1. History as a Discipline Unit 1 – Lesson 10

2. History as a Discipline

5. History as a Discipline #1 You will be spending time getting to know your history textbook so that you may better use it as a tool in the future. Distribute handout: Previewing Your Textbook This handout does two things: 1.It describes and explains both the features and general organization of a history textbook. 2.It offers some concrete reading, comprehension and study strategies.

6. History as a Discipline #1 Walk through the handout in conjunction with their textbook to identify and illuminate its features and organization.

7. History as a Discipline #1 Have a textbook:

8. History as a Discipline

11. History as a Discipline #2 with a partner Complete the scavenger hunt with a partner and later compare answers in a different partnership. Be creative – find answers.

12. History as a Discipline #3 Review answers to scavenger huntDISCUSS: Why does it matter when a history book was published? Why would it be important to pay attention to who wrote a history book?

13. History as a Discipline #4 Work in small groups Distribute blank Venn diagram “Comparing History with Science” disciplinecourse. Distinguish the term discipline from course. discipline A discipline is a field of study that addresses a broad body of knowledge with particular ways of knowing. – Within a particular discipline, there are many courses and classes one could take to learn about topics within the discipline. – For instance, within the discipline of history, students may take courses on early American history, economic history, military history, world history, methodology of historians, etc.

14. History as a Discipline #4

15. Once students understand the previous distinction, groups will discuss how the discipline of history is different from the discipline of science. Students will identify concrete examples and record this information on their individual Venn diagrams Then in groups consider how the discipline of history is similar to science. Provide concrete example of how these disciplines are similar and record their conjectures on their individual Venn diagrams.

16. History as a Discipline #5 Compare Venn diagrams with a student from another group and record any new information to your individual Venn diagrams. Organization: – Half of each group move to another group, while the other half of the group remains at their seats. (Switch off half of each group)

17. History as a Discipline #6 Comparing History with Science Display the blank Venn diagram “Comparing History with Science.” Discuss and record students’ ideas from Steps 4 & 5 on big paper? evidence Push students to provide evidence for their similarities and differences. redirect them to focus on the disciplines of history and science. If students begin to discuss similarities among their courses, for instance, students might see a similarity in that they have a textbook for all of their classes; redirect them to focus on the disciplines of history and science. problems evidence In discussing the differences, be sure to focus the discussion on the types of problems addressed by each discipline and the types of evidence they use. Use the lesson graphic organizer to guide the discussion. Use the lesson graphic organizer to guide the discussion. If students’ Venn diagrams need substantial revisions, distribute the lesson graphic organizer at the end of the discussion and have students add any additional ideas generated during the class discussion. If students’ Venn diagrams need substantial revisions, distribute the lesson graphic organizer at the end of the discussion and have students add any additional ideas generated during the class discussion.

18. History as a Discipline SAMPLE:

19. History as a Discipline #7 You will be answering 3 challenging questions in step 8: You will be engaging in a class discussion about the questions and how to address them. to what extent Consider “to what extent” (this is not a yes or no question): A little? Somewhat? A lot? Etc. 1.To what extent do your parents trust you? 1.To what extent do your parents trust you? Give relevant examples of instances to support your claim. How do you know Think about “How do you know?” evidence What is the most convincing or significant evidence that supports your claim.

20. History as a Discipline #8 Teacher Note: common chapter in the textbook Have a common chapter in the textbook for all students to analyze. early civilizations Choose a chapter that discusses human history, such as early civilizations. One historical debate regarding early civilizations is about why they ended. This provides a good place to investigate how well the textbook illuminates this debate and how historians use evidence to come to various conclusions.

21. History as a Discipline #8 Distribute “ Evaluating My History Textbook” Using the handout, remind students that: investigating problems; The discipline of history is based on investigating problems; evidence Historians use evidence to support accounts of the past; differ in how they interpret conflicting accounts Historians sometimes differ in how they interpret and address historical problems and use evidence. As a result, there can be conflicting accounts of the same historical event; and degree of differences large subtle The degree of differences among historical accounts can vary. Sometimes historians’ accounts vary to a large extent. Sometimes, there are subtle differences.

22. History as a Discipline #8 Evaluating My History Textbook Evaluating My History Textbook handout: Look at the questions: How would you begin to answer these questions? Where would you start? What are you looking for? You will need to explore the textbook for evidence. Use the hints provided on the handout.

23. History as a Discipline #8 For example, in exploring question one (listed in step 9)… How would students preview the assigned chapter How would students preview the assigned chapter to find evidence of how well the textbook identifies and addresses the fact that there are historical problems (as opposed to just providing a narrative about what happened)? What would they look for? What would they look for? Discuss and recognize that most of their textbook is a narrative that conceals the problem-based nature of history. Continue using the hints Continue using the hints to discuss each question with students before assigning the reflective writing.

24. History as a Discipline #9

25. History as a Discipline

26. History as a Discipline #9 Respond to the questions in your SS Notebook: reflect the fact that the discipline of history is based on historical problems 1.To what extent does the assigned chapter in your history textbook reflect the fact that the discipline of history is based on historical problems? Provide evidence to support your claim. reflect the fact that the discipline of history is based on evidence 2.To what extent does the assigned chapter in your history textbook reflect the fact that the discipline of history is based on evidence? Provide evidence to support your claim. reflect disagreements among historians 3.To what extent does the assigned chapter in your history textbook reflect disagreements among historians? Provide evidence to support your claim. advantages and disadvantages 4.What might be some advantages and disadvantages to using ONLY a textbook to study history? Explain your thinking.

27. History as a Discipline #8