Teaching History through Inquiry!
Now that we have learned much about the actual world of teaching full class social studies, it is time to go back to the basics and sit in the seats of the students! Cheers to the journey to learn about more resources that might help us in being the best possible teachers we can be!
Chapter 12 Reading Notes:
WHY HISTORY??
- History helps us understand people and societies
- History helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be.
- History contributes to moral understanding.
- Studying history is essential for good citizenship.
- History is useful in the world of work.
- Studying history provides opportunities for critical thinking.
- History helps to provide a real grasp of how the world works.
“Knowledge of U. S. history enables us to understand our nation’s traditions, its conflicts, and its central ideas, values, and organizing principles.”
WHAT should students be able to do?
- Basic level (interpret a map about the colonial economy, identify a result of Native American-European interaction, understand the context of a women's movement document)
- Proficient level (understand that canals increased trade among states, identify a domestic impact of war, understand Missouri statehood in the context of sectionalism)
- Advanced level (Explain how machines and factories changed work, explain two differences between plantations and small farms in antebellum South, evaluate Civil war arguments)
UNDERSTANDING the basics of History
- Make the past meaningful by creating patterns that give shape to “just a bunch of facts”
- Recognize that good history is based on evidence and several perspectives
- Analyze the relationships between the past, the present, and the future
- Understand the relationships of time, continuity, and change
- Tell the difference between what is real and what is fantasy
- Use critical thinking to judge the value of historical evidence
- Decide what information is important to have
- Be skeptical enough to look for more than one account of an event or life
- Be aware that our vision and thinking are often limited by our biases and options
MAKE HISTORY MEANINGFUL
- Use original sources and literature to teach history
- In-depth study of a few important events gives student the opportunity to understand many sides of a story
- Hands-on experiences
- Study of multiple perspectives
- Encourage students to ask questions, collect evidence, and analyze the importance of historical people and events
CHALLENGES IN TEACHING HISTORY
- Time
- Inaccuracies and omissions in history
- Varying developmental levels of students
BUILDING INTEREST & INVOLVEMENT
| E | The teacher encourages students to share personal Experiences related to the topic. Common experiences that could be related to Columbus’ voyage, for example, might be: | |
| having been lost | having been bored on a long trip | |
| having to share space that is too small | exploring a new place | |
| P | The teacher encourages discussion of Perceptions that students have from the experience such as feelings they had, details they remember. | |
| I | The teacher shares Information about the topic to be studied. | |
| C | The teacher helps the students make Connections between the students’ experiences and perceptions and the topic being studied. | |
*Ask questions: Experience Questions, Perception Questions, Information Questions, Connection Questions*
Teaching Local History
- cornerstones and information plaques in the school and neighborhood can provide information and chronology about historic people and events
- family members can share stories and photographs about the students when they were younger
- family members and other members of the community can serve as resources about the history and customs of people in the community
*Community-based instruction- field trips to connect social studies lessons to the content/world around them
*Graphic organizers
*Teaching generalizations
*Visual Strategies
*Artifacts- students can discover real life objects all over again to connect the past and the present
*Problem solving
*Inquiry teaching
*Reciprocal Teaching (dialogue between teacher and students)
*Cooperative Learning (round robin, think pair share, inside outside circle)
*Brainstorming
*Cognitive mapping
*Role play and simulations
*Body sculpting- using your body as figurines to form and remember ideas
*Jigsaw methods
*Timeline creations/projects
*Hands-on activity strategy-for learners with abstract ideas (artifact bags, postcards, letters)
*Teaching the students about local history (interview members of the community or family members)
*What am I activity? (receive a vocab word and have to connect that to different facts)
*Students ask questions to be more inquisitive about their own topics
*Mysteries and history- give opportunities for the students to do their own investigations
No comments:
Post a Comment