Historical Thinking

Historical Thinking Skills

5 Habits of Historical Thinking

Historical Thinking Video

http://teachinghistory.org/historical-thinking-intro

Why study history?

What questions do we ask of the past?

How do we know what happened in the past?

What sources are reliable?

Primary and Secondary Sources Sheet

Primary-v-Secondary-Source-Worksheet.pdf

Evaluating sources

EvaluatingSources1_11.pdf

Primary and Secondary sources help

http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/sources.html

Sam Smiley Historical Investigation

http://web.wm.edu/hsi/cases/smiley/smiley_student.htm

Social

Political

Economic

Cultural

Diplomacy

Geography

Specdg.pdf

Mass Migrations

Rise of Empires and Complex Societies

Long-distance Trade and Economic Systems

Missionary Religions and World Belief Systems

Warfare and Conflicts

Diffusion of Technology and Innovations

Biological Exchanges (Plant/ Animal/ Disease)

Environment (Climate/ Natural Resources)

Habits of Mind

Habits-of-Mind.pdf

_

 Historical significance: What and who should be remembered, researched and taught?

 Evidence and interpretation: Is the evidence credible and adequate to support the

conclusions reached?

 Continuity and change: How are lives and conditions alike over time and how have they

changed?

 Cause and consequence: Why did historical events happen the way they did and what are the

consequences?

 Historical perspective: What does past look like when viewed through lenses of the time?

 Ethical judgment: Is what happened right and fair?

Historical Thinking Skills__

http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/english-history-and-social-science/historical-thinking-skills

Overview of the Big Six

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr8/tns/tn1.pdf

Guideposts to Historical Significance

Guidepost 1

events, people, or developments have historical significance if they resulted in change. That is, they had deep consequences, for many people, over a long period of time.

Guidepost 2

events, people, or developments have historical significance if they are revealing. That is, they shed light on enduring or emerging issues in history or contemporary life.

Guidepost 3

Historical significance is constructed. That is, events, people, and developments meet the criteria for historical significance only when they are shown to occupy a meaningful place in a narrative.

Guidepost 4

Historical significance varies over time and from group to group.