Making Sense of Maps offers a place for students and teachers to begin working with maps as historical evidence. Written by David Stephens, this guide offers an overview of the history of maps and how historians use them, a breakdown of the elements of a map, tips on what questions to ask when analyzing maps, an annotated bibliography, and a guide to finding and using maps online.
Making Sense of Oral History offers a place for students and teachers to begin working with oral history interviews as historical evidence. Written by Linda Shopes, this guide presents an overview of oral history and ways historians use it; tips on what questions to ask when reading or listening to oral-history interviews; a sample interpretation of an interview; an annotated bibliography; and a guide to finding and using oral history online. Linda Shopes is a historian at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
This website's videos document the practice of a 5th-grade teacher in New York teaching a unit titled Colonial New York: Developing Perspectives through Historical Role Play. This 14-week, standards-based unit covers colonial America up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The site provides a rich cache of materials documenting the teaching of the unit, including the teacher's initial plan; video clips of classroom activities and teacher reflections; classroom handouts and historical sources; and student work.
The site provides examples of two promising practices:
The teacher begins the unit with activities designed to establish a "sense of time and place" and help students understand colonial "daily life." Students then create colonial characters. Notably, the teacher structures activities so students are transported back into the colonial world before they are asked to identify and elaborate their imagined roles and lives.
To accomplish this, she plans trips to local historical sites, uses primary sources, and uses questions to frame individual lessons such as: What did colonial New York look like? What jobs did people have in colonial New York? How did people get what they needed?
After students create a colonial character, they learn about important issues and events of the time period, including the impact of the French-Indian War on British colonial policies, the colonists' responses, and the road to revolution. Students learn how taxes work, look at mercantilist laws, hold tavern meetings, and read Patrick Henry's famous speech and the Declaration of Independence. Threaded throughout this instruction is a back-and-forth between what happened and how students in their colonial roles would have experienced and thought about these events.
Many history teachers use roleplaying activities. What is less commonly done, however, is what we find here: structuring learning activities so students' roles are closely tied to the time and place within which they are imagined. This website uncovers not only the deep exploration of historical context necessary to make roleplaying more historically accurate, but also some ways for teachers to structure and plan those necessary activities.
On the website, there are additional promising features, including a focus on the way the teacher adjusts her initial curriculum plan in response to what she learns about students' understanding through both formal and informal assessments.
End-of-year standardized tests play a significant role in shaping what gets taught in the classroom. Supporters of such tests in history make the case that the best exams support not only the acquisition of content knowledge, but also the development of historical habits of mind. This study by Gabriel Reich of Virginia Commonwealth University, however, reveals that the reality of the situation may be more complicated.
Looking at the New York Regents exam in Global History and Geography, Reich sought to understand the kinds of skills necessary for answering multiple choice items correctly. He worked with 13 urban 10th graders at a racially mixed high school, and engaged them in “think alouds” in which students talked through the process of answering 15 questions.
What he found was that these multiple-choice questions did not call for knowledge or skill in the historical thinking that was prescribed by the standards. They did, on the other hand, elicit knowledge in three domains:
- history content
- literacy
- test-wiseness
Knowledge of the content material was, obviously, quite important in determining a student’s ability to answer multiple-choice questions correctly. Less obvious was the importance of literacy, which Reich defined as “command of relevant vocabulary and the ability to read, and manipulate the ideas presented in printed text.” If students were hazy on content—and in some cases, if they did not remember the content at all—they often fell back on their literacy skills for help in deciphering answers. Similarly, test-wiseness also factored into student success. Defined by Reich as “sensitivity to the explanatory, or narrative frameworks underlying each question,” test-wiseness allowed students to make good guesses when faced with several answer choices.
Working with—and in some cases, around—standardized tests, teachers can help students improve their scores without sacrificing key knowledge and skills.
Question: The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to—
a. restore Japanese economic development
b. provide military aid to Middle Eastem allies
c. assure nationalist success in the Chinese civil war
d. provide for economic recovery in Western Europe
Student think-aloud:
"I have no clue. I should go to the next one."
Student returns to item after completing the test:
"Number five, ‘the purpose of the Marshall Plan was to…’ the Marshall Plan, oh yeah ‘restore Japan,’ so ‘Japanese economic development.’ Or…‘Provide for economic recovery in Western Europe.’
"It’s between those two, because the Marshall Plan was something related to like what Stalin I think did, the Five Year Plan? So ‘restore Japanese economic development,’ ‘provide for economic recovery in Western Europe.’ I would say one of those is what the Marshall Plan was for."
The Roundtable on "The Role of Multiple Choice Assessments in History Courses" offers multiple perspectives on this issue.
For another research brief regarding testing, see "The History Classroom: Connections Between Instruction and Assessment".
Reich, Gabriel. “Testing Historical Knowledge: Standards, Multiple-choice Questions and Student Reasoning.” Theory and Research in Social Education 37(3) (2009): 325360.
To what extent do history/social studies teachers use primary sources in their classrooms? What impact has the availability of Web-based primary sources had on their practice?
To find out, David Hicks and Peter Doolittle of Virginia Tech University and John K. Lee of Georgia State University surveyed 158 high school history teachers. Their study revealed that even though most teachers used primary sources, there was no consensus about how to use such documents. Is the purpose of using primary sources to reinforce what is taught in the textbook, or is it to teach historical thinking? Are Web-based primary sources the same as text-based ones? And finally, how can teachers be well prepared to use primary sources?
It is well known that primary sources are important for teaching historical thinking skills. Many teachers find them useful for engaging students in such tasks as historical interpretation. More frequently, however, documents are used to enrich a textbook account or to help students focus on essential facts and concepts. This study sought ways that teachers could work together to devise new approaches to using primary sources, including teaching historical thinking.
Many of the teachers surveyed were unfamiliar with several well-developed and notable digital resource centers. Most teachers, for instance, were unaware of sites like the Library of Congress’s American Memory site, the digital National Security Archive, History Net, and the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder. In addition, most had never used videos or photographs available from internet resources, primarily because they were unsure how to find them. This highlights the need for better dissemination of information to help teachers locate useful (and usable) primary sources.
Most teachers said they needed no additional training on how to use or locate primary sources, or in understanding the unique aspects of Web-based sources. Still, many indicated a desire for assistance in helping students develop historical thinking skills, and some teachers didn't consider the Web to be an organized repository of primary sources. Based on these responses, the study authors wanted to know how administrators could support history/social studies teachers in terms of ongoing training and professional development. When it comes to using primary sources to teach historical thinking and locating primary sources on the web, what specific things might help teachers enhance their skills?
In responding to a question on why teachers didn't use Web-based historical primary sources, the three most frequent answers were:
- "No time to search the web for primary sources."
- "Too many web sites to locate suitable primary sources."
- "Inappropriate preparation to use primary sources."
While the first two call for more resources that can help teachers navigate web-based primary sources, the third answer indicates a need for more professional development using primary sources. Consequently, school leaders and administrators should seek professional growth activities which not only help history/social studies teachers use primary sources effectively, but focus particularly on using Web-based resources.
David Hicks, Peter Doolittle, and John K. Lee, "Social Studies Teachers' Use of Classroom-Based and Web-Based Historical Primary Sources," Theory and Research in Social Education 32, no. 2 (2004), 213-247.
In "Just Another Emperor," Peter Lee, Alaric Dickinson, and Rosalyn Ashby studied how students explain the actions of historical figures. Understanding how people from the past thought and believed, and relating that to the actions historical figures took, is central to the discipline of history. These authors wanted to know if elementary and middle school students were up to the task.
For a project funded by Great Britain's Economic and Social Research Council, Lee, Dickinson, and Ashby worked with 320 children aged 7–14. The kids were shown an illustrated story of the Roman invasion of Britain and asked to explain what led Emperor Claudius to invade Britain. They were given a host of reasons why the invasion was more trouble than it was worth, from the cost of the invasion to the resistance the Romans encountered, and then told Claudius had gone ahead and invaded anyway. How would these young students explain his actions?
This is what they found: Rather than answering that Claudius invaded Britain because he wanted to, most of the children, regardless of age, chose to offer explanations for his behavior.
The students' answers were grouped into three main categories.
Older middle-school students relied less on personal explanations and more on situational analysis. In other words, Claudius’s actions were shaped more by historical context than individual desire. This was less true for younger students, who were more likely to rely on personal explanations. This told the researchers that understanding how historical context influences people's actions is learned over time, as students developed and practiced the skills of historical thinking.
Despite the fact that students aged 7 and 8 relied more on personal explanations, at a certain level they were still able to understand historical actions. Young children possess everyday knowledge of how people behave; even elementary-age children can come up with simple but plausible reasons for someone's behavior. These explanations can provide a jumping-off point for thinking about motives in a historical context.
The students in this study gave three kinds of explanations, depending on grade level, for why Roman Emperor Claudius invaded Britain. Some students' explanations focused on personal reasons:
Claudius wanted to invade Britain and if he did he could take over other [countries]…and then the world.
For others, the emperor's actions were influenced by his position. Asked why he invaded Britain, they explained this behavior would be expected from an emperor:
I think Claudius decided to invade Britain so he could prove he was a great Emperor; an Emperor that could be better than other Emperors.
Finally, there were some students who saw the specific situations in Britain and Rome as both a crisis and an opportunity:
I think that Claudius decided to invade Britain in AD43 because at that time there was peace in the rest of the empire. The Kings of Britain who were friendly towards the Romans were becoming few and far between. Maybe Claudius wanted to gain total control before wavering control was lost altogether.
As these excerpts show, explanations for historical action can vary widely among students, with the more advanced employing historical context along with other factors to give reasons for actions in the past.
See Teachinghistory.org's Teaching Guide Historical Agency in History Book Sets for more on historical thinking at the elementary-school level.
Peter Lee, Alaric Dickinson, and Rosalyn Ashby, "'Just Another Emperor': Understanding Action in the Past," International Journal of Educational Research 27 (3), 1995, 233–244.
Teaching historical thinking can be tricky, especially in classrooms of mixed ability. Yet it is possible for all students, even those with learning disabilities, to learn how to think about complex issues like historical evidence, bias, and corroboration of sources. Ralph Ferretti and Charles MacArthur of the University of Delaware and Cynthia Okolo of Michigan State University have shown that the right instructional techniques can help improve the learning of all children.
The researchers designed a 5th grade social studies unit to teach historical content and historical thinking. The unit was taught in three 5th grade classrooms, where students with and without learning disabilities worked together to learn about western expansion.
Students were asked to investigate the experiences of one of three groups: miners, farmers or Mormons. Students answered the question: should these groups have gone west? Then they created a multimedia report about their investigation. Throughout the unit, students worked in groups that brought together students with and without learning disabilities.
As they worked on these projects, students were taught lessons to enhance their understanding of historical content and historical thinking, including:
At the end of the unit, the researchers saw improvement in all students' understanding of historical content and historical thinking.
In their understanding of historical content, both groups of students improved their scores on a series of tests. However, general education students improved more than their peers with disabilities. (This finding is different from the authors’ results in other similar studies that showed both groups were able to similarly improve at understanding historical content.)
In their understanding of historical thinking, both groups had comparable gains on a series of tests. In other words, students with and without learning disabilities increased their understanding of how to construct an historical argument based on historical evidence.
The study suggests that there are benefits of inquiry-based instruction for all students. The authors conclude that "students with disabilities can understand authentic historical practices and meet the demands of rigorous curricula."
When working in heterogeneous classrooms, group projects focused on historical questions can help all students learn more about investigating and understanding the past.
History is a narrative, a story of what happened to people in the past. In some instances, as in the case of western expansion, it is the story of people who encountered problems that required them to take action. The researchers asked students to investigate the stories of different groups by gathering information about the following narrative components:
Ralph P. Ferretti, Charles D. MacArthur, & Cynthia M. Okolo, "Teaching Effectively about Historical Things," Teaching Exceptional Children, v34 n6 p66-69 Jul-Aug 2002.
Cynthia M. Okolo & Ralph R. Ferretti, "Knowledge Acquisition and Technology-Supported Projects in the Social Studies for Students with Learning Disabilities," Journal of Special Education Technology, v13 p91-103 1997.
Ralph P. Ferretti, Charles D. MacArthur, & Cynthia M. Okolo, "Teaching for Historical Understanding in Inclusive Classrooms," Learning Disability Quarterly, v24 n1 p59-71 Win 2001.
Google Docs is a free, web-based word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation program that allows users to create, share, and collaborate to develop materials. Users can create documents, tables, and other presentations within Google Docs or upload existing files or create materials within the Google Docs program.
The real-time, collaborative feature lends itself to student group projects as well as to faculty and administrative use. Users determine who has access and editing privileges through invitational emails, and files are stored online, safeguarding against hard drive or power outage loss. Usage requires a Google account.
One Teacher's Experience: Megan Fix, Middle School Teacher
As a professional educator Google Docs has enabled me to create a "school to home classroom" that provides students with the opportunity for continued education outside of the typical school day. Google Docs allow students and teachers to be in consistent contact and can even be used for communication over the summer. Students appreciate this tool because it keeps them from having to worry about where they saved an item or if they misplaced a zip drive, as it permits them to store and access documents on a web based server so that they can be reached from any location all over the world.
My students have found Google Docs to be especially helpful for group projects. The application allows students to share file access and therefore, supporting their busy schedules, creates an open forum online for them to contribute to an assignment at a time that is most convenient for them—making group projects much more efficient and considerate of a students' time.
Google Docs supports the fast growing inclusion of technology and web based programs in the classroom for our innovative generation of students. Google Docs is every teachers dream—there is no longer a need for discs or drives! A student is never able to say "I left it at home!"
One Teacher's Experience: Julie Nelson, High School Teacher
Three weeks ago, I discovered Google does a lot more than conduct a search. It affords educators with the necessary tools to both plan and incorporate not only technology, but a social media component into their curriculum. Fortunately, my district provides the necessary technological tools; and the implementation has been easier and more rewarding than any other method that I have in my repertoire of teaching tools.
To implement, I researched my state‘s educational standards relating to information and media. After researching, I built a blog, and typed handouts using Google Docs that accompanied links to assignments. In addition, I added bonus opportunities related to video links to contemporary issues.
The weekend prior to launching, I shared with my principal my plan. Fortunately he was a supporter and that day I sent home a letter to parents explaining the curriculum’s purpose and benefits, as well as my expectations of responsible online behaviors. All of the handouts I created using Google Docs. Each document I linked off of Blogger, also a free teaching tool on Google, which afforded my students access to all resources, handouts, and deadlines in one location.
My students are actively collaborating with their peers on assignments. The students are learning about the rise of industry and are completing a collaborative research project using Google Docs‘ presentation creator. In addition, they are completing the section assessment questions with a partner using Google Docs’ document creator.
Due to the fact that Google Docs, Blogger, and Google Calendar are web-based, students are afforded the opportunity to access their assignments anywhere, anytime. They are meeting online to work on material outside of class, which is tracked by time stamping on all contributions. It is an extension of the classroom and every level of learner is benefiting. My students are actually reporting it is “fun.” The digital divide is being bridged between the content and their culture. Students are meeting deadlines, corresponding via Gmail, and demonstrating more interest in learning.
Google offers a tour and how-to of its own program. High school teacher and blogger Richard Byrne put together a 40-page guide on using Google Docs in education, and 4th-grade teacher Meg Griffin describes how she uses Google Docs in our blog. You can also view a 10-minute video of how Google Apps work for the K-12 classroom.