A THEMATIC APPROACH TO HISTORY

Traditional Telling of History…• Traditionally, history is taught in a linear telling of events

• Start at the beginning and work your way to the present

• How do you teach history?• Is a chronological telling of events the best way to teach

students in an EOC assessed class?

• Students often miss the big picture trying to memorize small facts.

• What if I told you that many students felt they could have benefited from more review of the earliest events?

Civil War & Reconstruction

Westward Expansion

The Industrial Revolution

Progressivism

World War IThe Roaring

20sThe Great Depression

World War II

The Cold War

Post War America & The New

FrontierVietnamCivil Rights

NixonFord & CarterReaganPost-Cold War America

Snaking our way through history…

What happens to a student’s knowledge of the Civil War by the end of the year?

How should we teach history?• M-DCPS will be introducing new pacing guides presenting

history thematically?• What does this mean?

What themes are we talking about?• Themes:

• American Diversity• American Identity• Culture• Demographic Changes• Economic Transformations• Environment• Globalization (engagement with the world)• Politics & Citizenship (growth of democracy/Civil Rights)• Reform• War & Diplomacy• Religion• Slavery

• What exactly are you talking about?

Political History• War & Diplomacy• Reform• Politics & Citizenship

The United States in the World: Global History

• War & Diplomacy• Globalization• Reform

Economic History• Economic Transformations• Demographic Changes• Environment

Social History

• American Identity• American Diversity• Politics & Citizenship• Religion, Slavery, Reform

Linking themes…• With a thematic presentation of history, when presenting a

new theme students will probably have already learned about a time period from another perspective.• For example…

• Students might have already discussed the 1950s & 60s from a foreign policy stand point…

• When introducing the cultural history of the 1950s & 60s, including the Civil Rights Movement, students should be encouraged to make links between the new cultural movements they are being introduced to and the Cold War (which they learned about earlier that year).

• FACT: During the early Cold War, foreign policy concerns played a large part in Civil Rights progress promoted by the Executive Branch.

How to bridge themes…• Multi-themed projects

• Reviews before the EOC• Presented linearly to emphasis a time period across themes• Review in Pacing Guides will take place the three weeks

immediately before the EOC, one week per reporting period

• Essential Questions• Now let’s try it...