Stanford History Education - This is *perfect*

[Bang!Zoom!]

This came across my feed today. Absolutely perfect for the kid, she's going to be doing a bland of disciplines this year historically, both "New World" era, Modern and American. Plus whatever the PS throws at her..lol. I don't know about getting much depth in this year, so I've just written notes as a survey to simplify it all.

 

If anyone else latches onto this, yell. I'm way/way happy to discuss. Accounts at SHE do not cost anything.

 

http://sheg.stanford.edu/rlh

 

Clip:

 

The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents designed for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities.

 

This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues. They learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence.

 

How do I use these lessons in my classroom?

The 76 lessons in the U.S. curriculum and the initial 15 lessons of the world curriculum can be taught in succession. But these lessons are designed to stand alone and supplement what teachers are already doing in their classrooms. Most lessons take a full class period, though some extend over several. Lessons generally follow a three-part structure:

 

1) Establish relevant background knowledge and pose the central historical question. Each lesson approaches background knowledge differently. For some, we've designed PowerPoints, in others we use a video clip from United Streaming* to establish historical context. Many lessons ask students to read a relevant selection from their textbook and answer questions. In some we've outlined mini-lectures or included a timeline that students might reference as they read the documents. Establishing background knowledge is the first step in the inquiry process. This background frames the central historical question, and motivates students to investigate the documents that accompany the lesson.

 

*Note: United Streaming requires a subscription to Discovery Education.

2) Students read documents, answer guiding questions or complete a graphic organizer. Our lesson plans include documents that address the central historical question. Most lessons draw on two or more documents with conflicting perspectives. The teacher's decisions on how or whether to assign homework plays a big part in pacing the lesson. Depending on the lesson plan, students will engage in different activities as they read and interpret the documents. The Reading Like a Historian curriculum is built around four basic lesson structures:

 

a) Opening Up the Textbook (OUT): In these lessons, students examine two documents: the textbook and a historical document that challenges or expands the textbook's account. For a sample OUT, see the Battle of Little Bighorn Lesson Plan.

 

B) Cognitive Apprenticeship: These lessons are based on the idea that ways of thinking must be made visible in order for students to learn them. In lessons following this format, teachers first model a historical reading skill, then engage students in guided practice, and ultimately lead them to independent practice. For a sample cognitive apprenticeship lesson, see the Stamp Act Lesson Plan.

 

c) Inquiry: All lessons in the curriculum include elements of historical inquiry, where students investigate historical questions, evaluate evidence, and construct historical claims. Some, however, are designed around an explicit process of inquiry, in which students develop hypotheses by analyzing sets of documents. Such inquiries are best suited for block or multiple class periods. For a sample inquiry, see the Japanese Internment Lesson Plan.

d) Structured Academic Controversy (SAC): For these lessons, students work in pairs and then teams as they explore historical questions. After taking opposing positions on a question, they work to gain consensus or at least to clarify their differences. These lessons are well suited to block or multiple class periods. They work best after students have gained experience working with primary documents. For a sample SAC, see the Lincoln Lesson Plan.

 

3) Whole-class discussion about a central historical question. The final segment of the Reading Like a Historian lesson plan is the most important. Too often, however, it is dropped due to time constraints. We think it's better to eliminate one of the documents than cut such a valuable opportunity to practice historical thinking skills, articulate claims and defend them with evidence from the documents. Only in whole-class discussion can students see that history is open to multiple interpretations, and that the same piece of evidence can support conflicting claims. Students often find this activity foreign and uncomfortable at first. But through practice they gain an understanding of their role as knowledge-makers in the history classroom.

 

Can I start the Reading Like a Historian curriculum in the middle of the school year?

 

Of course! Reading Like a Historian lessons are designed to stand alone or to supplement your existing curriculum at any point. However, because the Reading Like a Historian lessons present history in a way that may be unfamiliar, it's important to introduce students to the basic concepts of the curriculum. That's why the Introductory Unit includes three short lesson plans to orient students to the curriculum.

[strange_girl]

I just briefly skimmed through the first few American History lessons, so I have no comprehensive knowledge of the program whatsoever :) , but that does look really nice! Thanks for sharing.

 

I love history. History is one of my favorite subjects. But to teach (or learn) history, it has to be interesting. These lesson plans look like they could be made really fun and interesting as a supplement.

[Bang!Zoom!]

The courses rely on a fluency in primary resources as learning tools, that's what I like about them.