A strategy that combines fiction and nonfiction texts to guide students in analyzing historical agency.

Authors of historical fiction for children and adolescents often anchor their narratives in powerful stories about individuals. Emphasis on single actors, however, can frustrate students’ attempts to understand how collective and institutional agency affects opportunities to change various historical conditions. History Book Sets (HBS) that focus on experiences of separation or segregation take advantage of the power of narratives of individual agency to motivate inquiry into how collective and institutional agency supported or constrained individuals’ power to act.

History Book Sets combine a central piece of historical fiction with related non-fiction. By framing a historical issue or controversy in a compelling narrative, historical fiction generates discussion regarding the courses of action open not only to book characters, but to real historical actors. Carefully chosen non-fictional narratives contextualize the possibilities and constraints for individual action by calling attention to collective and institutional conditions and actions.

1. Select a piece of well-crafted historical fiction that focuses on a historical experience of separation or segregation (NCSS Notable Books is a good    place to start). The example focuses on Cynthia Kadohata’s (2006)  Weedflower—a story that contrasts a young Japanese-American internee’s    relocation experience with a young Mohave Indian’s reservation experience.
2. Select two pieces of related non-fiction that provide context for the historical fiction. Non-fiction should include courses of action taken by    groups and institutions, as well as individuals. This example uses Joanne Oppenheim’s (2007) “Dear Miss Breed”: True Stories of the Japanese    American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference and Herman Viola’s (1990) After Columbus.
3. Select photographs that visually locate the events in the literature. Duplicate two contrasting sets of photographs.
4. Reproduce templates for poem (Template A) and recognizing agency chart (Template B). The recognizing agency chart works best if students begin    with an 8½x11 chart and then transfer their work to larger chart paper.
5. The time you need will depend on whether you assign the historical fiction for students to read or use it as a read-aloud. Reading a book aloud    generates conversation, ensures that everyone has this experience in common, and lessens concerns about readability. If students read the    book independently, plan on three class periods.

1. Recognizing Changing Perspectives. In making sense of historical agency, it helps if students recognize that different people experience historical    events differently. For instance, the main fictional characters in the example have quite distinct views of relocation camps. The packets of    photographs help children interpret changing perspectives, and the biographical poem provides a literary structure for expressing their    interpretations.
   • • Organize the students in pairs. Give half the pairs Packet A (Japanese Experiences); half Packet B (Indian Experiences). Students write captions for the pictures explaining how the experiences pictured influence characters’ view of the relocation camp.
     • Drawing on their discussion and readings, each pair of students writes a biographical poem (see Template A) representing how their character’s ideas and attitudes change over the course of the story.
     • Display captioned pictures and poems where students can refer to them during the next activity.
2. Recognizing Agency: What Can be Done?
   • • Distribute Recognizing Agency chart (Template B). Work through the chart using a secondary character in the historical fiction as an example.
     • Assign pairs of students to a fictional or historical participant. For example, students might investigate the fictional main character or a family member or friend or students could investigate a historical participant.
     • Display charts. Discuss:
       

       1. Why do some people, groups and institutions seem to have more power than others?
       2. How can people work most effectively for change?
       3. Can you identify strategies used to alter other historical experiences of separation or segregation?

3. Agency Today. After considering the kinds of agency expressed by people    during the past, students might write an argument for or against    contemporary issues that surround the topic. For instance in the example,    students investigate efforts to restore the relocation camp.

1. Book selection presents the most common pitfall in developing and using    an HBS. Historical fiction presents a two-pronged challenge: If the    narrative in the historical fiction does not hold up, good historical    information can’t save it. On the other hand, a powerful narrative can    convince students of the “rightness” of very bad history. Never use books    you have not read! With that in mind:
   • • Make sure you check out reviews of historical fiction and non-fiction (i.e.    Hornbook, Booklinks, Notable Books) or more topic-specific reviews such    as those provided by Oyate, an organization interested in accurate    portrayals of American Indian histories.
     • Choose non-fiction emphasizing collective and institutional agency that    contextualizes actions in the novel.
2. Because students’ identification with literary characters can be quite    powerful, use caution in identifying one historical group or another as    “we.” Implying connections between historical actors and students    positions students to react defensively rather than analytically. None of    your students, for instance, placed people in relocation camps or on    reservations, but referring to past actions by the U.S. government as    something “we” did can confuse the issue. Students are not responsible    for the past, but as its legatees they are responsible for understanding    what happened well enough to engage in informed deliberation about the    consequences of past actions.
3. Historical Book Sets are designed to work against tendencies to    overgeneralize about group behavior (i.e. assuming all European    Americans supported internment). In response to overgeneralization, ask    for (or point out if necessary) counter-examples from the book set.    Occasional prompting encourages students to test their generalizations    against available evidence and to think about within-group as well as    between-group differences.
4. Historical Agency: Internment and Reservation at Poston. Background for the teacher: Groups and individuals exercise power differently, depending on the social, cultural, economic, and political forces shaping the world in which they are acting. In the case of the internment and reservation systems, for example, the power of Japanese-Americans to resist internment was quite different from the power of the War Relocation Authority to enforce relocation. Or, consider that the options available to Japanese men were quite different from those available to women or to the Native American residents of the Poston reservation. Introducing the concept of historical agency—what action was possible given the historical moment—can be a powerful tool for making sense of past behaviors. Power is a familiar concept to students who, with relatively little prompting, understand not only that larger forces may limit or expand opportunities for action, but that individuals may not all respond in the same way to those opportunities. Beginning by recognizing different perspectives on an event prepares students to consider why people might take different action, and comparing responses to action prepares students to consider available options for expressing agency. This, in turn, reinforces an important historical understanding: nothing happens in a vacuum. By placing so much attention on individual agency (often some hero or heroine), history instruction too often ignores persistent patterns of collective and institutional agency. This is not to dismiss narratives of individual agency. This HBS begins with Sumiko’s and Frank’s story because individual agency captures students’ interest and engenders a level of care that motivates further investigation of the differential agency expressed by the individuals, groups, and institutions that framed Sumiko’s and Frank’s historical choices. * Agency refers to the power of individuals, groups, and institutions to resist, blunt, or alter historical conditions. Differential agency refers to differences in potential for and expression of power within and between individuals, groups, and institutions.

Using the technology of blogging in the classroom to improve critical thinking and analysis skills.

Using a teacher-created blog in a history classroom is a way to engage students through a different medium. Students of today relate more and more to technology and will welcome a different way of learning. Using a teacher-created blog will also allow you and your students to exchange ideas in an asynchronous environment.

This teaching guide will assist teachers who want to set up their own blogs for their history classrooms. The first part of the guide describes how to create a blog. The second part of the guide suggests activities for improving students’ critical thinking and analysis skills in a history classroom.

1. Choose a site. There are    several places that a teacher    can go to create a blog. Most    of the sites are free and easy    to set up. A popular site for    creating a blog is Blogger    which is owned by Google.    Other sites include Wordpress    and Edublogs. I have been    using Blogger for three years    and have been very happy    with its ease and reliability.    Setting up an account is    simple and straightforward. Blogger allows you to set up your account    in three easy steps. (See image right.)
2. For Blogger and Edublogs, create a title and your own URL. The title can    always be modified, but the URL is permanent so create wisely. The URL  will be your choice. With Wordpress, you are    downloading blogging software and then you need to subscribe to a web    host (like Go Daddy), which charges a fee; you can then choose your own    URL.
3. Once your blog has been created you are ready to begin blogging. You will    want to be clear with students, parents, and administrators about your    expectations and reasoning behind using your blog. Also be sure to review    your district’s Acceptable Use Policy with your students. You will want to    contact your Instructional Technology (IT) department to make sure the    blog will not be caught by your school’s filter. Occasionally access may be    blocked if your school’s filter is too restrictive. If this happens you will    need IT to adjust the filter.
4. To start out, you will want to be the only one to post a topic for    discussion. This will enable you to establish the topic and provide i    instructions for students to follow when commenting. Once a topic has    been posted with specific instructions, the students can post their    comments. If you are using Blogger, you can regulate who is allowed to    post comments. The "dashboard" in Blogger allows you to restrict    comments to your students. You can also allow parents and members of    the community to post comments by adjusting the settings in the    dashboard of your Blogger account. You need to choose what method fits    your situation best. The screenshot above shows what appears after a student clicks on the comment link. To leave a comment, the students type in the comment box, insert the word verification, and then choose their identity (assigned by the teacher). As the creator of the blog, you will be able to edit and remove any comments that you deem inappropriate.

There are several different ways a teacher-created blog can be used in a history classroom. These include ways to:

• Have students post ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class.
• Have students post potential thesis statements and allow other students    to comment on each thesis. (See example below)

When you decide to create your own blog there are some pitfalls to avoid.

• Start slow and small; don’t try blogging with all your classes at once. You    will want to focus on one class at a time while getting comfortable with    your blog. Trying to do too much too fast will become frustrating and    overwhelming.
• Remind students to omit their last name and other personal information    when they post comments. My students use only a first name or a    nickname and their class period.

Thank you to Dr. Helen Rallis and Dr. Terry Shannon at the University of Minnesota-Duluth who advised me with my M.Ed with an emphasis in technology and turned me on to blogging.

A three-activity lesson teaching students what thesis statements are and how to use them effectively in writing Document Based Questions (DBQs) and other history essays.

Students asked to write brief essays on historical topics often lack a clear sense that such essays have a distinct structure. That structure varies with the topic the student is asked to address, but it usually consists of three tasks:

• Using an introductory paragraph to pique interest and state clearly the    essay's answer to the question it is addressing.
• Using the essay's internal paragraphs to make the case for that answer,    hypothesis, or claim.
• Using a conclusion to sum up how well the body of the essay has    addressed the question, along with any qualifications.

A clear thesis statement is crucial to managing these tasks. An effective thesis statement responds to all key components of the question posed. It provides an answer, or hypothesis, which the entire essay will support or explain. In a DBQ (Document-Based Question) essay, the thesis must also be one the primary sources can support. Finally, if the thesis is clear enough, it should suggest a structure for the entire essay, one that will deal with all key facets of the question or problem posed.

This lesson is based on the belief that students cannot master an essay component such as the thesis statement in the abstract, but will best learn its nature by studying it in the context of a concrete historical problem. Therefore, the lesson's activities are based on an introductory essay and a set of primary source documents on one historical topic—the Haymarket Square bombing in Chicago in 1886. The Haymarket episode is a dramatic one that should also hold student interest well. A single DBQ on this topic and several alternate thesis statements are then used in three student activities. These illustrate what makes thesis statements effective, as well some common problems or mistakes in writing clear thesis statements. The lesson consists of the following handouts:

1. A background essay on the Haymarket anarchists
2. A set of seven primary sources
3. Three student activity sheets—What a Thesis Statement Is, What a Thesis Statement Does, Putting the Thesis Statement to Use
4. Teacher's Answer Key

1. Ask students to read the one-page background essay provided for this    lesson.
2. If they are not already familiar with what a thesis statement and a DBQ    essay are, discuss the brief explanation at the end of the background    essay.
3. Have students study the seven primary sources for this lesson, paying    attention both to the content and the sourcing information for each    source.

1. Briefly discuss with students the single DBQ used in all three activities    for the lesson.
2. Have students complete Activity 1 and Activity 2. In these activities they    will make several choices among alternative thesis statements, all of which    respond to the lesson's DBQ. If they have read the introductory essay and    studied the sources, these activities will not take much time to complete.
3. Discuss the choices students make for these two activities. The Teacher's Answer Key sheet for the lesson lists the correct choices and offers    additional ideas to discuss.
4. Ask students to complete Activity 3 by choosing several sources to use to    back up or qualify one of the thesis statements. Either discuss student    choices in class or ask students to use their notes and their thesis    statement in a brief DBQ essay of their own.

• In writing history essays, students may think their task is simply to    provide as much detail and information as they can, perhaps to prove how    much they know. If they lack a sense of the overall purpose and structure    of such essays, they will not see the central importance of the thesis    statement within that structure.
• Students in a hurry often fail to tailor the thesis statement to the exact    details and form of the DBQ or other essay prompt. They need to pay    attention to the question's details, and also to its form (e.g. compare and    contrast, explain and describe, assess the validity, etc.), which can guide    the way they structure their thesis statement and the essay as a whole.
• Students may view the thesis statement as an absolute claim and may    make sweeping assertions they can't possibly prove without qualification.    They need to see a thesis as a tentative hypothesis, one they should    qualify by referring to primary sources that seem to contradict it.
• Students need to see that a vague or overly broad thesis statement will    make their task harder, not easier. A specific and divided, or segmented,    thesis will delimit the task more effectively and make it easier for the    student to organize the rest of the essay.