Thesis on "Best Practices: Teaching Elementary School History"

Thesis 4 pages (1453 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Best Practices: Teaching Elementary School History

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.' This commonly cited quote of the great historian George Santayana underlines the importance of understanding history, especially in a participatory republican democracy such as America. Students need to learn about their nation's past to make informed decisions about its future. Teachers must help students engage with history as critical thinkers, to enjoy learning about history, and to understand its sustained relevance to their lives. Thus a critical part of teaching history is avoiding a focus on events and personalities, and teaching students how to think about, research, and approach history as a series of opinions, not simply the memorization of battles and names so they can make decisions about their own roles in history as voters and citizens. Above all, history teachers must avoid creating the perception history is "a parade of facts," (Hartzler-Miller 2001, p.678). Prior to the 1960's, "American history education generally focused on military and political events and personalities...today's history curriculum include a broader range of topics...students do not passively receive these messages. Rather, they draw upon life experience to construct personal understandings" (Hartzler-Miller 2001, p. 675).

In particular for elementary school students, making history come alive to students is part of the core of the curriculum. History teachers must make an effort to realize best practices in education, defined in terms of student engagement and understanding of the discipline at the highest level of which the students are capable, although history must still be rendered as a discipline in concrete and developmentally-appropriate ways. For example, one fifth grade teacher named Martha Andrews who was educating her students about the Revolutionary War began with learning activities about colonial 'daily life' and role-playing activities so the debates of the period would seem meaningful to the students (Teaching historical context before and during role-playing activities., 2009, NCREST). Often, a "narrative approach works better than traditional textbook instruction because it activates emotional links to reflective thinking and places the student much closer to the participant's view of history. From this perspective, historical understanding is based on such hallmarks of literary understanding as empathizing with others and sensing causality as it operates within the unfolding event" (Hoge 1988). Introducing fictional and primary literature to add a human dimension to history is another important element of personalizing the relevance of history.

For Andrews, generating student interest a meaningful appreciation was the purpose of her first dramatic assignments. She critically surveyed the reactions of her students, noting "a plan is not something she creates before the project begin... she uses her initial plan as more of a general outline or draft that she revises in response to what she learns about the students and their progress. In order to make her initial plan...she does not need to have all the answers....her initial planning is supported by frequent meetings with her colleagues and discussions about the general goals, issues, and progress of the Social Studies curriculum. Once the study is in process, Andrews becomes a co-investigator with the students" (The planning process, 2009, NCREST). The class embarks upon a guided voyage of exploration, and although Andrews has certain predetermined benchmarks and learning goals she must reach, based upon district standards and her personal view of what is essential to learn over the course of the unit, she does not have an unwavering and set path as to how to attain these learning goals.

This approach also has the advantage of drawing upon multiple learning styles and needs and tailors the lesson to the classroom dynamic. A flexible teacher like Andrews can use more visually simulative assignments, like constructing maps or studying objects with visual learners, role-plays and studying speeches for auditory learners, or reenactments and hands-on activities that keep students moving in a class of largely kinesthetic learners. Regardless of the composition of the learning styles of the class, Andrews always deploys some sort of a multi-faceted approach. Andrews views her role as an instructor as a partnership with the students and teaching is a dialogue. It is a dialogue of student interests, informed with curriculum assignments that stimulate student creativity. Many assignments are open-ended so students learn how to debate information, and evaluate the quality of sources and form their own opinions. Students are, after all, 'part' of history being made, as well… READ MORE

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