Learn new approaches to teaching history in middle school so students are more engaged in the big ideas and eager to examine the world around them. Co-published by Routledge and MiddleWeb, this practical guide will help you consider the unique needs of middle schoolers, who are in the midst of many social and emotional changes and need to see why the study of history matters to their own lives. Author Jody Passanisi shares helpful strategies and activities to make your social studies class a place where students can relate to the material, connect past history to present events, collaborate with others, think critically about important issues, and take ownership of their learning. Topics include: Reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources for deeper comprehension of historical issues Developing a written argument and defending it with supporting details and cited sources Examining the social context of a historical event and tracing the historical underpinnings of present day issues Using field trips, games, and Project Based Learning to make learning history a fun and interactive experience Assessing your students’ progress using self-reflection, projects, essays, and presentations The appendices offer resources for each of the topics covered in the book as well as reproducible Blackline Masters of the charts and diagrams, which can be photocopied or downloaded from our website (http://www.routledge.com/products/9781138639713) for classroom use.

Presents a collection of lessons and activities for teaching American history for students in middle school and high school.

Effective Australian history education has never been more important for the development of critically aware and thoughtful young people. History fosters important skills in reasoning, historical consciousness and empathy; and an appreciation of history is crucial to the development of students' understanding of the very nature of our society. This edited collection comprises contributions from leading historians, educators and practising teachers, and surveys Australian history teaching today, from the development of the national curriculum to fostering historical thinking and promoting effective engagement in the history classroom. The book begins with an analysis of the principles underlying the drafting of the national curriculum and features insights from the writers of the curriculum themselves. It focuses on the curriculum from primary- and secondary-school teaching perspectives. Part 2 examines the teaching of historical expertise including historical thinking and value formation, as well as productive assessment and the important role social history can play in the classroom. Part 3 concentrates on specific approaches to history teaching including teacher talk; the use of historical fiction and film; digital technology and the internet; as well as museums as a teaching medium. Part 4 analyses key aspects of Australian history teaching including Indigenous perspectives, teaching citizenship and assisting the pre-service teacher in their transition to becoming a professional. Rich with insights into historical skills, historical concepts and critical thinking, as well as practical guidance on translating principles into engaging classroom approaches, this is an essential reference for both pre-service and in-service history teachers and educators.

How can history be taught effectively? Does knowing about the past give meaning to the present and hints to what will happen in the future? This book responds to these questions as it explores the key elements of history instruction-the use of primary sources and narratives, involving students in the historical inquiry through classroom discussions, teaching toward chronological thinking, and the use of historical documents to develop in students a "detective approach" to solving historical problems. Taking a systematic approach to improve students' historical thinking, this book emphasizes certain strategies that will help students know more about the past in ways that will help them in their lives today. The second edition is organized in three parts-Part One describes the theoretical background to teaching history. Part Two, "Planning and Assessment," emphasizes the importance of good organization and lesson planning as well as how to assess students' knowledge, reasoning power, and effective use of communication in the history classroom. Part Three, "Instruction," focuses on the use of primary sources, class discussions, incorporating photographs and paintings, and writing in teaching history. Both the study of history and the teaching of history are multifaceted. The author's hope in writing this book is to engage new and experienced teachers in thoughtful discourse regarding the teaching and learning of history and to develop lifelong learners of history in the 21st century.

Somebody once quipped that any work of Australian historical fiction is a 'burning fuse', travelling over decades through Australian culture and society. In some manner, every newly published Australian historical novel is connected to what it has preceded. Each work belongs to a proud history. Through multiple examples, Grant Rodwell encourages readers to see how a work of historical fiction has evolved. Thus, under various themes, WHOSE HISTORY? examines the traditions in Australian historical fiction, and ponders how Australian historical novels can engage teachers and student teachers. WHOSE HISTORY? aims to illustrate how historical novels and their related genres may be used as an engaging teacher/learning strategy for student teachers in pre-service teacher education courses. It does not argue all teaching of History curriculum in pre-service units should be based on the use of historical novels as a stimulus, nor does it argue for a particular percentage of the use of historical novels in such courses. It simply seeks to argue the case for this particular approach, leaving the extent of the use of historical novels used in History curriculum units to the professional expertise of the lecturers responsible for the units.

The ‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies has drawn attention to the central role that knowledge of the disciplines plays in education, and to the need for new thinking about how we understand knowledge and knowledge-building. Knowing History in Schools explores these issues in the context of teaching and learning history through a dialogue between the eminent sociologist of curriculum Michael Young, and leading figures in history education research and practice from a range of traditions and contexts. With a focus on Young’s ‘powerful knowledge’ theorisation of the curriculum, and on his more recent articulations of the ‘powers’ of knowledge, this dialogue explores the many complexities posed for history education by the challenge of building children’s historical knowledge and understanding. The book builds towards a clarification of how we can best conceptualise knowledge-building in history education. Crucially, it aims to help history education students, history teachers, teacher educators and history curriculum designers navigate the challenges that knowledge-building processes pose for learning history in schools.

A look at how to teach history in the age of easily accessible—but not always reliable—information. Let’s start with two truths about our era that are so inescapable as to have become clichés: We are surrounded by more readily available information than ever before. And a huge percent of it is inaccurate. Some of the bad info is well-meaning but ignorant. Some of it is deliberately deceptive. All of it is pernicious. With the Internet at our fingertips, what’s a teacher of history to do? In Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone), professor Sam Wineburg has the answers, beginning with this: We can’t stick to the same old read-the-chapter-answer-the-question snoozefest. If we want to educate citizens who can separate fact from fake, we have to equip them with new tools. Historical thinking, Wineburg shows, has nothing to do with the ability to memorize facts. Instead, it’s an orientation to the world that cultivates reasoned skepticism and counters our tendency to confirm our biases. Wineburg lays out a mine-filled landscape, but one that with care, attention, and awareness, we can learn to navigate. The future of the past may rest on our screens. But its fate rests in our hands. Praise for Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone) “If every K-12 teacher of history and social studies read just three chapters of this book—”Crazy for History,” “Changing History . . . One Classroom at a Time,” and “Why Google Can’t Save Us” —the ensuing transformation of our populace would save our democracy.” —James W. Lowen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Teaching What Really Happened “A sobering and urgent report from the leading expert on how American history is taught in the nation’s schools. . . . A bracing, edifying, and vital book.” —Jill Lepore, New Yorker staff writer and author of These Truths “Wineburg is a true innovator who has thought more deeply about the relevance of history to the Internet—and vice versa—than any other scholar I know. Anyone interested in the uses and abuses of history today has a duty to read this book.” —Niall Ferguson, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, and author of The Ascent of Money and Civilization