At a Glance

Description

Presents four guided investigations—on the Spanish-American War, the Scopes Trial, Social Security, and Rosa Parks—designed to teach students to read primary sources and construct historical narratives.

Producer
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and Stanford University

Historical Thinking Matters

Photo, Scopes Trial, Historical Thinking Matters

Four guided investigations designed to teach students how to read primary sources and construct historical narratives lie at the heart of this website. Topics are: the Spanish-American War, the Scopes Trial, Social Security, and Rosa Parks. Each topic includes a short introductory video, a timeline of events, a central question, and extension activities. For example, the Rosa Parks investigation poses the question: "Why did the boycott of Montgomery's buses succeed?"

After completing a simple login, students read annotated documents—including letters written by the boycott organizers, a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. and an interview with a woman working in Montgomery—and answer guiding questions, and draw on their responses to answer the question. The website also includes a useful introduction to the idea of historical thinking.