Using the Resources

Embedded within the historical units are cycles of learning.  During a cycle of learning you will notice opportunities for students to interact each other as well as various types of text through writing, thinking, and discussions.  These activities progress in complexity to bring the students to a deep level of understanding of the topic as well as monitoring their own thinking. Purposeful talk, paraphrasing, visuals, and reflective writing support the students through this process. Note taking also plays a key part as it allows questioning and an expansion of ideas that advance through writing in the raw.  

Writing in the raw is a strategy often used in Writing Project classrooms where students write in the moment focusing on recording thoughts and responding to text.  In essence, they track their thinking to define the information they are presented with and recognize how new information and perspectives on the topic instruct their own thinking.   This writing, or pen-to-page notetaking method, spirals throughout the units and provides the student with a solid foundation of their own writing to look back on and incorporate within their final work.  In essence, it creates student voice within the topic, and tracks the development of their historical understanding.  

Setting Up Conversations 

Teachers need to provide scaffolding for students before engaging in the types of conversations that arise when discussing the topics that arise during these lessons. Some questions to talk with students about are below. 

• What do we want our conversations to sound like?

  • Teach prompts for these conversations

    • “What did you mean when you mentioned ... ?”

    • “I agree and would add ... ”

    • “I agree when you say ... but disagree when you say ... ” “I disagree when you say ... because ...” 

• What do we want our conversations to look like? 

• What do we want our conversations to feel like?  

Sharing perspectives can be emotional. Sharing perspectives in history can also be emotional. Teachers need to provide structures for helping students process these moments. 

Resources: 

How to Start Academic Conversations

How can I structure academic conversations in the classroom to boost oral language development?

Academic Conversations Placemat

CHALLENGE ZERO-SUM THINKING

Sometimes students think that if one group of people benefits from a policy, program or attitude—particularly a group that has historically been disempowered—another group must be losing something. This type of thinking can lead to strong emotions. Students may not even realize that this is the root of their feelings, so it’s important to help students reframe zero-sum thinking, or the idea that any given situation must result in a winner and a loser. 

During the critical discussion, pause the conversation when you hear zero-sum thinking. Ask the student why they feel or believe that one group must lose if another benefits. Encourage them to consider situations in which zero-sum thinking won’t apply, and (if you can) stop the conversation long enough to discuss some of the possible effects of this kind of thinking.

If you’re planning your critical conversation in advance, think through some examples of mutually beneficial progress that apply to your critical topic (e.g., be prepared to provide examples of ways diversity can make a city better or how equal access to education improves schools). Introducing specific examples is a particularly effective way of challeng- ing this kind of oversimplification.

Remind students that the systems that benefit from and sustain inequality took a long time to build. These systems hurt all of us, but we can work together to end them.

These techniques can help you call students in, ensuring that your conversation continues rather than shutting down if emotions run high. To learn more strategies for calling in, see tolerance.org/calling-out 

Resources

Difficult Dialogues National Research Center