Teaching Historical Thinking

Chapter 1 & 2

Why Nat Turner?

Turner’s Rebellion and Historical Thinking

“…students learning history do not yet share the assumptions of historians. They think differently about text, sources, argument, and the structure of historical knowledge…students may reject the transplanted activity…Engaging students in some legitimate disciplinary activity without restructuring the social interaction or challenging students’ presuppositions may yield only ritualistic understanding.”(Bain 2000, 335)

Early implementation of lesson…

To teach students that history is a discipline centered on questions and encourage them to apply information to generate interpretations about how those questions could be answered.

To teach students to understand that history is a discipline requiring its practitioners to question their sources.

To teach students that the history is alive, debatable, and connected to the present. This helps students see how the influence of the past influences the present and future.

Implementing the Lesson

Nat Turner

Images of Nat Turner

Gets students thinking about text, context, and subtext

Nat Turner in Modern Graphic Art

Why does source authorship matter? How does source authorship influence historical memory?

http://dailyregiment.blogspot.com/2010/08/remembering-nat-turner.html

“By communicating at the birth of the lesson that students are examining the past with the intention of answering a historical question, I am consciously attempting to alter their perspective from one in which history is a collection of facts to one based on making arguments based on these facts.” (Lesh, 34)

Comparing and contrasting

arguments….. Students read carefully selected quotes about Nat Turner ranging from contemporary editorials to historian’s interpretations.

Each source satisfies two main criteria:o They directly reflect the author’s view either of Nat

Turner the individual or the rebellion. o The documents must contrast each other and show that

interpretations can change over time. Students examine the sources and identify the

authors main argument and fill out the following chart…..

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: Evaluating Historical Opinions

Source 1: John W. Cromwell Source 4: The Richmond Whig

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TermSource 2: Herbert Aptheker Source 5: The Richmond Enquirer

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TermSource 3: William S. Drewry Source 6: Thomas R. Gray

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Wrestling with the interpretation

Nat Turner’s Rebellion: A Historical MarkerYou have been commissioned by the state of Virginia Historical Trust to develop a historical marker that will be placed along the roadside adjacent to the area impacted by Nat Turner and his followers. Your task is to develop the inscription for the marker that describes your interpretation of Nat Turner and his actions. Your inscription should take into account: •The specific factors involved in the event•The various reactions to Nat Turner (artistic and other)

Why I came to this decision (What documents most impacted your decisions and why?):

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Introducing Historical Thinking

with Malcolm X

Step One: Read each source and identify the author’s main argument and phrases or adjectives to promote this viewpoint. Please keep track of your observations on the chart.

Step Two: As a table, discuss the legacy of Malcolm X. In other words, how should he be remembered?

Step Three: Discuss Malcolm X’s legacy as a class.

Step Four: Create the text for Malcolm X’s historical monument

Step Five: Share historical monuments

Malcolm X: Evaluating Historical OpinionsUse the following worksheet to record information from the various primary and

secondary sources. When deciding the term that best describes the document’s position regarding Malcolm X, consider hero, villain, fanatic, religious, insane, leader,

manipulative, brave, etc.Source 1: Malcolm X “Message to the Grassroots”

Source 4: Malcolm X speech at Oxford Union

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TermSource 2: Malcolm X interview with Kenneth Clark

Source 5: Article from the Daily Iowan, Feb. 1965

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TermSource 3: Martin Luther King Interview with Clark

Source 6: “Actor says Malcolm X…Hero”

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http://www.tubechop.com/watch/226466

Watch Video Clip of Malcolm X at Oxford Union, 1964

Malcolm X: Historical MonumentYou have been commissioned by United States National Park Service to develop a historical monument in Washington D.C. to acknowledge the legacy of Malcolm X. Your task is to develop the inscription for the monument that describes your interpretation of Malcolm X and his actions. Your inscription should take into account: •Malcolm X before and after his leaving the Nation of Islam•The various reactions to Malcolm X (artistic and other)

Why I came to this decision (What documents most impacted your decisions and why?):

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