Helping Students Interpret History ESOC 2152

Introduction  What is History?  Why is History important?

What is History? Chronological study that interprets and gives meaning to events and applies systematic methods to discover the truth Teacher who knows the details of the lives of individual students have a better understanding of the student’s interest, fears, and behaviors The more students know about history, the better they can learn.

Teachers need to reflect on the following: a. What are the big ideas I need to teach? b. How can the study of history grab student’s interest? c. How can I encourage students to ask important questions about what happened? d. What inaccurate conceptions do my students hold that keep them from completely understanding the objectives?

Teachers need to reflect on the following: e. How can I help students understand the past and get inside others’ experiences? f. How can I help students understand that history is an interpretive construction based on evidence?

History in Schools Goals and Specifications: A knowledge of Belize and a commitment to its nationhood and development.  know the history and status of Belize as a nation, including its social, political, and economic development. To develop and enhance the learner's full potential to actively participate in development of his/her society.

History in Schools Children study history when: they sequence and order events in their daily lives, hear stories about today and long ago, Recognize that other individuals hold different views and, Understand links between their actions and decisions and their consequences.

Benefits of Studying History: a. Personal Benefits:  Help people attain their identity by finding their own place in the history of the world. b. Helps individuals better understand and study other subjects in the humanities. c. Helps unify citizens into communities by creating a national identity. d. Helps people develop cognitively.

Students and the Learning of History a. Students are able to address some aspects of history b. Children know more about some historical topics than others c. Know a lot about content and interpersonal relations of social history but very little about the nature and purpose of government, politics, and economics.

Strategies and Resources for Teaching History: a.Using Timelines to Develop Chronology  Time is abstract therefore timelines are used to assist students in understanding time-related concepts. Timelines are concrete devices.  The calendar also helps to mark the passage of time and important changes that occur over time.  The teacher helps students to recognize important ideas related to history.

Example of a Timeline

Resources for Teaching History: Locating and Using Historical Resources:  Historians use many resources. Some of these resources are readily available; others can be obtained through inquiries and using the Internet.  Resources for teaching can be obtained by asking for help.

Resources for Teaching History a.People as Resources b.Artifacts and Museums c.The Community as a Resource d.Documents as Resources e.Diaries, Letters, and Pictures as Resources

Visual Literacy & History Artist preserved the likeness of people and landscapes in paintings, on the walls of caves and on pottery, in stone or on canvas. Because the languages of many people are not written or cannot be translated, works of art provide us with our best sources of information about many people and how they lived A painting, drawing, or photograph is an interpretation of what was

Reenactments and Drama Visit to historic sites. History is taught by re-enactors through presentations and answering questions as if the spectator had stepped into the historic scene. Teachers can use the acting out of history to role play people events.

Biographies and Historical Literature The story like format of trade books is familiar and can help students to read and understand the material. A story may be used as part of an explanatory introduction to help raise interest in or questions about events. Using multiple books provides an opportunity to accommodate students with different abilities. Biographies and historical fiction are two types of trade books that have been popular among young readers.