Presentation Transcript

1. EMG 806I-Search Presentation

   Using Fiction and Nonfiction to Teach History
2. Introduction "Why do we need this?“ - If you have ever heard that comment in your classroom you can understand the frustrations that teachers and students feel when learning about history. Using fiction and non-fiction is a great way for students to make connections and engage in learning about the past.
3. Main Ideas - Students often have a hard time connecting the past to the present. If a teacher cannot get the students to visualize the past then there is no chance a connection to the present will be possible. - Using historical fiction keeps the students engaged thereby forcing the students to investigate the differences between fact and fiction. - Historical fiction is built around actual events, but has the interesting plot lines that can hook students. - Many times, traditional history books can be very "dry" and difficult for students to digest- Using Non-Fiction that features a narrative theme can help students make connections beyond the textbook.
4. Websites Spartacus Educational: Established in September 1997, the Spartacus Educational website provides a series of history encyclopedias. Titles currently include:British History: 1750-1960, United States: 1840-1980, First World War, Second World War, Russia: 1860-1945, Cold War, Assassination of JFK, Spanish Civil War, Medieval World, Tudors & Stuarts, Germany: 1900-1945 and France: 1900-1945. Entries usually include a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The text within each entry is linked to other relevant pages in the encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people and events in great detail. The sources are also hyper-linked so the student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper and organization that produced the material.History Podcasts: The site's aim is to collect and sort all of the historical Podcasts available online. . Pages are created for each historic figure, and all of the relevant episodes from the different historical Podcast shows are conveniently put on one page. For example, if you are interested in Napoleon, you will find on his page 5 different Podcast shows with over 30 episodes. In addition a directory of historical Podcasts is kept on the site, with a brief description of each show, often including recommendations. The site is perfect for history fans, students and teachers who are looking to learn while being entertained. The site is updated daily with new pages for additional historical figures.
5. Websites I Love History: This is a teacher run website with a range of resources for students and educators. There is a regularly updated blog on Elizabethan government and politics. However, the site is best known for its OCR Modern World History GCSE podcast. This allows students to subscribe to regular audio content about international relations in the 1920s and 1930s. There are also follow up activities and games on the site. These will soon cover the USA during the 1920s and 30s as well, and will also feature student created podcasts. All the resources on the site are free to access.Invicta History & Politics: This website has been put together by staff and students at this Maidstone grammar school. It includes resources and examples of work ranging from Key Stage Three to A Level. Teachers and students can freely download PowerPoints and Word documents on a variety of topics including the Norman Conquest, life in Medieval Britain, the Slave Trade, Hitler’s Rise to Power, the Cold War and much more. There is a rich collection of interactive games and activities as well as links to sites of specific interest to students studying either History or Politics.
6. Websites Thinking History: Ian Dawson's Thinking History website is an attempt to make good quality active learning ideas freely available to teachers all round the country. A book of activities has never been a practical proposition but a website offers the chance to build up a menu of activities. It also includes several examples of the same model of activity for different topics. Thinking History will build up slowly over the next couple of years, starting with a dozen activities in September and then adding others each month, hopefully including activities submitted by teachers. SchoolHistory: An award winning teacher-created website offering a plethora of resources and materials for history teachers and pupils. Includes categorised and reviewed internet links, interactive games, over 650 freely downloadable worksheets and presentations, online lessons, interactive diagrams and popular teacher and student forums. In addition to this, recent developments allow history teachers to submit their own versions of all the popular activities which can then be shared with the wider teaching community - and downloaded for their own use.
7. Websites Ask an Historian: A group of history websites are now offering a new service to its visitors. In future people will be able to ask a panel of experts, questions about history. The panels include teachers, historians, authors and researchers with expert knowledge of the period. Where possible, people with actual experience of these events, will also join the various panels. The following sections are currently available: Life and Death of John F. Kennedy, The Cold War, The Vietnam War, Nazi Germany, Second World War, First World War, Women’s History, Black History, American West, Spanish Civil War and History of Russia.Teachers' Virtual School: History Department: The Teachers' Virtual School History Department provides lessons for those teaching history in the classroom. Lessons are listed under Key Stage and Topic. Teachers are invited to send in details of any online history lessons they have produced for their students. The website also includes sections on History Online Resources, History Quizzes, Timelines, History Forums and History Journals. Library of Congress: This website provides a wealth of primary sources that can be utilized in the Social Studies classroom. The website also has ready to use lessong plans that can be implemented immediately.
8. Computer Software Oregon Trail (MECC)- A computer game where students must navigate the perrils that settlers faced as they made their way on the Oregon trail over 150 years ago. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Broderbund)- A computer game where students are learning about the geography of the world. Polling Software- Polling Software allows students to gain valuable experience using polling to find out their peers interests and how it relates to politics. Java- Java allows you to play online games, chat with people around the world, calculate your mortgage interest, and view images in 3D, just to name a few. Apple iTunes- allows students to listen to music, download applications, and view video from a variety of sources. These sources can be implemented in a variety of ways in the social studies classroom.
9. Nonfiction Books All of the following non-fiction books have a common theme. They are written in a narrative format that provides a "hook" to engage the students. I do not recommend having students read the books in their entirety, but they are great for taking excerpts on the particular topic you are teaching about. Another great use for these books is to compare the message that each author is trying to send. This is extremely important in history, because it is often times different from one person to the next.
10. Nonfiction Books Davis, Kenneth. (2003). Don't Know Much About History: Everything you need to know about American history but never learned. New York: Perennial. Davis, Kenneth. (1998). Don't Know Much About The Civil War: Everything you need to know about America's greatest conflict but never learned. New York: Perennial. Wright, Mike. (1996). What They Didn't Teach You About the Civil War. New York: Ballantine Books. Keegan, John. (1998). The First World War. New York: Random House. McCullough, David. (2001). John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster.
11. Nonfiction Books Brands, H.W. (1997). TR: The last Romantic. New York: Basic Books. Ferguson, Niall. (2002). Empire: The rise and demise of the British world order and lessons for global power. New York: Basic Books. Ferguson, Rebecca. (2000). The Handy History Answer Book. Canton: Visibile Ink. Johnson, Paul. (1997). A History of the American People. New York: Perennial. Rossi, M.L. (2003). What Every American Should Know About the Rest of the World. New York: Penguin. Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin.
12. Nonfiction Books Diamond, Jared (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The fates of human societies. New York: Penguin. Tucci, Paul A. and Matthew Rosenberg. (2009). The Handy Geography Answer Book. Detroit: Visibile Ink. Bennett, William J. (2006). America: The last best hope, Vol 1: From the age of discovery to world at war, 1492-1914. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. Bennett, William J. (2007). America: The last best hope, Vol 2: From a world at war to the triumph of freedom, 1914-1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. Zinn, Howard. (1995). A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins.
13. Trade Books Using Fiction is a great way to connect abstract historical concepts to present events. A common theme throughout the following trade books is that they are representative of greater cultural trends. For each book, I will provide the historical context where each book can be used.
14. Trade Books Civil War-Fox, John. (1987). The Little Sheperd of Kingdom Come. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press.Mitchell, Margaret. (1936). Gone With The Wind. New York: Macmillan Publishers.Stowe, Harriet B. (1852). Uncle Tom's Cabin. Cleveland: John P. Jewett Company. Frazier, Charles. (1997). Cold Harbor. New York: First Grove Press. The New South (United States) -Twain, Mark. (2002). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Classics. -Lee, Harper. (2006). To Kill A Mocking Bird. New York: Perennial.
15. Trade Books Populism in the United States Baum, L.F. (1900). The Wizard of Oz. Chicago: George M. Hill Company. World War I Remarque, Erich. (1934). All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: McGraw Hill. Roaring 20's Fitzgerald, F.S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. British Empire- Orwell, George. (1934). Burmese Days. London: Harcourt. Forster, E.M. (1924). A Passage to India. London: Harcourt.
16. Trade Books European History- (Henry VIII) Gregory, Philippa. (2001). The Other Boleyn Girl. New York: Touchstone. (Medieval Europe) Follett, Kenneth. (1989). The Pillars of the Earth. New York: William Morrow. Middle East (Global Issues) Hosseini, Khaled. (2003). The Kite Runner. Canada: Random House. Hosseini, Khaled. (2007). A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead. Geography Twain, Mark. (2002). The Innocents Abroad. New York: Penguin.
17. Picture Books Slavery Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Weatherford Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter Abraham Lincoln Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner Suffragists Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson Ballot Box Battle by Emily McCully Immigration Miss Birdie Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
18. Picture Books Western MovementThe Great Divide by Michael BedardTheodore RooseveltTheodore by Franklin Keating Great DepressionBabe and I by David Adler Eleanor by Barbara Cooney World War IIBoxes for Katie by Candace FlemmingMercedes and the Chocolate Pilot by Margot Raven Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
19. Picture Books Vietnam WarThe Wall by Eve Bunting The Cold WarThe Butter Battle Book by Dr. Suess9/11/2001The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
20. Research Articles Villano, T.L. (2005). Should social studies books become history? A look at alternative methods to activate schema in the intermediate classroom. The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 122-130. Tonia Villano’s research article takes a look at a dilemma that most teachers face in today’s classroom: How do teachers facilitate learning when students have trouble comprehending information from texts? The goal of Villano’s study was to find supplemental materials and to engage students in interactive methods of building content and genre schemata for studying topics in history. Villano planned to evaluate student’s understanding and comprehension of social studies content through note-taking, anecdotal records, student work, classroom artifacts, and informal conversations. Data was collected by observing and noting how students created schema for a social studies topic while using materials additional to the text. Villanofound that her students’ ability to learn and comprehend new information was promoted by using supplemental texts to help students make connections. She found that interacting with various texts brings social studies alive for many students no matter if they are struggling or advanced.
21. Research Article Dull, L., & Van Gardern, D. (2005). Bringing the story back into history: Teaching social studies to children with learning disabilities. Preventing School Failure, 49(3), 27-31. This article takes a look at the problems that at-risk and students with learning problems have with understanding social studies textbooks. Many times social studies texts are written in complicated, dry language instead of a narrative approach. In this article, the author presents ways that textbooks could be improved and strategies that teachers could use to “bring back the story in social studies”. Throughout the article, the authors found that reconstructing and rewriting textbooks to better tell a story can aid in understanding of students with LD. Also, the incorporation of activities can give teachers the opportunity to directly instruct content and prepare students for standardize tests. A few examples of activities that I have found can be utilized in the regular classroom environment are: Read and discuss the differences between fiction and non-fiction. Have students recast and story and act it out. Have students develop story boards to illustrate the main ideas of a story. Use video and slide presentations to promote discussion. Provide original and modified texts to determine which is more beneficial. One of the negatives of using these activities is that they may be inappropriate for all grade levels. However, providing additional content and allowing students to connect to their own experiences will provide greater comprehension of the material. Using outside sources along with the textbook is a great way to encourage learning in the social studies classroom. Adding modified content reading in oral and written forms “not only makes learning more interesting, it makes learning possible”.
22. Research Article Schmidt, S. & Segall, A. (2006). Reading the newspaper as a social text. The Social Studies, 97(3), 91-99. This article examines the importance of incorporating mass media into the social studies curriculum. The authors cite that mass media “engages us at every turn”. Film, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, music, advertising, and software industries have become avenues through which students, and teachers, learn about the world. It is impossible to ignore that media is the main part of student’s lives. Gone are the days of the school being the sole source of information. This article explores the ways that educators can incorporate media into the classroom, and build skills for students to study and analyze media. The primary source of media that the authors discuss throughout the article is newspapers. Newspapers serve a variety of purposes. Most times they are used to convey information and “provide stimuli for engaging the content already prescribed curriculum”. First, the authors discuss the reasons for studying a newspaper critically. In some instances, teachers present the newspaper as a source and do not properly look at the importance of perspective, rhetoric, and audience. Another point the authors make is that teachers need to be cognizant of the fact that students tend to believe that newspapers distinguish between fact and opinion. However, editorial decisions are “inherent in every aspect of presenting facts or news.” The authors discuss the importance of teaching students how to read a newspaper as a social text. Teachers must offer students different view points on each issue and allow the students to construct and deconstruct the world through varying viewpoints. Critically examining newspapers allows students to question the content and encourages them to contemplate how what is “deemed important” can be constructed. Developing the skills to analyze newspapers encourages students to evaluate news stories rather than arbitrarily accepting it as truth. Analysis of newspapers is extremely important to the core principals of teaching social studies and that is to build a population of citizens who are prepared to participate in democracy.
23. Research Articles Meyers, M.P. & Savage, T. (2005). Enhancing student comprehension of social studies material. The Social Studies, 96(1), 18-23. There is no denying that textbooks are the main medium for social studies education in today’s regular education classroom. Although there are other avenues for instruction, textbooks remain the staple in our classrooms. Standardized tests have increased the emphasis on the information found in textbooks. The authors pose the question: “What happens if students do not know how to identify important information and events?” Helping students learn from textbooks is a complicated task. Students must have “content literacy”. Content literacy “recognizes that reading is not simply a technical skill”. Students must have the ability to read, decode, and make inferences to come to a common understanding. The authors provide some fundamental steps that teachers can take to enhance student comprehension of social studies text. They outline the responsibilities of the teacher: Ensure that students have the ability to decode, recognize words/vocabulary, and utilize strategies for learning from the text. Use textbooks that match the student’s and teacher’s purposes. Provide opportunities for spoken and written connections to text. Provide time for choosing books and reading independently from a range of genres and relevant materials. Create a rich language environment in the classroom. The authors conclude that it is extremely important for students and teachers to interact with the text to build understanding. Showing that the text has “personal relevance” and meaning to the students allows for questioning and critical thinking about what authors have written. I agree that students must have the critical thinking skills necessary to decode and infer information from the text. However, in today’s classroom it is extremely common to find many students who lack the skills necessary to do this. I would have liked to see the authors include what they would do to build the skills with students who do not read at grade level or have learning disabilities.
24. Research Articles Zarnowski, M. (2009). the thought experiment: An imaginative way into civic literacy. The Social Studies, 100(2), 55-62. This article examines the potential of “thought experiments” and the impact they can have on the development of civic literacy with students. Thought experiments enable students to think about persistent social issues by drawing on “both knowledge and imagination.” The author provides examples of thought experiments found in literature for adults and middle school students. The author also breaks down the steps in implementing a thought experiment and illustrates the process. The overall theme of the article is that thought experiments can “encourage students to link past experiences through present concerns, and it promotes the relevance of social studies.” Throughout the article, I was skeptical of the methods for “thought experiments”. In my opinion, I found that linking nonfiction and fictional writing to current events was a method that had been done in classrooms for a long time. However, one of the most profound statements that Zarnowski made in the article was: “When teachers address both literacy and social awareness as aspects of reading comprehension, they do more than teach children how to read the words and get the gist of a text—they address the civic mission of schools. I agree wholeheartedly with her statement. I had always thought of using current events as a means of connecting to past experiences. However, students are learning the skills that they need to be productive citizens. No test score bubble sheet can determine those skills, and that is the true purpose of the study of social studies. Using fiction/nonfiction material provides students with opportunities to think creatively about social issues. The author shows that allowing students to “think outside the box” with the thought experiment is one step educators can take to build a student’s civic literacy.
25. Book Critique Zarnowski, M. (2006). Making sense of history: Using high quality literature and hands on experiences to build content knowledge. New York: Scholastic. Zarnowski’s book takes a step away from traditional instruction and provides guidelines for building student’s enthusiasm and understanding of history. Throughout the book, Zarnowski demonstrates how using “high quality” literature and hands on experiences help students develop their critical thinking skills. The book is extremely informational and provides unit plan ideas, examples of student work, and examples of lessons used to jump start student thinking and engagement in social studies. Although the book is targeted for elementary and middle grades, I see that there are many uses for secondary education. Throughout the book, the focus of her approach is attempting to have students connect historical events to their own personal experiences. She does this by asking critical thinking questions to have student begin to relate events to their own experiences. Each chapter builds on each other. First, the author lays out the importance of studying social studies and how it is important to build your “civic literacy” in an attempt to prepare students to be successful citizens. Then the book works on developing the skills needed to study history. Critical thinking skills, even at the elementary level, are necessary for understanding the complexity of historical events. This book does an excellent job of laying out the skills needed. Students must have the ability to analyze the context of events. Once they have the ability to look at context, they are more readily able to connect the similarities of past events to those occurring in the present. Also, another area that the book promotes is analyzing the purpose of the text. Many times students, and adults, take a writer for his word without looking at the motive behind the writing. By looking at tone, rhetoric, and audience, students have the ability to make their own decisions and conclusions about the text. Overall, Zarnowski’s book does a great job of providing ready to use ideas and projects that can promote the development of critical thinking skills within the social studies classroom. One negative is that she does not address the needs of English language learners or students that may have learning disabilities, but does leave the door open for making modifications to the activities to accommodate both groups.