H I S T O R Y
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Reading Strategies for History
Four Reads
Purpose: Students read a document intentionally and deeply, building from context to meaning to analysis.
Summary: The teacher chooses a meaningful primary or complex secondary text. Students read the text four times, each with a different purpose. The first read is for context, the second for meaning, the third for argument, and the fourth to annotate for their own analysis.
Variations: This can be used for any text, including image, audio, and video.
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Analyzing an Image
Purpose: Students analyze an image.
Summary: The teacher chooses an image, and students engage in a structured 6 step protocol to analyze that image, beginning with observation and ending in analysis.
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Very Important Point (VIP)
Purpose: Students identify main ideas and summarize their reading.
Summary: Students are given 3 sticky notes for a physical reading or asked to use a digital tool. As they read, students mark what they believe to be the three most important pieces of information in the text. If a student determines a new point is more important than a previous point they had marked, they simply move their sticky note. Students debrief their choices in pairs or small groups.
Variations: At the end of the debrief process, ask students to write a 10 word summary of the text to further synthesize their VIPs.
Text Dependent Questions
Text Dependent Questions
Purpose/Summary: This is a teacher resource to plan questions that are dependent on the text. The purpose for students is to engage with a text by answering varying levels of pre-planned questions.
Variations: This can be used for any text, including image, audio, and video.
Click here to for question types and examples
3 Big Questions (Notice & Note)
Purpose: For students to engage with a text using three annotation questions that connect to their personal experience, interests, and prior knowledge.
Summary: Students annotate non-fiction using three questions:
What surprised me?
What did the author assume I knew?
What confirmed, changed, or challenged what I already knew?
Click here for a slideshow that models this strategy
Primary Source Analysis Guides
Writing Strategies for History
Journaling
Purpose: A low-stakes writing activity to build writing confidence, stamina, and get ideas flowing. Journaling about a big question or topic allows students to write freely and get ideas on paper.
Summary: Students are given a prompt, or choice of prompt, related to a topic or skill they are learning about. Journaling works best with open-ended questions, perspective taking, and connections to the present day.
Variation: Use at the start of class to get students thinking, or at the end of class for reflection. Whether at the beginning or end, students can share their ideas with partners, groups, or the class. Another variation on journaling is process or reflective journaling, where students keep a journal to reflect on their learning.
Free Associations/See -Think-Wonder
Purpose: A low stakes writing activity to build writing confidence and get ideas flowing.
Summary: Students write, draw, or create a concept map in response to a quote, image, song, audio clip or other short piece of media. Similar to journaling but it is important here to allow for students to respond on paper without the limits of structured writing.
Click here for a more discussion based variation called “see-think-wonder”
I Used to Think/Now I Think
Purpose: A writing prompt to help students consolidate their thinking around content they have learned, and to reflect on how their thinking may have changed.
Summary: After learning, students complete the sentence frames “I used to think” and “Now I think” around a topic they have learned.
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Minute Papers
Purpose: A low-stakes writing activity to summarize learning.
Summary: Students are asked to write for one full minute
Variations: Can be used at beginning, middle, or end of class to summarize learning. Time variations (3 minute paper, 30 second paper) are also appropriate, depending on the depth of the topic.
Document Based Question Revision Stations
Purpose/Summary: After completing a document based question in history, students revise their work on 1-2 areas of focus determined by teacher feedback. Stations are aimed at improving a students’ claim, evidence, reasoning, or language, depending on area of greatest need.
Click here for one-pagers for each revision station/focus.
I Wonder: Mini Research Projects
Purpose: A low-stakes research task that encourages curiosity and helps students practice generating a research question, finding relevant information to answer their question, corroborating sources, and presenting the answer in a clear, concise manner.
Summary: Students conduct a short (no more than 30-50 minute) research project. Students create an open-ended question they are interested in learning about, find 1-2 sources that help them answer their question, and present the information in a paragraph or in a 2-3 google slide deck. Students share their findings with classmates.
Variations: If teaching research is the skill, students can research anything that they might be curious about (ie; are McDonald’s chicken nuggets healthy for you). This can also be used with limits, ie; if studying World War I, students can research anything at all related to World War I they might be curious about that may not be covered in class (ie; what did soldiers eat in the trenches). Another variation is to create a physical or digital “wonder wall” with questions students generate as they are learning, and spend a day toward the end of the quarter taking time to choose one to research.
Speaking/Listening Strategies for History
Making Student Thinking Visible Strategies
Please see the MSTV section of this site! Of particular importance in a history classroom, think about
Think/Pair/Share
Purpose: Promotes understanding through active reasoning and explanation.
Summary: Using a timed protocol, students think about a question or prompt silently and individually, then pair up with a partner to talk about it, then share with the class what they or their partner was thinking.
Variations: Can be modified to be a write-pair-share where students silently write thoughts before sharing with a partner.
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Socratic Seminar
Purpose: Students engage in deep thinking and facilitate discussion with each other about a topic they are prepared to discuss.
Summary: After reading or learning about a topic, the teacher creates several questions for the class to consider about what they have learned. Students prepare their answers ahead of the discussion. On the day of the discussion, students facilitate a conversation centered on the questions with little to no teacher input. The teacher acts as a facilitator. Students debrief the process.
Variations: A Harkness discussion is similar in theory, but students for this type of discussion create their own questions. During a Harkness the teacher tracks conversation using a map. It is possible to blend these two discussion strategies by developing a few questions of your own, then asking students to generate one question of their own that they may use during the discussion. A socratic seminar such as this is a great precursor to a written assessment, or can serve as a summative assessment itself.
Click here for an example of a Socratic Seminar on Andrew Jackson
Concentric Circles/Inside-Outside Circles
Purpose: A kinesthetic, low-stakes protocol for discussion that promotes active speaking and listening with a range of peers. Also called inside/outside circles.
Summary: Students sit or stand in two circles facing one another. The outside partner shares a response to a prompt for a set amount of time, then the inside partner shares.
Variations: This works also as a way for students to practice making arguments as a variation of a turn and talk.
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Silent Conversations
Purpose: To engage students in deep thinking about a topic in groups without the pressure of speaking.
Summary: The teacher chooses a stimulus for conversation (ie; a photograph, quote, or part of a text) related to the topic of study and places it in the center of large chart paper. Each student, in groups of 2-3, reads the text and writes thoughts in the margins. Students read each others’ comments and write responses, agreements, disagreements, or other questions to their peers, all without talking. Students rotate to comment on other groups’ papers, and once they are back to their final group students can break the silence to talk about what they have learned.
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Building Knowledge/Content Knowledge Strategies for History
Jigsaw
Purpose: Students learn from one another by working in expert teams.
Summary: Students are divided up into Expert Groups. Each Expert Group (4 As, 4 B’s, 4 C’s, etc) receives different materials or a different part of a reading. Students work together in their Expert Groups to develop a mastery of the material or to complete the assigned task. Teacher circulates. Next, students meet in their Jigsaw Groups (1 A, 1 B, 1 C, etc) where they share with their new group members the information acquired in their Expert Groups. The Jigsaw Group is charged with answering a question or completing a task that requires knowledge and engagement with material from all of the Expert Groups.
Gallery Walk/Carousel
Purpose: Encourages students to make observations, draw conclusions, and spark conversation.
Summary: Students move around the room responding to text, images, quotes, artifacts, or questions.
Variations: In a gallery walk, students may respond in any order and move freely, usually with a limit (ie; respond to at least 3 pieces). A carousel offers a more structured variation, where all students stay at one prompt/station for a set time and everyone moves to the next station in unison. Gallery walks are an excellent way for students to present information in a quick, low stakes manner; set half the class up with their presentation or work, and have the other half of the class do the gallery walk. Switch walkers/presenters halfway through class.
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Continuum/4 Corners
Purpose: Students take a stance on an issue while getting up and moving around the classroom.
Summary: The teacher posts “Strongly Agree” and “Strongly Disagree” signs in the classroom. The teacher poses a prompt to students, and they respond by forming a continuum of thought on that prompt. Students are asked to share why they have the opinion they do, sharing evidence and reasoning. As students share answers, others may move up or down the line as their thinking changes.
Variations: For topics that are not clear cut continuums, 4 corners is an appropriate variation (ie; “Which form of government is best: everyone makes decisions, one person makes decisions, a few people make decisions, no one makes decisions). For historical/political topics with a clear two sides to the spectrum (ie; high taxes/many services v low takes/few services) the continuum could be labeled as such.
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