Tag Archives: Reading Like a Historian

Beyond the Bubble and Reading Like a Historian

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I am very proud to announce that The Stanford History Group will be hosting the first #sschat of 2013 on Monday, January 7th at 7 PM EST. They will be discussing reading and writing in history courses. Please join us on #sschat! 

 

The Sanford History Educaton Group has created two wonderful programs: Reading Like a Historian and Beyond the Bubble.  The Reading like a historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each of their 65 lessons revolve  around a central historical question and features primary documents modified for students of all ability levels.   Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on issues from King Philip’s War to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and make historical claims backed by documentary evidence. Beyond the Bubble utilizes the digital archives of the library of Congress to create a new form of history assessments. Their goal is to “go beyond the bubble” by offering teachers an easy-to-use assessment that captures student’s knowledge and interpretation of critical thinking instead of memorization of facts.

 

 

 

75 Free Lesson Plans based on historical inquiry and primary source activities

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I recently discovered Reading Like a Historian, from Ken Halla’s US History Blog, which is a wonderful  curriculum to engage students in historial inquiry. Students are no longer passive learners  but engaged interpreters of history. The Standford History Education Group produced over 75 Lesson Plans based on primary documents and activities to engage your students in the study of United States History.

 

These lessons seems to align perfectly with the Common Core Standards of reading, analyzing, forming an opinion, and debating primary source materials. Students are not learning the material from a textbook or a teacher but engaging in real and meaningful historical inquiry.

 

Each of the lessons revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents modified for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. The curriculum can help students use historical inquiry skills such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Here is a sample inquiry lesson, see the Japanese Internment Lesson Plan.

 

Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate primary sources and develop their own conclusions related to the historical events. I can’t think of a better way to learn history (other than living through the actual event).

Here is a sample Unit:

 

For More information and Citation: Visit the Standford History Education Group’s Website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US History Websites with the Common Core

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Forty-five states have implemented the Common Core State Standards in ELA and Mathematics for every subject. These standards are not intended to drive history and other subjects away from the curriculum, but they are designed to encourage our students to be critical readers who can apply the knowledge they learned.  These standards are intended to engage students in the history curriculum and teach them skills needed to be successful. The websites listed below are useful  to supplement the curriculum and teach students the skills needed to be successful  21st century learners.

Under Common Core Student’s will be encouraged to: 

  1. Examine and analyze primary sources
  2. Use evidence to support an argument
  3. Understand historical context
  4. Read multiple accounts and perspectives
  5. Question: Who? What? Why? When? How? Where?
  6. Take a postion and defend it with evidence

Websites:

  • Docs Teach: This website is a wonderful resource that has over Four Thousand primary documents from the National Archives. The website also has tons of resources and ready to use tools to enhance your instruction.
  • Gilder Lehrman Institute: This website offers a massive variety of resources to assist teachers and students. It offers professional development opportunities for educators, provides documents and exercises for classroom use, and encourages excellence in student writing with essay prizes.
  • Digital History: This website is another great resource that has tons of useful materials such as an alternative textbook, teaching ideas, primary documents, learning modules, and media rich lessons.
  • NROC: This is the website from the National Repository of Online courses that provides teachers with video clips on every unit, key readings, and so much more.
  • Teaching History: Teaching history is a website designed by the National History Education Clearinghouse. This website offers tons of history materials from “Ask a historian,” teaching materials, and best practices.
  • EDSITEment: EDSITEment is another wonderful website from the National Endowment from the Humanities. The website offers free resources and over 393 history lessons for teachers. These lessons stress primary source documents, critical thinking, and other common core skills.  The website is extremely easy to navigate and it has a plethora of valuable and easy to implement lessons.
  • Pearson Hall: This website has online educational materials FREE for educators such as vocabulary building activities, review games, interactive links, and assessments.
  • DBQ and Thematic Essay: Greece Public Schools in Greece, NY has a wonderful collections of Document Based Questions and Thematic Essays that have appeared on the New York State Assessment.
  • Eye Witness to History is a wonderful website to incorporate primary sources such as first-hand accounts, vintage photographs, and radio broadcasts into your classroom.
  •  Reading Like a Historian is a wonderful  curriculum to engage students in historial inquiry.  The Standford History Education Group produced over 75 Lesson Plans based on primary documents and activities to engage your students in the study of United States History.These lessons seems to align perfectly with the Common Core Standards of reading, analyzing, forming an opinion, and debating primary source materials. Students are not learning the material from a textbook or a teacher but engaging in real and meaningful historical inquiry.