Historical ThinkingWhy Historical Thinking Matters

How do You Teach History?

What teaching methodologies do you use in your classroom?

What methodologies of teaching history do you feel you could improve?

Historical Understanding

Students need to read narratives that are interpretive and explain connections, change and consequences.

Written history is a dialogue among historians about what happened, why it happened, how it happened and its importance.

Students must analyze the assumptions and weigh the strength of the evidence presented.

Students must have the opportunity to create historical narratives and arguments of their own.

Purpose of “Do”ing History

History is a process of interrogating primary sources and secondary narratives. Historians primarily ask questions when they “do” history, often prefaced with “why”and “how.”

The historian’s purpose is to give meaning to historical facts.

As a course of study, history insists upon “meaning over memory.”

Dimensions of Historical Thinking

Chronological Thinking

Historical Comprehension

Historical Analysis and Interpretation

Historical Research Capabilities

Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making

These five categories are interactive and mutually supportive.

Standard 1: The Student Thinks Chronologically

Identify the time structure of a historical narrative or story.

Interpret data presented in timelines and create timelines.

Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration.

Establish time order in constructing historical narratives of their own.

Questioning for Historical Thinking

Standard 2: The Student Comprehends a variety of historical

sources

Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its credibility.

Identify the central question(s).

Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.

Appreciate historical perspectives.

Standard 3: The student engages in historical Analysis and Interpretation

Consider multiple perspectives.

Analyze cause and effect relationships- multiple causation, the individual, influence of ideas, and role of chance.

Compare competing historical narratives.

Hold interpretations of history as tentative.

Evaluate major debates among historians.

Questioning for Historical Thinking

Standard 4: The student conducts Historical Research

Obtain historical data from a variety of sources.

Interrogate historical data.

Employ quantitative analysis.

Support interpretations with historical evidence.

Standard 5: The student engages in historical Issues-Analysis and

Decision Making

Identify issues and problems in the past.

Evaluate alternative courses of action. Avoid historical presentism.

Formulate a position or course of action on an issue.

Evaluate the implementation of a decision.

Questioning for Historical Thinking