Constructing History: Using Primary Sources to Create Historical Narratives DANIEL A. COWGILL II- UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA FLORIDA COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2014

Agenda Introducing Narratives Why should I have students create narratives using sources? Selecting Sources World War I Example Assessing Narratives Common Core Tie In Questions Contact Info

Introducing Narratives According to Myers (2001), story telling is in the fabric of human life ◦Stories allow us to communicate about who we are, where we are going, and who we want to be ◦Stories carry a lot of power and have allowed generation after generation to teach about culture, religion, history, and much more

Why Should I Have Students Create Narratives Using Sources? The use of primary sources in the classroom is largely support in social studies literature. ◦Analyzing primary sources allows for students to develop skills like sourcing, close reading, corroborating, and contextualize information, all while constructing an understanding of what happened throughout history (Barton & Levstik, 2003; Wineburg, 1991). According to McGuire and Cole (2005), students who participate in constructing narratives become students who are prepared to talk, listen, and write about history and citizenship. ◦Using primary sources to help students construct their own narratives not only allows students with the ability to understand the historical content that is being taught in class, it allows for students to be exposed to the type of work that historians do on a daily basis (Barton & Levstik, 2003) Not only do narratives help student improve in the use of critical skills, it also helps foster inclusivity and engages imagination and emotion (Hilder, 2005) ◦By keeping students connected to the content being taught in our classrooms, we have the ability to develop student buy in, which so unbelievably important in the social studies

The Process 1. I construct my activity by centering the primary documents that students will analyze around the vocabulary that students must know during the course of study. ◦This ensures that students will learn the content specified by county instructional plans ◦These documents should go beyond basic definitions and should require analysis ◦Each written document is accompanied by a picture document to allow students to visualize what the document is discussing 2. After selecting my documents, I group students in groups of 3 or 4 ◦For the first 5 minutes of class I have the students sort through the pictures so that they can get a general understanding of what they will be studying for the lesson 3. I then read each written document at a time, allowing for students to match the document with the appropriate picture

The Process 4. After students have matched all of the documents with the pictures, I have them arrange the documents in a way in which they could tell me a story about what took place ◦As students arrange their documents, I require that they justify the order in which they place their documents 5. Once students have arranged all of their documents in the appropriate order, they are given their writing task ◦The writing task can change based upon the situation and the documents ◦Students should be required to incorporate information from each document into their narrative in order to demonstrate a firm command of the content of the lesson

World War I Example What follows is an example assignment that I have put together that demonstrates the types of documents that teachers can use in this assignment.

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Interaction with Common Core/Florida Core CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI While Florida has adapted many of these standards, and at times has made them more content specific, Florida Core is asking students to demonstrate these same skills.

Sunshine State Standards SS.912.A.1.2: Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to identify author, historical significance, audience, and authenticity to understand a historical time period SS.912.A.1.4: Analyze how images, symbols, objects, cartoons, graphs, charts, maps, and artwork may be used to interpret the significance of time periods and events from the past SS.912.A.1.5: Evaluate the validity, reliability, bias, and authenticity of current events and Internet resources SS.912.W.1.3: Interpret and evaluate primary and secondary sources LA : The student will analyze, interpret, and evaluate an author’s use of descriptive language LA : The student will organize synthesize, analyze, and evaluate the validity and reliability of information from multiple sources

Why? The Research The use of primary sources is strongly advocated as a means for completing historical inquiry and analysis (Hartzler-Miller, 2001), which then allows students to participate in the construction of historical knowledge (Wineburg, 2001). The use of historical inquiry allows teachers to break the pattern overly relying on the textbook and allows for students to synthesize information and engage in an authentic research activity (Whelan, 1997). The use of historical inquiry allows students to develop appropriate historical thinking skills and are able to understand the essential facts, concepts, and generalizations that underlie historical knowledge (Lee, Doolittle & Hicks, 2006).

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