Think Historically!
Opening Activity for Teachers
Click Oludah Equiano to be directed to a list of online information about the author of the first slave narrative in American Literature.
Have your students discuss which www.com sources might be credible and which ones might not be. Ask them to provide reasons and evidence to support their claims.
Have your students read the narrative while listen to the audiobook!
For more history lesson resources on Oludah Equiano click here
How do you get students to think like a historian?
I teach my students to think like a historian by asking my students to always question the validity of any statement.
Questions they can ask to evaluate whether or not information they read is truthful are:
What ways do I have of knowing if this is true?
Are there any opinions in the information I am reading?
Is this information biased?
Are there any facts or details missing?
If so, why might there be missing information?
I encourage students to never take things at face/surface value. Students must learn to dig deeper below the surface of information whether it be the news they watch on tv or a book they are reading. It is important to know how to distinguish fact from fiction.
Skills that I teach students which will help them to think like a historian are to support their claims, statements and conclusions with evidence.
If they are expressing their views about a text they should cite the text when explaining their views.
On page number ___, paragraph ___of the text (text name) it states, "______________________."
This supports my claim because_______________________
(provide reasons based on textual evidence)
In any thing my students read or write I expect them to provide references to sources that are trustworthy and to think about what they are reading in many contexts: historical, political, and social.
I encourage my students evaluate the sources of information they read by asking the following questions:
What do we know?
How do we know it?
Do I understand why and how an event in history happened? (Cause and Effect)
Is the source of the information I am reading credible/trustworthy?
What qualifications or credentials does the person giving the information possess which qualify he or she to be an authority on that subject?
Is there credible supporting or conflicting information about a topic?
Does the supporting information outnumber the sources against a topic?
Why might there be conflicting information?
Which information do you agree with and what are your reasons for believing the source where the information came from? Use evidence to support your claims.
After researching the information is there other evidence that supports the credibility of the claims and reasonings in the information you have read?
Is their credible corroborative evidence to support the claims and reasonings provided? For example,
- Physical Evidence
- Historical Records
- Primary and Secondary Sources
- Artifacts
- Eyewitness Accounts
- Records
- Testimonials
Multiple Accounts and Perspectives
Have you reviewed more than one source on a topic and analyzed the sources to see which information all sources have in common and which information is biased, deviates from the majority and has no supporting evidence?
Conflicting Evidence
Many historical events have facts and information that scholars agree and disagree about.
Teaching students to learn how to think like a historian is important because this allows them to make informed choices about what to believe as fact and what to discard as fiction.
Conflicting Viewpoints
Expository Writing
An argument has three main elements: a claim/thesis what your argument will prove , reasoning behind a claim/thesis (What are your reasons for supporting a claim?) and evidence (references, data and other credible information) to support points made and conclusions drawn.
References: sources of information on any given subject.
Resources for Students and Teachers to Help Them Think Like a Historian,
Research Information on Historical Events, Biographical Information, etc
Historical information ranging from Great Speeches (in audio) to facts about This Day in History.
Think Like a Historian Lessons for Teachers
3000+lessons for teachers
Rubric
Overview
Step into the shoes of a History Detective and tackle some of history's toughest mysteries. These lesson plans guide students to evaluate conflicting evidence by:
- Sourcing: Who made this source? Where did it come from?
- Contextualizing: Imagine the setting surrounding this source: How was the world that made this source different than our own?
- Corroborating: What do other sources say about the information in this document? Do they agree or disagree with what this document says?
- Close Reading: What does the document say? Is it biased? What is the tone?
Equip your students with foundational tools that will help them evaluate conflicting information for the rest of their lives.
#ThinkLikeAHistorian
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#OludahEquiano
#AfricansinAmerica
#ThinkCritically
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