Where to start?For Teachers
The above video provides an excellent window into how teaching the thinking skills are implemented into actual classrooms.
Teachinghistory.org may well be the motherlode of teaching how to think and work as a historian. Their best practices section offers several videos of professional historians of scholars, students, and teachers modeling historical thinking....definitely check it out. Also read this brief introduction, replete with great links.
Stanford Historical Education Group's "Reading like a historian" is an excellent jumping off spot for teachers and students.
For Students
Having students complete the "Case of Sam Smilely" from the Historical Scene Investigations site is an excellent introduction to the task of the historian.
As an alternative to the Sam Smilely activity, "Who was Martha Ballard?" kills two birds with one stone -- the lesson is an excellent introduction to the craft of the historian as well as serving as an introduction to early 18th century US social history...it will just take longer to complete as the lesson isn't as linear as Sam Smilely.
The SCIM-C Strategy (Summarizing, Contextualizing, Inferring, Monitoring, and Corroborating) put together by the folks at Historical Inquiry is a fantastic toolkit for attacking primary source material. They provide several demonstrations of implementing the strategy to get you started.
PERSIA Graphic Organizer for Primary Sources (Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual, Area)Question Stems (from University of Wisconsin, Whitewater)Cause & Effect
• What were the causes of past events?
• What were the effects?
• Who or what made change happen?
• Who supported change?
• Who did not support change?
• Which effects were intended?
• Which effects were accidental?
• How did events affect people’s lives, community, and the world?
Change & Continuity
•What has changed?
• What has remained the same?
• Who has benefited from this change?
• And why?
• Who has not benefited?
• And why?
Turning Points
• How did past decisions or actions affect future choices?
• How did decisions or actions narrow or eliminate choices for people?
• How did decisions or actions significantly transform people’s lives?
Using the Past
• How does the past help us make sense of the present?
• How is the past similar to the present?
• How is the past different from the present?
• What can we learn from the past?
Through Their Eyes
•How did people in the past view their world?
• How did their worldview affect their choices and actions?
• What values, skills and forms of knowledge did people need to succeed?US History I - Historical Thinking Standards{Webmaster's note: I have included standards of historical thinking from the UCLA website -- these are the folks who originally drafted the standards from whom DPI cribbed. I have included standards missing from the NC list AND I have added back in some verbiage omitted from the individuals standards DPI formally adopted. My reasoning being that these skills are all interdependent and that focusing on one particular one while leaving a key part of the original regimen behind makes acquisition of the desired skill more difficult and/or an incomplete process.}
UCLA Historical Thinking Standards
From NCDPI "US History 1 Unpacked"(42 pages; first several deal with historical thinking)
Standard 1: Chronological Thinking (aka AH1.H.1.1)
A. Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
B. Identify the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story.
C. Establish temporal order in constructing historical narratives of their own.
D. Interpret data presented in time lines and create time lines.
E. Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration; explain historical continuity and change.
Standard 2 : Historical Comprehension (aka AH1.H.1.2)
A. Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its credibility.
B. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
C. Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
D. Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
E. Read historical narratives imaginatively. Take into account what the narrative reveals of the humanity of the individuals and groups involved--their probable values, outlook, motives, hopes, fears, strengths, and weaknesses.
F. Appreciate historical perspectives. Describe the past on its own terms, through the eyes and experiences of those who were there, as revealed through their literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, artifacts, and the like; (b) considering the historical context in which the event unfolded--the values, outlook, options, and contingencies of that time and place; and (c) avoiding "present-mindedness," judging the past solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
G. Draw upon data in historical maps in order to obtain or clarify information on the geographic setting in which the historical event occurred, its relative and absolute location, the distances and directions involved, the natural and man-made features of the place, and critical relationships in the spatial distributions of those features and the historical event occurring there.
H. Utilize visual, literal, and musical data including photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings; (b) novels, poetry, and plays; and, (c) folk, popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative.
Standard 3 : Historical Analysis and Interpretation (aka AH1.H.1.3)
A. Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences.
B. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears. Consider that history frequently deprives us of “one right answer.”
C. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships bearing in mind multiple causation including (a) the importance of the individual in history; (b) the influence of ideas, human interests, and beliefs; and (c) the role of chance, the accidental and the irrational.
D. Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
F. Compare competing historical narratives among historians.
G. Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
H. Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
I. Evaluate major debates among historians.
J. Hypothesize the influence of the past.
Standard 4 : Historical Research Capabilities (aka AH1.H.1.4)
A. Formulate historical questions. Historical questions typically address “how” and/or “why” past decisions were made, past actions were taken, or past events occurred
B. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources. Research or investigation of past events, requires the acquisition and analysis of historical data and documents beyond the classroom textbook.
C. Interrogate historical data. Research or investigation of past events, will allow students to analyze preexisting interpretations, to raise new questions about an historical event, to investigate the perspectives of those whose voices do not appear in the textbook accounts, or to investigate an issue that the textbook largely or in part bypassed.
D. Identify the gaps in the available records, marshal contextual knowledge and perspectives of the time and place.
E. Employ quantitative analysis.
F. Support interpretations with historical evidence.
Standard 5 : Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making (not part of NC SCOS)
A. Identify issues and problems in the past.
B. Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances.
C. Identify relevant historical antecedents.
D. Evaluate alternative courses of action.
E. Formulate a position or course of action on an issue.
F. Evaluate the implementation of a decision.
Common Core Standards Alignment between Reading and the SOci
The above video provides an excellent window into how teaching the thinking skills are implemented into actual classrooms.
Teachinghistory.org may well be the motherlode of teaching how to think and work as a historian. Their best practices section offers several videos of professional historians of scholars, students, and teachers modeling historical thinking....definitely check it out. Also read this brief introduction, replete with great links.
Stanford Historical Education Group's "Reading like a historian" is an excellent jumping off spot for teachers and students.
For Students
Having students complete the "Case of Sam Smilely" from the Historical Scene Investigations site is an excellent introduction to the task of the historian.
As an alternative to the Sam Smilely activity, "Who was Martha Ballard?" kills two birds with one stone -- the lesson is an excellent introduction to the craft of the historian as well as serving as an introduction to early 18th century US social history...it will just take longer to complete as the lesson isn't as linear as Sam Smilely.
The SCIM-C Strategy (Summarizing, Contextualizing, Inferring, Monitoring, and Corroborating) put together by the folks at Historical Inquiry is a fantastic toolkit for attacking primary source material. They provide several demonstrations of implementing the strategy to get you started.
PERSIA Graphic Organizer for Primary Sources (Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual, Area)Question Stems (from University of Wisconsin, Whitewater)Cause & Effect
• What were the causes of past events?
• What were the effects?
• Who or what made change happen?
• Who supported change?
• Who did not support change?
• Which effects were intended?
• Which effects were accidental?
• How did events affect people’s lives, community, and the world?
Change & Continuity
•What has changed?
• What has remained the same?
• Who has benefited from this change?
• And why?
• Who has not benefited?
• And why?
Turning Points
• How did past decisions or actions affect future choices?
• How did decisions or actions narrow or eliminate choices for people?
• How did decisions or actions significantly transform people’s lives?
Using the Past
• How does the past help us make sense of the present?
• How is the past similar to the present?
• How is the past different from the present?
• What can we learn from the past?
Through Their Eyes
•How did people in the past view their world?
• How did their worldview affect their choices and actions?
• What values, skills and forms of knowledge did people need to succeed?US History I - Historical Thinking Standards{Webmaster's note: I have included standards of historical thinking from the UCLA website -- these are the folks who originally drafted the standards from whom DPI cribbed. I have included standards missing from the NC list AND I have added back in some verbiage omitted from the individuals standards DPI formally adopted. My reasoning being that these skills are all interdependent and that focusing on one particular one while leaving a key part of the original regimen behind makes acquisition of the desired skill more difficult and/or an incomplete process.}
UCLA Historical Thinking Standards
From NCDPI "US History 1 Unpacked"(42 pages; first several deal with historical thinking)
Standard 1: Chronological Thinking (aka AH1.H.1.1)
A. Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
B. Identify the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story.
C. Establish temporal order in constructing historical narratives of their own.
D. Interpret data presented in time lines and create time lines.
E. Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration; explain historical continuity and change.
Standard 2 : Historical Comprehension (aka AH1.H.1.2)
A. Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its credibility.
B. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
C. Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
D. Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
E. Read historical narratives imaginatively. Take into account what the narrative reveals of the humanity of the individuals and groups involved--their probable values, outlook, motives, hopes, fears, strengths, and weaknesses.
F. Appreciate historical perspectives. Describe the past on its own terms, through the eyes and experiences of those who were there, as revealed through their literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, artifacts, and the like; (b) considering the historical context in which the event unfolded--the values, outlook, options, and contingencies of that time and place; and (c) avoiding "present-mindedness," judging the past solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
G. Draw upon data in historical maps in order to obtain or clarify information on the geographic setting in which the historical event occurred, its relative and absolute location, the distances and directions involved, the natural and man-made features of the place, and critical relationships in the spatial distributions of those features and the historical event occurring there.
H. Utilize visual, literal, and musical data including photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings; (b) novels, poetry, and plays; and, (c) folk, popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative.
Standard 3 : Historical Analysis and Interpretation (aka AH1.H.1.3)
A. Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences.
B. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears. Consider that history frequently deprives us of “one right answer.”
C. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships bearing in mind multiple causation including (a) the importance of the individual in history; (b) the influence of ideas, human interests, and beliefs; and (c) the role of chance, the accidental and the irrational.
D. Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
F. Compare competing historical narratives among historians.
G. Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
H. Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
I. Evaluate major debates among historians.
J. Hypothesize the influence of the past.
Standard 4 : Historical Research Capabilities (aka AH1.H.1.4)
A. Formulate historical questions. Historical questions typically address “how” and/or “why” past decisions were made, past actions were taken, or past events occurred
B. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources. Research or investigation of past events, requires the acquisition and analysis of historical data and documents beyond the classroom textbook.
C. Interrogate historical data. Research or investigation of past events, will allow students to analyze preexisting interpretations, to raise new questions about an historical event, to investigate the perspectives of those whose voices do not appear in the textbook accounts, or to investigate an issue that the textbook largely or in part bypassed.
D. Identify the gaps in the available records, marshal contextual knowledge and perspectives of the time and place.
E. Employ quantitative analysis.
F. Support interpretations with historical evidence.
Standard 5 : Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making (not part of NC SCOS)
A. Identify issues and problems in the past.
B. Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances.
C. Identify relevant historical antecedents.
D. Evaluate alternative courses of action.
E. Formulate a position or course of action on an issue.
F. Evaluate the implementation of a decision.
Common Core Standards Alignment between Reading and the SOci