described. This unit involves students reading about bias in historical accounts of battles, engaging in a water balloon battle of their own, and creating historical accounts of their battle.

Suchan, Laura. “Memento Mori: Bringing the Classroom to the Cemetery.” The History Teacher 42(1) (2008): 41-53.

A small community museum in southern Ontario, Canada, uses the nearby OshawaHarbor Pioneer Cemetery to introduce high school students to the study of thanatology. Through the program, students are introduced to the importance of gravestones and how they can be utilized in the study of history, on a local as well as national scale; are encouraged to view gravestones as a form of expression, capable of providing insight into social history and life in the 19th century; have fun matching particular gravestone designs with their respective carvers; gain insights into popular culture of the time; and craft a historical narrative about one of the names on the gravestones.

de Oliveira, Luciana. “History Doesn't Count”: Challenges of Teaching History in California Schools.” The History Teacher 41(3) (2008): 363-78.

A study examined the challenges history teachers face, with a particular emphasis on the issues they encounter when they address writing in history classes in California. Findings revealed that although the participants all highlighted the importance of reading, writing, and analysis in school history, they found it particularly difficult to instruct on these skills effectively because of many curricular constraints, lack of time, and students' limited abilities; they felt that a systemic priority given to reading and math in state requirements created a major hurdle for the teaching and learning of history; and they wished for fewer standards to cover so more time could be spent on the development of these reading, writing, and analysis skills.

Source: Academic Research Complete

Article from International Journal of Heritage Studies http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/routledge/13527258.html

Champion, Eric M. “Otherness of Place: Game-Based Interaction and Learning in Virtual Heritage Projects.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 14(3) (2008): 210-28.

When we design digital places that represent the past using media such as game engines, it is all too easy to be taken in by the lure of technology and forget to concentrate on enhancing the user experience. In the case of virtual heritage, there are several important issues in the creation, construction or revocation of places of cultural significance. In this paper I will argue that while computer games do appear to be more successful learning environments than their critics give them credit for, the learning gained from using them is particularly dangerous in terms of the objectives of virtual heritage. I further suggest that computer games offer particular advantages over traditional virtual environment technology but that their typical modes of interaction must be re-examined, especially in relation to the notion of place.

Source: Academic Search Complete

Article from American Journal of Education http://www.journals.uchicago.edu

Cohen-Almagor, Raphael. “Hate in the Classroom: Free Expression, Holocaust Denial, and Liberal Education.” American Journal of Education 114(2) (2008): 215-41.

This article is concerned with a specific type of hate speech: Holocaust denial. It is concerned with the expression of this idea by educators. Should we allow Holocaust deniers to teach in schools? This article attempts to answer this question through a close look at the Canadian experience. First, I will establish that Holocaust denial is a form of hate speech. Next, I will lay down the main premises of the argument and make some constructive distinctions that will guide our treatment of teachers who are Holocaust deniers. Finally, I will probe three cases—James Keegstra, Malcolm Ross, and Paul Fromm—and argue that hate mongers cannot assume the role of educators.

Source: Education Search Complete

Articles from Social Studies Research & Practice http://www.socstrp.org/

Swafford, Jeanne and Carol P. McNulty. “Experiencing History: Integrating Cultural Artifacts into a Study of the Dust Bowl.” Social Studies Research & Practice 5(2) 2010: 120-33.

History involves the study of people and the times and places in which they lived. Traditional instruction often is dominated by an emphasis on decontextualized facts, dates, and events. Too often, the study of history becomes lifeless and monotonous because it artificially separates people from the larger context of times and places in which they lived. Teachers can build meaningful contexts in which students experience history by using cultural artifacts as springboards into the study of people who lived in the past. Integrating the use of cultural artifacts, such as photographs, films, and music, allows teachers to create new entry points, new ways for students to connect to, and take ownership of, their learning. This article presents a rationale for including cultural artifacts in the study of history, which can promote a better understanding of the nature of history, personalize history, encourage student inquiry, and endorse the notion that history represents multiple perspectives. Cultural artifacts can be used to enrich instruction of any historical period, at any grade level. In this article, we provide examples of artifacts that can be used in a study of the Dust Bowl for the upper elementary and middle grades.

Source: Education Research Complete

Article from Social Studies Review http://www.ccss.org/Publications.htm

Black, Avi. “Teaching World History to Sixth Graders: On the Origins of All Things.” Social Studies Review 49(1) (2010): 52-6.

The writer discusses approaches to teaching a sixth-grade world history course. He notes that middle school students are naturally curious and love to ask questions, but they need to be guided to ask good questions. He states that understanding what the students already know at the start of a course and then encouraging them to build on that knowledge is a critical strategy for their long-term success in school. The writer presents three key considerations for course planning: the nature of the students, the nature of the state's academic standards, and the implications of how this group thinks about history. A course outline for a sixth-grade world history program and the related implementation strategies are provided.

Source: Education Research Complete

Articles from Social Studies http://www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/

Metzger, Scott A. “Maximizing the Educational Power of History Movies in the Classroom.” Social Studies 101(3) (2010): 127-36.

Cinematic feature films are a big part of youth popular culture. When blockbuster movies are about historical topics, it is reasonable for teachers to be drawn to using them in the classroom to motivate students’ interest. This article overviews research on film in the history classroom and describes three learning functions that history movies can have: fact and fiction; constructing the past and the people in it; and reacting to the past.

Marcus, Alan S. and Jeremy D. Stoddard. “The Inconvenient Truth about Teaching History with Documentary Film: Strategies for Presenting Multiple Perspectives and Teaching Controversial Issues.” Social Studies 100(6) (2009): 279-84.

How can teachers effectively use documentary film to teach history, and toward what goals? This article addresses these important questions by: (1) exploring what we know about secondary teachers' practices with documentary film and secondary students' beliefs about documentary film as a source of knowledge about the past, (2) proposing a rationale for the use of documentary film that supports the goals of history education, and (3) discussing examples of documentaries that can be shown to further the rationale presented. Although there are numerous suitable purposes and methods for using documentary film, we argue that two of the most powerful and appropriate are as a way to explore multiple perspectives and as a way to teach about controversial issues.

Misco, Thomas. “Teaching the Holocaust through Case Study.” Social Studies 100(1) (2009): 14-22.

This article responds to the curricular challenges teachers face with Holocaust education, including cursory treatments and a lack of focus on individual experiences. First, the author argues for a case-study approach to help students reengage concrete and complex features of the Holocaust as a point of departure for subsequent inquiry. In addition to providing a rationale and recommended content for teaching about the Holocaust, the author provides a case-study example in the form of a detailed historical explication of the Holocaust in Latvia. Last, the author situates this case study within social studies pedagogy and offers generative possibilities for practice.

Swartz, Robert J. “Teaching Students How to Analyze and Evaluate Arguments in History.” Social Studies 99(5) (2008): 208-16.

Human history is often shaped by the outcomes of arguments, not only in the sense of disputes between people or governments, but in the sense of the more rational pursuit of trying to convince others to accept or do certain things by offering reasons that are presented as compelling for so doing. Yet history teachers have done little to help students learn how to identify arguments in this sense, figure out what the arguments being offered are, and evaluate them. This article shows how a generic instructional technique—infusing direct instruction in skillful thinking into content instruction—can be used in the teaching of American history in ways that help students develop and use these thinking skills and that enhance their deep content understanding of the history being taught. The context is a secondary school classroom studying American history.

Reagan, Rebecca. “Direct Instruction in Skillful Thinking in Fifth-Grade American History.” Social Studies 99(5) (2008): 217-22.

In this article, the author describes her use of direct instruction to introduce the skill of determining source reliability in a fifth-grade unit on immigration in American history. She structures instruction to help students establish a thinking-skill strategy that results in not only an understanding of immigration in the late 1800s to early 1900s, but also a skill that can be used in their daily lives. This step-by-step example of direct skill instruction presents samples of student and teacher dialogue, sample historical sources, a thinking-strategy map, graphic organizers, and a written assessment. The author concludes by describing a brief student summary of what students learned about immigration and the skill, and she notes where additional scaffolded skill instruction and practice should be used in subsequent units of the course.

Source: Academic Search Complete

Article from Peace and Change

Hostetter, David. “Reflections on Peace and Solidarity in the Classroom.” Peace and Change 34(4) (2009): 504-09.

Hostetter, who has a background in peace activism, has taught history in a variety of postsecondary institutions, including community colleges and universities. He tries to combat the “apolitical fatalism” of his students by incorporating hands-on lessons in the practice of history in his classroom. He has found that the most effective activities focus on issues relating to war and peace. One of his assignments involves researching past Nobel Peace Prize winners; another involves debating the issues surrounding the atomic bombing of Japan. He has found that the key to making the debate assignment a success is assigning it early enough in the term to allow for meaningful research to take place. The third assignment he discusses is conducting oral history interviews of people who remember significant events of the past. He concludes by reminding us that teachable moments take place everywhere, everyday, so that we should not feel constrained by the classroom.

Source: Katherine Joyce

Article from The Journal of Social Studies Research

McCormick, Theresa M. and Janie Hubbard. “Every Picture Tells a Story: A Study of Teaching Methods Using Historical Photographs with Elementary Students.” The Journal of Social Studies Research 35(1) (2011): 80-94.

In this article, McCormick and Hubbard provide a descriptive portrait of two elementary teacher candidates incorporating historical photographs into the classroom. They sought to answer two questions: (1) what is the rational that elementary teacher candidates have for selecting historical photographs while teaching concepts; and (2) what instructional strategies do these candidates use when guiding students’ analysis of historical photographs? The two teacher candidates involved in the study were Victoria, whose placement was with first-graders, and Erin, who was placed with fourth-graders.
Victoria was required to teach a lesson on discrimination and segregation for Black History Month. She used four photographs of 1950s and 1960s segregated schools, and helped students compare and contrast segregated white and black schools using a Venn diagram in order to help the students construct their own senses of what is fair and equal. She hoped to develop historical empathy, and the lesson was successful. Erin’s lesson focused on the question of what life was like for people in her state during the Great Depression. She also wished to develop historical empathy in her students. She worked to do so by creating packets of photographs of children in the Depression, and had students complete a KWL chart (What I Know, What I Wonder, What I have learned). She then had students read quotations from letters that children had written to Eleanor Roosevelt in the hopes that students would gain a better sense of what it meant to be a child during the Depression. They then used a cause-effect-solution chart to organize the information as a class. Through the use of these case studies, McCormick and Hubbard argue that teacher candidates need multiple opportunities to experience historical enquiry in their methods classes, and that they will often model their lessons on those experiences in their placements.

Source: Katherine Joyce

Article from Perspectives on History

Zukas, Alex. “Different Drummers: Using Music to Teach History.” Perspectives on History 34(6) (1996). Available at http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/1996/9609/9609tea1.cfm.

In this article, Zukas argues that since music shapes the lives of students, history teachers should use music in the classroom to engage their students. Using music in the history classroom is the same as using any primary source, and should be analyzed using the same reflective and critical skills used in approaching another document. The author believes that music can be integrated into history courses at all levels, and he focuses on integrating music into an introductory college world history course. He suggests asking general questions about the music, allowing students to create connections, and then following up with questions more specific to the piece of music or time period in question. He further suggests using brief excerpts of music since they can be repeated if necessary and allow time for discussion. Music can be used both to help students understand a distant past and make connections between events of the current century and the present. After providing this general outline, he provides concrete examples of how he has integrated music into his world history courses.

Source: Katherine Joyce

Chapters from The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Elementary Teachers

Clark, Penney. “Training the Eye of the Beholder: Using Visual Resources with Elementary Students.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Elementary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 290-305. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

In this chapter, Penney Clark discusses the important, yet dangerously “seductive” use of audio-visual material in history classrooms. Initially focusing on visual material like paintings and photographs, Clark lists and explains four ways visuals can be unreliable for teaching “truth” in history classrooms: they could be staged, unrepresentative of the time or event, altered, and/or have a selective focus. However, because of the proliferation of many AV sources available on the internet and the interest many students express toward audio-visual material, Clark argues that it is better to structure the teaching moments of AV materials rather than avoid them for possible pitfalls. She lists activities that would encourage students to look beyond the images and examine the explicit and implicit messages the images convey, such as looking for evidence that supports or refutes claims made in a painting or taking and then cropping photos to tell various stories. In the second part of the chapter, Clark focuses on audio-visual material and lists various criteria for viewing and engaging with them as historical teaching tools.

Clark’s argument that visual and audio-visual material can be learning tools that go beyond the “facts” of an event is particularly salient given the availability of so many archived resources on line. She maintains that students should learn about and with these resources, but with a healthy scepticism than could teach them more about the period than viewing the images carte blanche could.

Farr Darling, Linda. “Using Artifacts to Foster Historical Inquiry.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Elementary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 283-89. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

In this chapter, Linda Far-Darling writes how historical artifacts can be a “hook” for introducing students to, and keeping them interested in, historical inquiry. She claims students will naturally want to ask questions and know about historical artifacts because they provide a window into the everyday aspects of a historical period. Farr-Darling explains that students’ questions can be harnessed to structure curiosity in a disciplined inquiry about history and historical objects. To support this, she writes about an experience in a third grade classroom when she brought a 19th century darn ball into class and made students guess what it was. She describes how she structured the students’ exuberant questioning into writing down and categorizing questions; recognizing and acknowledging what they do know; and how to write questions as a group to get the most “evidence” from the answer. These steps transformed the students into a “community of inquirers” in which they began “doing history” like historians.

The Anthology of Social Studies is designed for teachers, thus Farr-Darling provides practical tips for incorporating this mode of inquiry into elementary classrooms. First, she provides four criteria for selecting artifacts and stresses that if an object does not fit the criteria or if it is not available, then a photograph of the object will also work. She then provides a point-form list of activities that teachers could do in their classrooms to support historical inquiry, such as an artifact “treasure hunt,” or an artifact timeline. She also provides a chart that teachers can adapt for their classrooms in which students categorize what they know about an object and where they got their evidence from. In sum, this article discusses how historical artifacts can be used to introduce and foster historical inquiry in elementary schools, and provides practical suggestions for teachers to explore how this will play out in their own classrooms.

Source: Samantha Cutrara

Chapters from The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers

Clark, Penney. “Teaching History Through Literature.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 323-35. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

In this chapter, Penney Clark advocates for the use of literature in teaching history. She argues that while textbooks are clinical, literature is emotional and helps students personalize events, key for developing historical empathy. She broadens the definition of historical literature by including non-fiction sources like biographies with fiction, and provides criteria for choosing appropriate sources to teach with, such as its interest-value, fit with other resources, and teaching-value. Clark offers ideas for using literature in history classes, like pairing up with an English teacher so you both are covering the same information, or using excerpts of novels throughout a lesson, and provides a sample activity for comparing the literature with other material a history teacher may use.

The strength of this short article is the extensive, seven-page annotated bibliography of historical literature teachers can use in middle or high school classrooms. The brief annotations are broken down by time period and focus on literature written for teens rather than adults.

Clark, Penney. “Training the Eye of the Beholder: Using Visual Resources with Secondary Students.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 308-22. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

In “Training the Eye of the Beholder,” Penney Clark discusses the important, yet dangerously “seductive” use of audio-visual material in history classrooms. Initially focusing on visual material like paintings and photographs, Clark lists and explains four ways visuals can be unreliable for teaching “truth” in history classrooms: they could be staged, unrepresentative of the time or event, altered, and/or have a selective focus. However, because of the proliferation of many AV sources available on the internet and the interest many students express toward audio-visual material, Clark argues that it is better to structure the teaching moments of AV materials rather than avoid them for possible pitfalls. She lists activities that would encourage students to look beyond the images and examine the explicit and implicit messages the images convey, such as looking for evidence that supports or refutes claims made in a painting or taking and then cropping photos to tell various stories. In the second part of her article, Clark focuses on audio-visual material and lists various criteria for viewing and engaging with them as historical teaching tools.

Poyntz, Stuart. “Images of the Past: Using Film to Teach History.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 336-47. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

Poyntz begins by acknowledging the flaws in Hollywood’s take on historical events but affirms that since most people learn history from popular movies, it is wise to question how best to use them to support students’ understanding of history. Poyntz identifies and discusses five movie-making “codes” that can be used to begin a discussion about history’s representation in popular films: cinematic realism, linear plot structure, the heroic perspective, visual and audio techniques, and the use of detail. He argues that students need to understand how these codes are used in presenting historical information before assessing what the film could contribute to learning about history.

To tie this discussion into larger discussions of historical inquiry, Poyntz goes through Seixas’ six concepts of historical understanding – historical significance, evidence and interpretation, continuation and change, cause and consequence, historical perspective, and moral judgement – in relation to historical films. To support this, he provides sample activities related to evidence and interpretation, historical perspective, and moral judgement in relation to using historical films in history class.

Sandwell, Ruth W. “Using Primary Documents in Social Studies and History.” In The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers, edited by Roland Case and Penney Clark, 295-307. Vancouver BC: Pacific Educational Press, 2008.

Sandwell argues that although primary documents can initially act as a “hook” to get students asking questions and forming hypotheses like a historian, this key part of training historical thinking often does not get realized in history classrooms because of the difficulties in finding sources, crowded curricula, and teachers not knowing where or how to begin. Sandwell emphasizes that primary sources are the only avenue into the past; thus by thinking about, asking questions, and making hypothesis about them, students learn “that history is an active process of developing knowledge, an act of interpretation” (298). Thus although there may be barriers for teaching history in this way, the implication is that investigating history through primary sources is an integral and essential part of the study of history.

Sandwell defines and lists 14 types of primary sources and where teachers can find them and as well provides a list of searchable on-line databases for finding and/or using primary documents in history education. Acknowledging that teachers often do not have the time or expertise to do primary sources investigation, Sandwell provides suggestions for introducing and embedding primary documents into history lessons, such as an activity on how to pre-read a historical document. In fact, throughout the article she consistently provides practical examples of how primary documents can be used and incorporated in any teacher’s repertoire. Sandwell emphasizes that what primary documents teach depends on the questions asked of them, thus she encourages teachers to design lessons to stimulate critical thinking skills in their classrooms rather than focus on a recitation of the “facts” of the sources.

Sandwell concludes by questioning what the point of teaching history is if students are not being taught to think critically about why and how history is constructed. Sandwell emphasizes that historical inquiry is “the best way to explore who we were and are, and how we can turn that into who we as the human race want to be” (304), and thus should be a key component to history teaching.

Source: Samantha Cutrara

Français