Contextualization Instructional Strategy
Contextualization- Social Studies Instructional Strategy
Context Matters
Would it be to understand a friend who ignores you if you knew they lost their phone? That's context. Context is vital in understanding the world around us, and can change our view of situations. The more context we have, the better we can navigate our world and empathize with people around us. Contextualization is important in our daily lives and in our understanding of history. As we study social sciences, we must ask about the economic, social, cultural, and political atmosphere of that time and place.
Contextualization also helps avoid presentism- seeing things in the past through the lens of today.
Contextualization- the process of considering something in relation to the situation in which it happens or exists.
Steps to Contextualization
Ask a question and note the historical event, process. person, or source being studied.
Time of the event
Identify important locations on the map
List of other events
Think about the culture of the time including governmental, political, economic, religious systems.
Categorize by placing a star by events that help explain the topic of study.
Add starred events to the timeline.
Synthesize this information by writing a paragraph by answering the guiding questions.
