reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that can … · (home place, crescent dragonwagon,...

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 460 046 SO 033 464

TITLE Building a History-Centered Curriculum for Kindergartenthrough Grade Four: Guidelines for Using Themes andSelecting Content. The Building a History Curriculum Series:Guides for Implementing the History Curriculum Recommendedby the Bradley Commission on History in Schools.

INSTITUTION National Council for History Education, Inc., Westlake, OH.ISBN ISBN-0-9704599-1-2PUB DATE 2002-00-00NOTE 53p.; For other guides in this series, see ED 422 238 and ED

421 387.AVAILABLE FROM National Council for History Education, 26915 Westwood Road,

Suite B-2, Westlake, OH 44145. Tel: 440-835-1776; Fax:440-835-1295; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site:http://www.history.org/nche.

PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Curriculum Design; Elementary Education; Historical

Interpretation; Historiography; History; *HistoryInstruction; Instructional Effectiveness; *Social Studies;*United States History; *Western Civilization; *WorldHistory

IDENTIFIERS Bradley Commission on History in Schools

ABSTRACTThe distinguished teachers and historians on the Bradley

Commission on History in Schools suggested the basic themes, narratives,topics, and questions essential to the study of United States history, ofWestern civilization, and of world history. This guide provides teachers,administrators, and parents with principles of selection and suggestions forepisodes in history to use as they talk to young children about times,places, and people in history. The guide presents a range of options fromwhich schools and teachers may choose for themselves. It is divided into twobroad parts: "Part One: Introduction" ("I. Guidelines for Planning K-4History Instruction in Schools: Aims and Approaches"; "II. Basic Principlesof Selection, and How To Use Them"; "III. Curricular Frameworks for EffectiveHistory Education K-12"); and "Part Two: Building a History-Centered K-4Curriculum" ("I. History in the Early Grades: What Is It and Why Study It?";"II. Vital Themes and Significant Questions To Be Carried throughout Patternsand across the Grades"; "III. Visualizing a History-Centered Curriculum forKindergarten through Grade Four"; "IV. History's Habits of Mind: Questionsacross All Four Course Patterns"; "V. Keys to Developing Historical Literacyat an Early Age: Children's Literature, Biography, Times Lines, PrimarySources"; "VI. Content and Questions within the Course Patterns"; "VII.History and Language Arts"; "VIII. History and Geography"; "IX. History andScience"; "X. A Sample One-Week Lesson Plan"; "XI. A Sampler of SuggestedResources"; "XII. Preparing To Implement This Guide"). (BT)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

Building a History-Centered.Curriculum for Kindergarten

throu h Grade Four

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS

BEEN GRANTED BY

We_et.

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

V

1INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

J. .

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or 'policy

National Council for History Education

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

AcknowledgmentsA booklet as relatively brief and yet comprehensive as this one, written over the past

two years by dedicated historians, teachers, and curriculum experts associated with theNational Council for History Education, owes special thanks to all who gave so generous-ly of their time and expertise to bring it forward into print. Special appreciation goes toClaudia Hoone (Indianapolis Public School #58), classroom teacher and Bradley Commis-sioner, who prepared the initial draft and succeeding revisions, and is credited with thephotos. Thanks also goes to our NCHE Advisory Council members: Rodney Atkinson(California Department of Education), John Burns (California Department of Education),Dennis Denenberg (Millersville University of Pennsylvania), Jo Ann Fox (CumberlandRoad Elementary School, Indianapolis), Paul Gagnon (Boston University), Joy Hakim (Vir-ginia Beach), Byron Hollinshead (American Historical Publications), Amanda Podany(California State Polytechnic University, Pomona), Annette (Nancy) Taylor (Slate HillSchool, Worthington), Nancy Wolfe (Indiana Historical Society), Joseph P. Ribar (NCHECommunications Coordinator), and Elaine Wrisley Reed (NCHE Executive Director), fortheir insights and assistance.

Our thanks to photographer Claudia Hoone and to the following students and theirparents for allowing us to use their photos with this booklet: Kyndal Greig (Cover and pg.43); Kenneth Hendrickson (Cover and pg. 44); Marquita Jackson (Cover and pg. 43); LeahHole (Cover and pg. 15); Dreana Thomas (Cover and pg. 44); and Jordan Venis (Cover andpg. 15).

We are deeply grateful as well to our Anonymous Donor, and the members of NCHE,whose financial support made possible the research and development for this importantendeavor.

The Board of Trustees and Staff of the National Council for History Education

NCHE is governed by a Board of Trustees who contribute their time and expertise be-cause they believe that history education is essential to the future of the country.

TrusteesSpencer R. CrewChairSmithsonian National Museum of AmericanHistory Behring Center

Drew Gilpin FaustVice ChairRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, HarvardUniversity

Betty Barclay FranksVice ChairMaple Heights High School (OH)

Byron HollinsheadVice ChairAmerican Historical Publications

Mary BicouvarisChristopher Newport University (VA)

Eric FonerColumbia University

Paul GagnonBoston University

Joy HakimAuthor

Kenneth T. JacksonPast ChairColumbia University

Henry G. KiernanWest Morris Regional High School District (NJ)

Phyllis M. KrutschRegent, University of Wisconsin System

Bruce LeshFranklin High School (MD)

David McCulloughAuthor

Gary B. NashUniversity of California, Los Angeles

Mary Beth NortonCornell University

James A. PercocoWest Springfield High School (VA)

Theodore K. RabbPast ChairPrinceton University

Annette (Nancy) TaylorSt. Michael Elementary School (OH)

Jacqueline ThornhillBradley Elementary School (CA)

Gordon S. WoodBrawn University

Mitch YamasakiChaminade University, Honolulu

LiaisonsLeon FinkThe American Historical Association

Lesley HerrmannThe Gilder Lehrman Institute

James 0. HortonOrganization of American Historians

Libby Haight O'ConnellThe History Channel

William E. WhiteColonial Williamsburg Foundation

OfficersElaine Wrisley ReedExecutive Director

Allan L. DamonSecretary/Treasurer

Building a History-CenteredCurriculum for Kindergarten

through Grade FourGuidelines for Using Themes and Selecting Content

The Building A History Curriculum Series:Guides for Implementing the History Curriculum

Recommended by the Bradley Commission on History in Schools

Copyright © 2002 by National Council for History Education, Inc.All Rights ReservedISBN: 0-9704599-1-2

Prepared by the National Council for History Education

Foreword:Starting a Day in the Classroom...

The bell rings. A multitude of footsteps thunder up the stairs andinto my second floor classroom. The day begins.

Good morning students and teachers. This is your principal. We have severalimportant announcements to...

At the pencil sharpener, Jakob is grinding away at twenty-four newcolored pencils, while a line of complaining children forms behind him,fuming through the multi-colored shavings. A bus driver arrives at myclassroom door to let me know about a fight that broke out at the busstop. Amber's mother stops by to complain that she or rather Amber

needs more time on the homework. Sherita and Amanda are in thecoatroom arguing about which plastic coat bag (lice protection) belongsto which girl.

I pledge allegiance...

Chris dumps his whole box of crayons. The librarian sends a messagethat she is searching for missing books. The social worker steps in to ver-ify Jasmine's absence excuse. Russell tells me that he lost his field trippermission slip for the third time. I write myself a note to make morecopies. Tieara bumps Jaleel's clay turtle and breaks it.

Children! Turn this way! I'm going to begin our day with a story.

Every year, these daffodils come up. There is no house near them.There is not even anyone to see them. But once someone lived here. Howcan you tell?

My chaotic roomful of characters begins to transform. Their attentionis being directed by the narrative away from the urgent mundane.

Look. A chimney, made of stone, back there, half-standing yet,though the honeysuckle's grown around it there must have been ahouse there.

Now curious, the children are visualizing perhaps an old house theyhave seen somewhere, or are creating a new image to fit this story.

And if there was a house, there was a family. Dig in the dirt, scratchdeep, and what do you find?

(Home Place, Crescent Dragonwagon, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Aladdin Books, Macmillan Pub-lishing Co., 1990)

My early morning rowdies have totally disappeared now, and I amsharing thoughts and passages with fledgling archeologists unskilled,yet focused and purposeful, leaning toward me, needing to hear more,imagining the past, and relating the past to their present...

52

ContentsPart One: Introduction

I. Guidelines for Planning K-4 History Instruction in Schools:Aims and Approaches 4

II. The Basic Principles of Selection, and How to Use Them 6A. Preparing the Citizen and Cultivating the Person 6B. Exploring Vital Unifying Themes and Narratives of Human

Experience 7C. Developing Historical Habits of the Mind 8D. Integrating History, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities 9E. Using Principles of Selection 9

III. Curricular Frameworks for Effective History Education K-12 10A. Planning a Workable Curriculum 10B. Alternative Course Patterns, K-12 10

1. The Early Grades 102. Middle and High School 12

C. K-12 Collaboration as Imperative 13D. Designing Teachable Units 13

Part Two: Building a History-Centered K-4 Curriculum 15I. History in the Early Grades: What Is It and Why Study It? 16II. Vital Themes and Significant Questions to Be Carried

Throughout Patterns and Across the Grades 18III. Visualizing a History-Centered Curriculum for Kindergarten

Through Grade Four 19IV. History's Habits of Mind: Questions Across All Four Course

Patterns 20V. Keys to Developing Historical Literacy at an Early Age:

Children's Literature, Biography, Time Lines, Primary Sources 21VI. Content and Questions Within the Course Patterns 25

Pattern A 25Pattern B 28Pattern C 32Pattern D 36

VII. History and Language Arts 39VIII. History and Geography 41IX. History and Science 42X. A Sample One-Week Lesson Plan 43XI. A Sampler of Suggested Resources

A. For K-4 Students 45B. For K-4 Teachers 47C. Web-sites 48

XII. Preparing To Implement This Guide Inside Back Cover

Other booklets in this series:Building a World History Curriculum (1998)

Building a United States History Curriculum (1997)Building a History Curriculum (2nd Edition 2000; ISBN: 0-9704599-0-4)

For ordering information contact:National Council for History Education

26915 Westwood Rd., Suite B-2Westlake, OH 44145

Phone: 440-835-1776 FAX: 440-835-1295 email: [email protected] <http://www.history.org/nche>

3

Part One: Introduction National Council for History Education

I. Guidelines for Planning K-4 History Instruction:Aims and Approaches

I ask you my children...what did you learn today? Did anyone teach you how to meettomorrow? What did you learn about what happened before you were born to cause people to

behave as they do? What did you learn today?

At an early age, children possess a rav-enous curiosity, and an ability to constructmeaning by piecing together the puzzlesthey encounter daily. They are ripe forlearning. Educators recognize this "primetime" opportunity by providing serious,rich learning experiences in areas such aslanguage acquisition, mathematical ma-nipulations, and sometimes the arts. Yetelementary history instruction often re-sembles a watered-down brew that fills,but does not nourish. Young children arecapable of significant mental effort as theywork with history concepts. Early historyeducation should be not only cut-and-paste American flags, but also the story ofour country's beginnings; not only drumsand feathers, but also rich legends and folktales from Native American cultures; notonly "my neighborhood," but also local ar-chitectural evidence of the past.

But, how do I create tantalizing history les-sons that are rigorous and, at the same time,age-appropriate?

How shall I put my own lessons together?How can I select what is most important for meto teach?

How can our school district organize its his-tory curriculum as a coherent sequence ofcourses, Kindergarten through high school?

Questions like these pour in to the Na-tional Council for History Education. Inthe face of so many sets of "standards"the national history standards and their re-vised versions, the standards and cur-ricular frameworks written by states, thestandards embedded in best-selling text-bookshow are teachers and curriculumteams to select the most vital content, andhow is content to be apportioned acrossthe grades of elementary, middle, and sec-ondary schools? The following guidelinesare both specific and flexible, to help teach-ers and school districts answer these ques-tions in their own ways.

4

AnonymousWho We Are: The National Council for

History Education (NCHE) is the suc-cessor organization to the Bradley Com-mission on History in Schools. In 1988, theCommission's report, Building a HistoryCurriculum: Guidelines for TeachingHistory in Schools, marked a turning-point in the national debate over the quan-tity and quality of history that should betaught in every school, and to all students.In effect, the report presented the first setof national content standards for historyinstruction, K-12. The distinguished teach-ers and historians on the Commission sug-gested the basic themes, narratives, topics,and questions essential to the study ofUnited States history, of Western civiliza-tion, and of World history. And they add-ed the "habits of the mind" that suchstudy would develop in the young.

Our Purpose: Our object is to helpteachers at all grade levels to put the rec-ommendations of Building a History Cur-riculum into practice. The National Coun-cil for History Education believes thatthose essentials, questions, and ways ofcritical thought are more important nowthan ever. But something more than mererepetition is necessary. Many teachers andschool officials, having decided to use theoriginal Guidelines, have asked the Coun-cil's help to implement them. Our case-by-case response can no longer meet the de-mand. Thus this "second generation" ofguidelines builds upon and extends ourwork and that of the Bradley Commission.

7


Guidelines for Planning K-4 History Instruction: Aims and Approaches(continued)

Our Booklets: Under the ever-presentconstraints of time, how can history les-sons be both engaging and substantive?What should be selected for emphasis?When is less really more? When is moreneeded to teach what is most vital, andwhen is more too much? Our booldets,created by experienced learning specialists,offer an NCHE response to the urgentquestions of teachers and of curriculumcommittees at local, district, and state lev-els. And because the education and pro-fessional development of teachers in bothcontent and methods must be at the verycenter of school improvement, these book-lets will also inform all of those in Amer-ican colleges and universities, in localschool districts, and in state departmentsof education who are responsible for teach-er preparation.

Options: We do not prescribe any "onebest way" to teach history. Instead, wepresent a range of options from whichschools and teachers may choose for them-selves. Furthermore, each option can easi-ly be refined and adapted to local circum-stances. And beyond these booklets, theNational Council for History Education al-ways stands ready to work directly withteachers, schools, districts, and states asthey pursue their own ways to improvethe quality, and pleasures, of history in-struction.

National Council for History Education Part One: Introduction

II. The Basic Principles of Selection,and How to Use Them

The basic principles of selection arise from the reasons to study history. These principlesprovide the rationale which will empower educators as they determine "the end and theaim of it all." No one can raise the quality of historical instruction, or find pleasure in it,without selecting from the endless store of facts, dates, events, ideas, and personalitiesthat confront both teacher and student. Some must be chosen and most left out. How todecide? What is important enough to deserve the label "essential content"? No twoscholars, no two teachers, and no two students will agree on a common list. In this re-gard, we are all our own historians. But if we are to teach and learn, or even talk witheach other, we need to find a common ground on which to meet. To resolve this chal-lenging task, we must answer these questions. Why study history? What themes and nar-ratives are vital to understanding the human experience? What habits of mind must bedeveloped to insure deep historical understanding? How can history be successfully in-tegrated into the social sciences and the humanities? What are the best ways to apply theprinciples of selection?

A. Preparing the Citizen and Cultivating the PersonThe first step in seeking common prin-

ciples of selection is to ask why we studyhistory, why young people need to acquirehistorical sophistication. The most com-mon answer to why is the same as it wasin the minds of the Republic's 18th centuryfounders: to nourish the social and polit-ical intelligence and thus the power ofthe citizen. Without historical perspective,we cannot know who we are, why wethink the way we do, or how we got here.A century ago, the Committee of Ten pro-claimed that all students, whether or notthey were bound for college, needed sever-al years to study the American past andthat of the rest of the world. Knowing his-tory, they said, prepared people to exert a"salutary influence" upon the nation's af-fairs because it best promoted "the in-valuable mental power which we call thejudgment."

For Americans of the 21st century, thisis answer enough to serve as a first prin-ciple of selection. Making democracywork is the most demanding of the polit-ical arts because it requires that the peopleunderstand their society's choices and areable to judge their leaders. As we selectwhat to teach and what to leave out, wemust ask an unavoidable question: Whatare the most vital things people need to knowabout past politics, economics, culture, and so-cial life in order to practice the profession of cit-izen?

6

As demanding as civic education is, thestudy of history has an even more basicrole: to cultivate the spirit and furnish themind of the individual for self-knowledgeand self-respect. This private workwhich history shares with the humanitiesis fundamental to preparing the public cit-izen. Only people who know themselves,their moment in history, and their share inthe human condition, are able to governthemselves and a free society with wisdomand courage. And, in turn, only in a freesociety can people pursue lives of dignity,moral choice, and personal fulfillment.Another unavoidable principle of selectionarises: What lives, works, and ideas from thepast best nourish the individual mind and spir-it?

The interwoven public and private pur-poses of studying history can help us to se-lect compelling episodes, personalities,and ideas from the never-ending choicesbefore us. This booklet explores severalways to look at the problems of choice thatare special to the K-4 history program.

9


B. Exploring Vital Unifying Themes and Narratives of HumanExperience

Another principle of selection, then, is to choose particulars that most dramatically il-lustrate universal historical themes. That they may "comprehend the forces for changeand continuity that have shapedand will continue to shapehuman life," the BradleyCommission said, students should pursue overarching themes and narratives out of theentire human past across the globe. These appear in full on pages ten and eleven of Build-ing a History Curriculum:

Civilization, culturaldiffusion, andinnovationthe evolution

of human skills and the understanding ofnature and people; the cultural floweringof major civilizations in the arts, literature,and thought.

Human interaction withthe environmentthe re-lationship between geography

and technology and the effects of each oneconomic, social, and political develop-ments. The choices made possible, or limit-ed, by climate, resources, and location,and the consequences of such choices.

Values, beliefs, polit-ical ideas, and in-stitutions the basic prin-

ciples of influential religions, philosophiesand ideologies. The interplay among ide-as, moral values, and leadership, especial-ly in the evolution of democratic in-stitutions. The tensions between freedomand security, liberty and equality, di-versity and commonality in human affairs.

7

Conflict and coop-eration the causes of warand the approaches to peace,

and the human consequences of both. Therelations between domestic affairs and for-eign policy. Choices made between inter-national conflict and cooperation, isolationand interdependence.

Comparative history ofmajor developmentsthe forces for revolution, re-

action, and reform across time. Imperi-alism, ancient and modern. Comparativeinstances of slavery and emancipation,feudalism and central government, ec-onomic expansion and penury, growth ofcities and their characteristics.

A Patterns of social andpolitical interactionchange and continuity of class,ethnic, racial, and gender

structure and relations. Migration, im-migration, forces for social mobility andimmobility. The conditions and aspirationsof common people, and those of elites, andtheir effects upon political power and in-stitutions.

1 0


C. Developing Historical Habits ofMind

Thoughtful judgment is a principal aimof historical study. To achieve that aim, his-tory instruction must be designed in such away as to take students well beyond the for-mal skills of critical thinking, and to helpthem develop History's Habits of Mind. (Theinsights, perspectives, and understandingsmeant by that now commonly-used term canbe found on page nine of the report pub-lished by the Bradley Commission on His-tory in Schools.)

Significant historical understanding de-mands that students develop historical com-prehension, and that they be able to analyzeand interpret historical stories and evidence.Habits can be developed by the kinds ofquestions teachers frame (see page 20) anduse over and over with each historical epi-sode the class considers. It must be re-membered, however, that these habits acton, and support, one another.

When considering a situation, historicalor otherwise, we hope to develop studentswho habitually try to:

distinguish between the important andthe inconsequential, to develop the "dis-criminating memory" needed for a dis-cerning judgment in public and personallife. Treat the trivial as trivial, the significantas significant, and establish your priorities.perceive past events and issues as theywere experienced by people at the time,to develop historical empathy as opposedto present-mindedness. See the worldthrough another person's eyes. If you walk inanother person's shoes you begin to under-stand that person.understand how things happen and howthings change, how human intentionsmatter, but also how their consequencesare shaped by the means of carrying themout, in a tangle of purpose and process.Understand that one must study why andhow things happen and that the means affectsthe end. A house built brick by brick meansthat the ones on top are dependent on the onesbelow.

comprehend the interplay of change andcontinuity, and avoid assuming that ei-ther is somehow more natural, or more tobe expected, than the other. Understandthat there are reasons why things change andwhy they stay the same. Further, sometimesthings are unpredictable.

8

understand the relationship between ge-ography and history as a matrix of timeand place, and as context for events. Knowthat events happen at places, and places affecthow things happen.read widely and critically in order to rec-ognize the difference between fact andconjecture, between evidence and asser-tion, and thereby to frame useful ques-tions. Read good books, distinguish betweenfact and opinion, and raise questions aboutmeaning.understand the significance of the past totheir own lives, both private and public,and to their society. Know that we are whowe are because of those who came before us.acquire at one and the same time a com-prehension of diverse cultures and ofshared humanity. Recognize that eventhough we are all different, we are more alikethan different.prepare to live with uncertainties and ex-asperating, even perilous, unfinishedbusiness, realizing that not all problemshave solutions. Struggle to acquire the cou-rage to change. "...grant me the serenity toaccept the things I cannot change, courage tochange the things I can, and the wisdom toknow the difference."grasp the complexity of historical causa-tion, respect particularity, and avoid ex-cessively abstract generalizations. Knowthat there is no one single cause of history.Historical events usually happen because ofimmediate, intermediate, and long range caus-es. All are important and no one of them isthe cause of an event.appreciate the often tentative nature ofjudgments about the past, and therebyavoid the temptation to seize upon par-ticular "lessons" of history as cures forpresent ills. Do not believe everything youhear. People do make mistakes. Do not as-sume that a historical analogy is valid. Cau-sality is complex.recognize the importance of individualswho have made a difference in history,and the significance of personal characterfor both good and ill. Believe that people domake a difference,appreciate the force of the nonrational,the irrational, the accidental, in historyand human affairs. Recognize that some-times it is just an accident that makes some-thing happen a certain way. Everything thathappens is not predestined, planned, or a nat-ural development.

ii


D. Integrating History, the SocialSciences, and the Humanities

From the mountains of historical data, whichepisodes, personalities, ideas, and creations wouldmost effectively serve the integration of historywith the other social studies content areas?

Careful selection of materialwhat staysin and what is left outis important to everyclassroom. An added principle of selectionemerges when we consider that the study ofhistory is indispensable to an ordered viewof the natural sciences, the social sciences,and the humanities. In this sense, history isthe generative subject, through which stu-dents gain understanding of, and respect for,human accomplishments in all fields of en-deavor and creativity.

History is inclusive, not exclusive. His-tory is taught, and learned, in an authenticway only when the other social studies con-tent areas are routinely integrated into his-tory lessons. Geography, economics, civics,sociology, anthropology, political science,the arts, literature, and philosophy all mustbe present, and richly represented, in anymeaningful history curriculum. Of the oth-er academic subjects within the social stud-ies, geography is by nature the constant com-panion of historical studies; it is hardlypossible to grasp the one without the other.History and civics have had a traditional andnecessary relation in every world civilizationfrom the beginning. Beyond these twowhich are taught together with history innearly every other advanced societyareother subjects essential to a liberal education.For example, what particulars of economichistory and geography would most mem-orably teach the central theories of econom-ics? What social or ethnic or family historywould best help students master the insightsof sociology and anthropology? What polit-ical, military, or diplomatic history woulddramatize the concepts of political science?What aspects of cultural, religious, and in-tellectual history would best nourish studentunderstanding of the arts, literature, and phi-losophy? And, in turn, what works of art,literature, and thought would help light thestudent's path through the historical nar-rative?

Social studies at the K-4 level should bean engaging blend of all these disciplines, or-ganized around a history core. Further, the

history-centered social studies describedhere has the power to draw the other ele-mentary subject areas into a well-organizedwhole, as is developed in Part Two.

E. Using Principles of SelectionThe responsibility for deciding what to

teach in a history-centered K4 program restswith local schools and teachers. From thevast array of historical material available,which details should be selected to meet theK-4 goals for history education? Our guide-lines cannot fully answer that question; itwould require several volumes to do so,even if someone were to claim the necessaryauthority. However, in Part Two of thisbooklet, we do suggest certain personalities,episodes, turning points, ideas, institutions,and creative works that give life to essentialhistorical themes, questions, and topics inways that are engaging and historically sig-nificant.

Schools and teachers will find othersources from which to choose detail: fromthe better textbooks, from historical and gen-eral encyclopedia, from monographs and bi-ographies suggested in the brief bib-liographies we include in Part Two. Butwhichever source is consulted, two funda-mental principles of selection should be ap-plied. First, whatever detail is chosen shoulddirectly serve the purposes of historicalstudy outlined above and more effectivelythan other choices would have. Second, theyshould directly relate to the central themes,questions, and patterns being offered, asthese are presented in Part Two of thisguidelines booklet.

The Bradley Commission recommended ahistory curriculum featuring history-centered social studies in the elementarygrades and four years in formal study ofUnited States history, Western civilization,and World history in the middle and uppersecondary grades:

The Commission regards such time as in-dispensable to convey the three kinds of historicalreality all citizens need to confront:

American history to tell us who we are and whowe are becoming;the history of Western civilization to reveal ourdemocratic political heritage;world history to acquaint us with the nationsand people with whom we share a common glo-bal destiny.

9 12


III. Curricular Frameworks ForEffective History Education K-12

A. Planning a WorkableCurriculum

All that has been said so far may seemto demand yet another overlong parade ofone-thing-after-another, just as impossiblefor teachers to manage as bloated text-books or overloaded curriculum frame-works, or lists of "outcomes" handeddown from authorities remote from theclassroom. But this need not be so. NCHEmembers have found that a constant focuson the purposes of historical study and onsensible principles of selection allow themto design curricula and courses that en-gage children and adolescents in soundlearningand at the same time actuallywiden the leeway for teachers to exercisetheir own imaginations. All this, providedtheir school districts allow them certainconditions:

curriculum-planning is carried out for allgrades, K-12, at the same time, with theinvolvement of all teachers concerned, toavoid both gaps and unneeded repeti-tions.

curriculum planning is done by a con-tinuous collaboration of equalsteachers, scholars, and learning special-istseducating each other along theway.

the curricular time assigned for historicalstudies resembles that recommended bythe Bradley Commission, that is, fouryears for history courses among the sixyears spanning grades seven throughtwelve, and history-centered social stud-ies in grades K-6.

planners are given the considerable timeand resources it requires to craft an or-dered sequence of studies knit togetherby a number of continuing themes andquestions.

B. Alternative Course Patterns, K-12Each of the following patterns is one ex-

ample of a workable sequence of historycourses. Each assumes an age-appropriatetreatment of topics covered in the givengrade.

1. The Early Grades

For Grades Kindergarten to Six, thesuggested patterns are as follows:

Elementary Pattern AGrade Course

K-4 History-centered Social StudiesChildren of Other Lands andTimes

1 Families Now and Long Ago2 Local History: Neighborhoods

and Communities3 Urban History: How Cities Be-

gan and Grew4 State History and Geography:

Continuity and Change5 National History and Geog-

raphy: Exploration to 18656 World History and Geography:

The Growth of Civilization

Pattern A is listed, not because it is high-ly recommended, but because some schoolsand state curriculum frameworks are mov-ing slowly away from an "expanding ho-rizons" approach by modifying it to includehistory. Pattern A shows how teachers whoare compelled to use that kind of frame-work can still do history at the same time.

Pattern A is a highly modified version ofthe expanding horizons approach, in whichthe topic of "children" is modified to in-clude "other lands and times." Familystudy includes family history and familylife in such periods as colonial times. Com-munity study is changed to focus on localhistory. A traditional study of present-daybig cities is changed rather dramatically toinclude the stories of how such cities asNew York, London, Paris, Mexico City, Beij-ing, or Washington, DC, began and whythey grew where they did. Grade Four re-tains its focus on the state, but includesmuch more on state history, as opposed tomerely a present-day view.

Teachers who use Pattern A report thereis a great deal of historical content that canbe accomplished herethough they hopeto move further toward more history-centered patterns such as C or D (see nextpage). For further reading on modifying anexpanding horizons approach to include in-depth historical studies in Grades K-4, con-sult programs of The Galef Institute: Differ-ent Ways of Knowing (Los Angeles, CA).

13


Elementary Pattern BGrade Course

K-4 History-centered Social StudiesLearning and Working Nowand Long Ago

1 A Child's Place in Time andSpace

2 People Who Make a Difference3 Continuity and Change: Local

and National History4 A Changing State

5 United States History andGeography: Making a NewNation

6 World History and Geography:Ancient Civilizations

A somewhat different modification of"expanding horizons," this pattern is elab-orated upon in such course descriptions asthose found in The California History-Social Science Framework. In each year ofthe primary grades, the course follows a"here, there, then" approach: a first unit ofstudy focuses on social skills, re-sponsibilities, character education, andsimple civics, often with the classroom it-self as the reference point (here); a secondunit makes forays into the world of neigh-borhood and community, with an empha-sis on geography and economics (there);and a final unit takes students back in timethrough stories, biographies, the study ofheroes (then). Major studies for second andthird grades include family history, localhistory, and our nation's history throughstories, songs, landmarks, and mottoes.Fourth grade integrates history, geog-raphy, civics, and economics in a full-yearstudy of state history. The 5th grade U. S.history course stresses the very earliest pe-riods, to about 1850. It may form part of athree-year sequence, to be followed by an8th grade course from 1850 to 1900 or 1914,again leaving the 20th century to 11thgrade.

Here the 6th grade World historycourse would focus on the ancient world,from human origins through the fall of theHan and Roman empires. Pattern C atGrades 7-12 (see page 1_3) is logically builtupon this Pattern, with World history afterthe ancient period being taught in Grades 9and 10.

GradeK-4

1

2

3

4

Elementary Pattern CCourseHistory-centered Social StudiesChildren's Adventures: LongAgo and Far AwayPeople Who Made AmericaTraditions, Monuments, andCelebrationsInventors, Innovators, andImmigrantsHeroes, Folk Tales, andLegends of the World

5 Biographies and Documents inAmerican History

6 Biographies and Documents inWorld History

This pattern offers a wide choice of pe-riods, persons, and institutions to be pre-sented, and they are drawn from bothWorld and American history settings. Itworks best in curriculum frameworks thatbegin chronological, narrative history onlyin the 7th grade or above. Again, in boththe American and World history courses inGrades 5 and 6, it would be to the benefitof all concerned if the choices of biog-raphies and documents were made in col-laboration with teachers of the middle andhigh school courses in each field.

Elementary Pattern DGrade Course

K-4 History-centered Social StudiesOur World and Our Country

1 First Civilizations, and Intro-duction to Our Country (Part I)

2 Early Civilizations, and Intro-duction to Our Country (Part II)

3 More Early Civilizations, andOur Country's Beginnings

4 World History, and OurCountry's Foundations

5 World History, and OurCountry: Growth and Conflict

6 Western Civilization, and OurCountry: Turmoil and Progress

Here, none of the usual trappings of the"expanding horizons" approach are ev-ident. Even family and local history are setaside in favor of content more pre-eminentand widely shared: World and U.S. His-tory and geography. At grades K-6, unitsfor both World and U.S. history are taughteach year; at Grades 7 and 8, World andU.S. history are integrated.

1 4


If U.S. and world history topics are re-peated at some grade levels, curriculumleaders must give careful thought to the"spiral" of content. Students' depth of un-derstanding should increase over thegrades. As children move into inter-mediate grades, any spiral approachshould give way to the chronological pres-entation of history. A resource for ex-amples is the Core Knowledge Sequence:Content Guidelines for Grades K-8 (Char-lettesvile, VA).

Starting Important Questions Early

In each of the patterns above, majorcontinuing historical strands and questionscan well be introduced in the K-4 study ofhistorical figures, myths, legends, stories,biography, and literature. Young childrenare perfectly capable of posing questionsabout different spheres of human life, andfinding answers in their studies of the past.

What have different peoples believedabout right and wrong, about fairness andinjustice, about honor and shame? In whatdifferent ways have they defined heroism,and how have ideas of the heroic changedover time? How have different people andtimes defined what is beautiful in the arts,in architecture and decoration, or in dressand behavior? What changes in technologyand economics have helped people andwhich have hurt? Which have done both,and why?

Such questions already preoccupy agreat many young children. K-4 studentscan be introduced to ideas and conditionswhich have advanced the worldwidestruggle for peace, justice, and liberty, andwhich have slowed or opposed it. Theycan seek to know what people, famous andnot so famous, have struggled to broadenpolitical democracy and equal rights forAmericans.

As suggested earlier, the same can besaid for early developmenfof historical"Habits of the Mind." Although ele-mentary teachers will not expect studentsto "grasp the complexity of historical caus-ation," they can, however, lead students to"recognize the importance of individualswho have made a difference in history,and the significance of personal characterfor both good and ill." Indeed, good and

bad characters have already filled theirfirst nursery rhymes and picture books.And in the earliest grades, myths, legends,biographies, and stories have helped them"acquire at one and the same time a com-prehension of diverse cultures and ofshared humanity." Themes, questions, andhabits of thought will be developed withincreasing nuance and sophistication as thegrades proceed, but the very young al-ready find many of them compelling, pre-cisely because they are in fact significantfor us at all ages. We find many of thesame insights in Aesop that we later find inConfucius and Aristotle, Shakespeare, Aus-ten, and Camus.

2. Middle and High School

The suggested course patterns forgrades 7 through 12 are listed below. Theyare included in the K-4 guidelines to en-courage a dialogue among elementary,middle, and high school teachers. A col-laborative effort across all grades is es-sential in creating a thorough history pro-gram, free of redundancy.

Middle/High School Pattern A

Grade Course

7 Regional and neighborhoodhistory and geography

8 U.S. history and geography

9 History of Western civilization

10 World history and geography

11 U.S. history and geography

12 American government; socialstudies elective

Middle/High School Pattern B

Grade Course

7 Social studies elective; local his-tory

8 U. S. history and geography

9 World and Western history to1789

10 World and Western history since1789

11 U. S. history and geography


12 15


Middle/High School Pattern C

Grade Course

7 World history and geography to1789

8 U.S. history and geography to1914

9 Social studies electives

10 World history, culture, andgeography since 1789

11 U.S. history and geography, 20thcentury


Middle/High School Pattern D

Grade Course7 Social studies electives; local

history

8 History of European civilization

9 History of non-Europeancivilizations

10 U. S. history and geography to1865

11 U. S. history and geography since1865


* Note that this pattern is not intended to build uponPattern D for K-6 on p. 11.

C. K-12 Collaboration As Imper-ative

Again, it shoulf be stressed that there isno sense whatever in segregating cur-ricular and course planning into differentboxes called "elementary," "middleschool," and "high school." The NationalCouncil for History Education remainsdeeply concerned over the reluctance ofschool officials and teachers to abandonseparatist habits that almost guaranteewaste as well as the numberless dis-continuities and repetitions still character-istic of American schools. Designing cur-riculum frameworks and courses does nothave to be burdensome. Separatism makesdifficult, and often futile, what should be

easy and mutually educational.

Indeed, there are vital pieces of cur-ricular and course design that cannot bedevised at all without cross-grade col-laboration. One example is crafting thosehistorical strands and questions that, atdifferent levels of sophistication, ought tobe carried from the early grades throughhigh school. Another, evident from thepatterns suggested above, is the sensibleapportionment of major topics across thegrades. Yet another is finally to free teach-ers from the burdens of not knowing whattheir students have been exposed to in ear-lier grades or what they will be expected toknow in later grades. Still other pieces ofcurriculum design that require collabora-tion are reflected in most of the twelvequestions and criteria on teachable coursespresented below.

D. Designing Teachable UnitsThere are a number of significant ques-

tions that the collaborative teams of teach-ers, scholars, and learning specialistsshould ask themselves as they shape theorder, the structure, and the content ofcurriculum, grade by grade. These ques-tions and criteria, rewritten here for K-4,are to be found on pages twenty-two andtwenty-three of Building a History Cur-riculum.

1. Are the aims and structures of all unitsreadily explainable to students? Is therea good answer to their common ques-tion: "What am I supposed to be gettingout of this?"

2. Does each unit begin with a lesson onwhy study history, and this sort of historyin particular? Does it allow time for free-swinging exchange on the blunt question:"So what?"

3. Are the proposedand promisedlesson, unit, and yearlong curriculumgoals likely to be achieved in the timeavailable?

16


4. Has the notion that "less is more" beenconsidered, as themes, topics, and ques-tions are selected? The amount of time re-quired to achieve student engagementand genuine comprehension of significantissues will necessitate leaving out muchthat is "covered" by the usual text.

5. Has the selection of what to teach con-sidered the content taught in earliergrades, and the likely content studentswill study in the future? Has it consideredwhat students of different backgroundsmay be bringing to each lesson?

6. Does each unit include particular topicsand materials that explicitly relate its sub-stance to history units that precede andfollow it?

7. If more than one grade level exploresthe same topic, era, or geographic loca-tion, are the lessons properly designed toavoid repetition, to be markedly differentin style and emphases? Has the depth andsophistication of topic treatment beenconsidered?

8. If different historical eras are stressedand taught at different grade levels, dothe various grade level plans includeneeded reviews and continuing, unifyingthemes and questions?

14

9. Are there plans to explain to studentswhat is being left out of each unit ofstudy, and why? Again, given the natureof most textbooks, some good explanationwill be necessaryand can itself be high-ly engaging and instructive.

10. Has the selection of what to teach alsobeen made with regard for nourishing thelarger perspectives and habits of criticaljudgment that history helps to teach?

11. Do the selected themes and topicslend themselves to teaching, and using,the relationships between history and bi-ography, history and geography, historyand the social sciences, history and thehumanities?

12. Has it been decided beforehand, atleast tentatively, which topics may beworth extended treatment, perhaps over aweek or so, and which may be done morebriefly? Which may lend themselves to"active learning" projects? Which couldmost effectively be taught by use of pri-mary sources?

17

National Council for History Education Part Two: Building A History-Centered K-4 Curriculum

Part Two:Building A History-Centered

K-4 CurriculumThe following sections present our recommendations on central themes particular to

history in the Early Grades, and some of the significant questions and topics for its studyacross the grades. There are also elaborations on the course patterns, as well as sugges-tions for involving students in the exploration of history's compelling content. Most sig-nificant for K-4 teachers, we describe techniques for meeting goals of other content areasthrough the study of history. These sections offer guidelines, not commandments. Fromthem, elementary teachers will design their own ways to engage and educate their youngstudents.

1518

Part Two: Building A History-Centered K-4 Curriculum National Council for History Education

I. History in the Early Grades:What Is It and Why Study It?

Classroom corners stale and pale!Classroom corners cobweb covered!

Classroom corners spooky and lonely!Teacher, let me dance in your classroom corners!

Let the outside world in!Albert Cullum, The Geranium On TheWindow Ledge just Died, But Teacher

You Went Right On (Harlin Quist)

Curious! Eager! Open! Students in theearly grades come to school with highexpectations. They long to discover the"whats" and "whys," as they reach to makeconnections between themselves and thekaleidoscopic world around them. Our jobas educators is to nourish the growth ofthose connections. But, what tools workbest? We know for sure that students needto explore timely questions, to considerideas of others, and to listen well anddeeply. Powerful stories, both real and fic-tional, define people and places, now andlong ago. Almost all children respond tothose powerful stories. But, what storiesdo we tell? Teachers, who work so monu-mentally hard to make learning engagingand purposeful for their students, confrontbloated textbooks and a confounding arrayof standards. The educator standssquarely in the midst of this confusion,struggling to find a light that guides, anorganizing core. History, which has nearlydisappeared from many K-4 programs, isthe one content area around which allgoals of the early grades can be ordered.History can help us teach literature, writ-ing, science, numbers, the arts. And, morethan any other subject, history permits theteacher to respond to that curious, eager,open young mind; to "let the outside world

What: History in the early grades is ablend of content and method. It is thestudy of the past, and so much more. His-tory is a process of inquiry an engaginginvestigation. It is a dialogue with heroes,villains, and ordinary people of othertimes and places. History is also a creativeactivity, giving children material they canuse as they write their own stories andinvent their own art. When children hearand read about the past, they recognizecommonalities between historical eventsand the episodes of their own lives. They

16

begin to see that all of us have interestingstories, and each of us has a place in time.

During the first four decades of the20th century, the presence of history inlower grades needed no special defense orexplanation. Along with geography andcivic education, history was a recognizablepart of both traditional and Progressivecurricula. Early peoples, heroes, myths,biographies, poems, national holidays,fairy tales, and historical legends formedthe heart of K-4 history instruction. As onewriter observed, "The line between his-torical literature and general literature wasvirtually nonexistent." But the GreatDepression spurred a shift in social andeducational thinking, and by the 1940s acontent-rich curriculum had been replacedby the sociologically based "expandinghorizons" framework, typically: "Me" (kin-dergarten), "My Family, My School" (firstgrade), "My Neighborhood" (second), "MyCommunity" (third), and "My State"(fourth grade).

This curriculum became so entrenchedthat its basis in child development wasassumed inviolable. But during the 1980s,psychologists and educators began to re-examine the developmental premises of"expanding horizons." The researcherswere forthright in their denunciations.There is little beyond ideology to commend the(expanding horizons) program and its end-lessly bland versions, wrote New School pro-fessor of psychology Jerome Bruner.Teachers College professor Philip Phenixconfirmed what many elementary teachersalready knew: Although teaching must obvi-ously take account of where the student is, thewhole purpose of education is to enlarge expe-rience by introducing new experiences far, farbeyond where the child starts. The curious,cautious, timid presumption that the limits ofexpansion are defined in any one grade year bythe spatial boundaries defining expandingboundaries dogma is wholly without warrant.Young children are quite capable of, and deeplyinterested in, widening their horizons to thewhole universe of space and time and even farbeyond that into the world of the imaginary.And all this from Kindergarten years, or evenbefore!


History in the Early Grades: What Is It and Why Study It?(continued)

Why: ,For young children, history is like astroll through a fabulous garden or won-derland. Their eyes are wide open, seek-ing to know the wondrous human story.More free of prejudice than the rest of us,children can see underlying principles asthey form first thoughts. Young studentsare receptive, inventive, and can easilyimagine their way into Tutankhamen'sEgypt, or Montezuma's Mexico. Teachersof older students look for "teachablemoments," times when they hope to seesparks of honest interest from their schol-ars. K-4 teachers, on the other hand, workin a climate of perpetual enthusiasm.Their young charges tune in eagerly if thelearning environment is rich in printedmaterial, primary sources, and art. Lit-eracy skills blossom in the meaningful con-text of history. Children who learn withina historical context early on have a sig-nificant advantage over those who do not.At the time that they are developing read-ing, writing, and math skills, these chil-dren are also learning to weigh evidence,identify causes and consequences, develophistorical empathy, and to separate theimportant from the unimportant. Empow-ering historical tools, when learned rightalong with traditional primary skills,become a part of the "basics" that childrenwill be able to draw upon forever. And,like the A,B,Cs, and the 1,2,3s, historicalunderstandings will develop and becomeprogressively more sophisticated overtime. In order for that to happen, how-ever, the seeds must be planted early.

17

How: History in the early grades must berespectful of the characteristics of younglearners. A rigid march through sometime period will not work. These childrendon't march. They slosh and dance alongany journey they take. By using materialssuch as novels portraying importantevents and people, folk tales mirroring cul-tures and eras, songs, poetry, art, and pho-tographs from other times and places, chil-dren connect in meaningful ways with thepast. When planning K-4 history lessons,we must ask ourselves these questions.What should my students be getting out ofthis? Will I have the time needed to completethis lesson? If not, what are the most valuablepieces to leave in? How does this lesson fit into the bigger picture? Do my students havethe necessary background information for thislesson, and what will they need to acquire?Will this lesson contribute to the foundationthey will need for later lessons? Am I wastingtime by repeating content or ideas that thesechildren learned in earlier grades? Does thislesson connect with, and teach, the unifyingthemes and questions of history? Does it nur-ture the Habits of Mind? Are there oppor-tunities to integrate this lesson with othersocial sciences and subject areas, in a way thatis not trivial but genuinely meaningful?

A Call To Action: All over America,teachers devote themselves to educatingour young. We dream of finding thewords, the actions, the plans that will lightyoung lives. We live for those raremoments when the classroom is electric,and children have learned. To increasethose experiences of purposeful magic, it isimperative that the dialogue betweenteachers and historians be ongoing, andthat planning involve routine conversa-tions between educators at all levels. His-tory brings us the framework on which tobuild an authentic, grounded K-4 cur-riculum. Its details, so rich and real, arethe sparks that can ignite profound learn-ing.

°0


II. Vital Themes and Significant Questions to BeCarried Throughout Patterns and Across the Grades

In its report, the Bradley Commission recommended that the elementary social studiesprogram be history-centered. A history-centered program at the K-4 level must have acompelling core of ideas that hold its many stories together. Significant questions willmotivate students, and will support and nurture effective teaching. We suggest questionsthat have been asked throughout history and that students should ask themselves.

There are, of course, other lasting issues that teachers could ask students to examine.But in no case should such questions lead only to present-minded generalities; each mustbe thought about in the context of the time, place, or themes being studied. Hence, a ques-tion students should often hear: "Could people in the future form a true and fair picture ofyou and your society by applying only their own attitudes and values, and not botheringwith yours?"

Civilization, culturaldiffusion, andinnovation.What things make a community

thrive in all areas of human endeavor? Whatmakes a civilization thrive? What are the indis-pensible features that characterize "civiliza-tion"? How have the conditions of people'swork changed over time? How do ideas"travel" over time and place, and end up influ-encing people far away and afterwards?

Human interaction withthe environment.How does place/location affecthuman life and society? How did

climate and resources affect the story of ourstate's past? What has been the role of agri-culture in the growth of societies? What aresome important natural and cultural featuresof a place where a historical event happened?

Values, beliefs, polit-ical ideas, and institu-tions.What does being a "citizen"

mean? Why do societies create rules and laws?What does it mean to be "fair"? How do soci-eties try to make life "fair" to citizens? Whatcentral religious beliefs have inspired people'sactions? What have different people expected ofthemselves and their children? How have peo-ple governed themselves in the past?

V4A,t,441,1

Conflict and coop-eration.What have been some of the prob-lems and struggles faced by peo-

ple in the past? What kinds of issues havebrought people to war? How have people triedto make peace or prevent war? How has tradecaused conflict or promoted cooperation? Whathas happened in the past that helps to explainthe present?

Comparative history ofmajor developments.How can children's lives of longago be compared with today?

How can major processes, such as obtainingfood and water, be compared between long agoand now?

18

Patterns of social andpolitical interaction.What are the customs or ways ofliving of past societies? What are

some patterns of migration in our country'sstory? What are some of the stories of immi-grants to our state? Did people in past societieslive in families? Did they go to school?

21.


III. Visualizing a History-Centered Curriculum forKindergarten Through Grade Four

When the Vital Themes and Significant Questions are used to guide discussions aboutcurriculum and instruction, we begin to see how to build a history-centered program.This abridged chart includes books for K-4 in the areas of Language Arts, Geography, andMusic/Visual Arts, across all six themes. A complete chart would identify all key contentareas, would illustrate the relationship of each to the Themes, and would include morebooks, resources, and key questions that develop specific Habits of Mind in students (seenext page).

LanguageArts

Geography Music/VisualArts

Civilization, culturaldiffusion, and innovation.

The Macmillan Bookof Greek Gods andHeroes by A. Low

Readers Theatre forBeginning Readersby S. Barchers

New Puffin Chil-dren's World Atlasby Tivers and Day

Living in AncientRome by Bombardeand Moatti

Learning to Look: AComplete Art His-tory and Apprecia-tion Program forGrades K-8 by Mas-sey and Darst,

Human interaction with theenvironment.

0 ir(AtAmerican4 44,

toi r

John Henry by L.Lester

Lewis and Clark:Explorers of The

West by S.Kroll

Geography from A toZ: A Picture Glossaryby J. Knowlton

Round Buildings,Square Buildings,and Buildings ThatWiggle Like Fish byP. Isaacson

Vaues, beliefs, politicalideas and institutions.

Just a Few Words, Mr.Lincoln: The Story ofthe GettysburgAddress by J. Fritz

The Children's Aesopby S. Calmenson

Ashanti to Zulu:African Traditionsby M. Musgrove

Ghana, Mali, Son-ghay: The WesternSudan by K. Mann

Conflict and cooperation. Gilgamesh the Kingby L. Zeman

The Story of RubyBridges by R. Coles

Young John Quincy byC. Harness

The Great Wall ofChina by L. E. Fisher

From Sea to ShiningSea: A Treasury ofAmerican Folkloreand Folk Songs by A.Cohnf

Comparative history ofmajor developments.

Coming to America:The Story of Immi-gration by B. Maestro

Castles by P. Steele

The Amazing Impos-sible Erie Canal by C.Harness

Tchaikovsky Discov-ers America by E.Kalman

Patterns of social andpolitical interaction.

Aby

Frederick Douglass:Portrait of a FreedomFighter by S. Kenan

I Wonder Why Pyra-mids Were Built andOther QuestionsAbout Ancient Egypt

P. Steele

Inside the Museum:A Children's Guideto the MetropolitanMuseum of Art by J.Richardson

19 22


IV. History's Habits of Mind:Questions Across All Four Course Patterns

Students frequently come to the study of history believing that they will be wading into amassive body of facts. Although those facts can be compelling, a sustained interest in,and appreciation for, historical studies will develop only through exploration and inquiry.Below is a bank of questions that will nurture history's habits of mind (see page 8-9), andwill be useful for students at any grade level, and across all four course patterns.

understand the significance of thepast... What would your daily life be like if youhad no memory? What would you have to learnagain everyday (where to go, what to do, how todo it)? How old are your favorite places?

distinguish between the important andthe inconsequential... How can a timelineshow us what events are important? How dowe decide what to put in and leave out of atimeline? How do newspaper editors decidewhat goes on the Front Page?

to develop historical empathy... What isthe background for this event? What conditionswere people living under? What were theirhopes and fears? What went on before the eventhappened? How was that event viewed by aperson at the time? What did that event meanto other people living at the time?

acquire a comprehension of diverse cul-tures and of shared humanity. What thingsare the same and what are some differencesbetween now and the past? How do I resembleand differ from people in the past? What fearsand hopes do we share with people in the past?Name some things everyone needs. What is the"Golden Rule"?

understand change, human intentions,and consequences... How can a timeline showus what has changed? How can photographsshow us and how can older people tell us?What hopes did an inventor have for an inven-tion, or a leader for a new law or policy? Wereits effects entirely good? Did it create newproblems? If so, how do people today contendwith its problems?

comprehend the interplay of changeand continuity... What was life like "longago" in the place where we live? How havethings changed? Has anything stayed thesame? Name something that changes in someways but stays the same in other ways.

prepare to live with uncertainties andunfinished business... Are there any stories ofpast events in the place where you live that arestill not "over" or finished? What examples ofunfinished business are there in the story of ourcountry's struggle for freedom?

grasp the complexity of historical caus-ation... How do "word wheels" or "historywebs" show the many connections amongevents in the past? Do events in the past usu-ally have more than one cause and effect? Whatare the causes of an important event in U.S. orWorld History?

appreciate the often tentative nature ofjudgments about the past... Did events of thepast have to turn out the way they did?Because something happened a certain way inthe past, does that mean that a similar situationtoday will unfold with the same result? Whyor why not?

recognize the importance of indi-viduals who have made a difference in his-tory, and the significance of personal char-acter for both good and ill. Who were somepersons who made a difference in criticalmoments of U.S. or World History? Whatcharacter traits have leaders in our countrydemonstrated? What makes a hero or heroine?

appreciate the force of the nonrational,the irrational, the accidental, in history...How can the discovery of the Americas byChristopher Columbus be called an "accident'ofhistory"? What if something had not happened(Lincoln killed, Panama Canal built, electricityharnessed, airplanes invented)? Which pastevents had an element of surprise or chance?

understand the relationship betweengeography and history...Where did an eventin history happen? Why there? Why are his-torical landmarks located where they are? Whyare cities located where they are? How hasweather affected historical events?

read widely and critically in order torecognize the difference between fact andconjecture, between evidence and asser-tion, and thereby to frame useful ques-tions. What questions can you ask about a his-torical event or story? What is an eyewitness toan event? What is a "primary source" of infor-mation? What is evidence?

20


V. Keys to Developing Historical Literacy at an Early Age:Children's Literature, Biography, Time Lines, Primary Sources

A history-centered curriculum begins withhistory-rich content, but must be devel-oped through the use of processes andmaterials that nurture interest in and feel-ings about past human experiences. Chil-dren's literature, biography, time lines, andprimary sources are all keys to moving his-tory studies away from a "pursuit oftrivia" toward a meaning-filled encounterwith the ideas, people, places and eventsbeing studied.

Children's Literature

Imagination is the magic carpet that takesyoung children to the place and time ofhistoric events. Imagination is triggered aschildren hear and read for themselves theengaging literature available for five to tenyear olds. Through an array of literaturelegends, fables, myths, folk tales, poemsand songs, well-founded historical fiction,true stories of history, general fiction fromthe pastchildren can be at the scene toexplore for themselves the humorous, dan-gerous, thrilling, tragic and inspiring ter-rain of historic landscapes. Children's lit-erature has the power to trigger morequestionsto create a need to know more.Young students can be deeply affected bypowerful children's literature, to the pointwhere they will seek out willing par-ticipants among parents, grandparents andcommunity members who may rememberthese times, or may have information toanswer questions stimulated by the lit-erature. Their questions also draw childreninto seeking more and more readingopportunities.

Biography

Biographies play a specialized role in chil-dren's literature. The engaging stories ofhistory become more believable andunderstandable to children if students areable to watch life dramas being played outthrough the eyes and experiences of a realhero. The lessons of history are more easilyunderstood through personal examples.For instance, when given a definition ofracial discrimination, students are usually

21

unconcerned and disinterested. After read-ing any one of the several powerful biog-raphies for children about the life of JackieRobinson, or of Anne Frank, studentsreach a sophisticated level of under-standing created by deep emotionalinvolvement. They understand! They care!They have learned!

Time lines

The concept of time is a spatial one. Manyordinary expressions depict time in spatialterms: ...over the course of time; ...looking backover the years; ...crossing that bridge when wecome to it. Researchers note that children'sconcepts of time involve their "spatialknowledge." The making of three-dimensional time lines helps childrenacquire a mental continuum along whichthey can arrange events and begin to see"before and after" relationships.

From the earliest kindergarten expe-riences of determining what happenedfirst, next, and last, to the most advancedwork of creating ingenious parallel timelines, these specialized graphic organizersenable students to investigate time order.Time lines help children organize his-torical information. They are useful inshowing trends in human experience, mul-tiple causes and consequences, and mainevents in the lives of heroes. They canillustrate progression in science and tech-nology, or in the evolution of societies andcultures. Time lines help children organizetheir own writing. Once students havegained experience with plotting literatureon a time line, student-written stories are alogical next step. Hands-on activities con-cretely involve students. Manipulativetime lines constructed on yarn or acrossbulletin boards give students oppor-tunities to debate and discuss with class-mates various notions of correct chro-nology. Students who work with time linesgain a solid framework for organizingevents through time.Beginning Time Lines: Young Learners areenticed by studies of great heroes andworld-changing events. Yet each child alsodeeply longs for an understanding of hisown place in time. A scholar of any agegrasps new ideas more readily if thoseconcepts are presented in the language of

24


the learner. For a child, that language ispersonal experience. Skill in using timelines develops easily and naturally whenchildren work with familiar events andstories in their first time line efforts. A timeline useful with very young childreninvolves a display of photographs show-ing in chronological order the landmarksencountered on a neighborhood walk.With older children, the windows alongone side of a classroom may be convertedinto a time line of students' drawings orpaintings that show key events in local orstate history.Birthday Time Lines: Constructing a classtime line permits students to discovertogether, with teacher guidance, ways oforganizing events in time order. If the timeline is one that can be manipulated, stu-dents will be able to repeatedly make and

small cards. Each student will write his orher name and birth date on a card. Youngstudents may need adult help with namesand dates. Using opened paperclips ashooks, encourage students to place theircards in the correct places on the time line.Children will make mistakes, share ideas,and determine corrections. Invariably,with enough teacher patience, the finalproduct will be a relatively correct one. Asnew students join the class throughout theyear, adding their birth dates to the classtime line becomes a welcoming class ritual,and provides the new student with ajump-start into the use of time lines (SeeFigure #1).Personal Time Lines: Children are tirelessin seeking information about their ownearly experiences. Every child wants tohear from family members and friends the

retelling ofevents that illus-

trate the child'sunique past.Assisting a childin constructing asimple personaltime line is one

of the best ways tointroduce this tool to the

young student.Why? One rea-son is that eachchild's story isintriguiging tohim or her, somotivation isbuilt in. Fur-ther, havinglived throughthese events, achild willimmediatelysee that a timeline representstime pro-gressiontimesequence.Finally, sincework must bedone with thehelp of familymembers orother adultcare-givers, the

Figure #1'The Birthday Time Line

correct errors on theirown. A birthday timeline is particularly effec-tive because calendarsequencing is a focusskill in primary grades,and because childrenwill use the time line as adaily reference to notewhich classmate will bethe next to celebrate hisor her special day.

To construct a birth-day time line, tie twelvemetal or plastic clamps,equally spaced, onto athick length of yarn.Secure a long, narrowcard into each clamp.Print the name of amonth on each of thetwelve cards. Using ahole-punch, make a holein the top and bottom of

NAME: c2f-

1996 -r was 6afy. Uuc.110US,

1997 50,1,1

ifWhere cha

seetenCe.,

? wa S 10061C Or N^rt( okacs.

1998 1 0 e ct worry, or\p*,1-1(3 -tr'T

1999 ti\ Urde NAltv\ciell took rAe-- C51);11.5. 1

+1-10 Lautfel Moun-tains.

2000 my Sister Was bornto s+Art SkoxY\ 3

2001 -1. W as 'In q Sprini Pastan+ aYld.e\cl.ieci. Q bte

couka,i-- 4.11,

(r,ct I had

Figure #2 The Personal Time Line

22 r;ti


home-school connection is strengthened.Provide each student with a page on

which a time line has been drawn fromtop to bottom, on the left side of the paper.Students should list one event for eachyear of their lives. Remind students, andtheir parents, that the completed time lineswill be shared or displayed. Events of avery personal nature should not, therefore,be included in this project. (See Figure #2)

Primary Sources

As he arrived for class one morning, athird grade student asked his teacher,"Will we be doing real history today?""Real history," to this child, meant thestudy of primary sources, and primarysources do, indeed, make history seem"real." Primary sources are records, arti-facts, and eyewitness accounts of eventsthat happened in the past. Letters, journalentries, wills, photographs and vintageobjects are all evidence from the past thatstudents can study, analyze, and interpret.These materials help students to perceivepast events and issues as they were expe-rienced by people at the time, and recap-ture the immediacy of real life. They allowstudents to participate in the work of his-torians. Without such evidence, studentsoften develop a romantic, fuzzy vision oflife at another moment or place. Primarysources are a way of bringing the outsideworld into the school setting, of creating aliving, breathing history classroom. Thesesources spark a child's appetite for dis-covering history. Students love to handle,to compare, and to see these pieces fromthe past.

Interviews: Interviews help very youngstudents make their first journeys into thepast. A sit-down, eye-to-eye talk with awitness to history puts the heartbeat into ahistorical story. Young students can con-duct interviews of family members, olderfriends, or classroom guests. Studentsshould prepare and rehearse questionsprior to conducting an interview, butshould also be aware that they may needto ask further questions as new topics arisefrom the discussion.

23

Sample questions:1. What kinds of games did you like to play

when you were my age?2. What events happened in our city, state,

or country that you remember learningabout as they happened? (moon walk,civil rights movement, etc.)

3. What kinds of inventions do we usetoday that you did not have when youwere a child?

4. Did you, or others close to you, movehere from other parts of the country orworld? If so, what events led to thatmove?

Students who are not fluent note-takersbenefit from working in pairs. They helpeach other recall a tremendous amount ofinformation, even without the benefit ofwritten notes. Students who share andcompare interviews in class will graduallybecome aware that there can be many dif-ferent viewpoints to the same historicalepisode. They begin to develop an under-standing of multiple perspectives.

Built Environment: A faded sign above anold doorway, a carving in a sidewalk, aworn step, the brick beneath paved streets,or a crumbling stone foundation all carrystories of the past. Children can bring thesetraces of the built environment into theclassroom by taking photographs, creatingdrawings, and making rubbings of thearchitectural elements in their community.As children begin to look around them forclues to the past, they will become muchmore alert and reflective in their ability touncover the stories of a place, and to seethe past reflected in their lives today.

26


Photographs: When historic photographsare presented to students, the classroomlights up. Photographs are irresistible forall of us, including the very young. Welook for details. We imagine the place, thetime, and the circumstance. We noteclothes, vehicles, signs, and expressions.Photos generate questionsquestions thatspark the need to learn more.Where are the power lines? Why were mostearly photos taken outside? Why would horsesbe lined up along a city street? Do those bootsfasten with buttons instead of Velcro?Hand lenses help students investigatemore closely, and add to the enjoyment ofthis research.

Letters and Diaries: Like adults, childrenenjoy reading other people's mail.Accounts written in letters and diariesoffer details and viewpoints not com-monly found in history books. A house-wife sends a note to her sister expressingamazement over her first look at an elec-tric washing machine. A Union soldierwrites home to describe how his feelingsof fear gave way to feelings of pity whenhe caught sight of some ragged, barefootConfederate troops. Text informationabout development of home appliancesover time, or about conditions soldiersfaced during the Civil War, would meanvery little to elementary students. First-hand accounts, however, engage the stu-dent's imagination and real learning takesplace.

Other Primary Sources: Some other pri-mary sources include scrapbooks, music,quilts, recipes, art, family heirlooms, tools,clothing, speeches, documents, old news-papers and maps.

Repositories of Primary Sources: There area vast number of public repositories of his-torical materials. They range in size andbreadth of holdings from the NationalArchives and Records Administration andthe Smithsonian Institution , to state andlocal archives, libraries, and museums.These institutions house an amazingvariety of documents and artifacts. Betteryet, most of them are open to the public.Their materials are available to teachersand their students just for the asking.Many have reference librarians who canhelp student researchers find what theyneed and also tell them how to accessmaterials of interest in any special collec-tions held by the institution.

The librarians, curators, and archivistswho staff historical repositories are expertsin their historical collections. Most takegreat pride in their ability to organize andpreserve materials so that they can befound and used. More important, theyreally want to help researchers gain accessto what they need and to share the excite-ment they find in working with originalhistorical resources.

Allow plenty of time when you or yourstudents use primary sources for research.Deciphering old hand-written documentstakes timeso does sorting through photocollections, reading census reports, or pag-ing through old periodicals (on paper ormicrofilm). Still, it will be time well spent.However, be aware that once you or yourstudents start working with the real mate-rials of history, you may not want to stop.

24

Primary sources transform the class-room, offering rich historical perspectives.Best of all, they connect us, in deeplyhuman ways, to our past.


VI. Content and Questionswithin the Course Patterns

NOTE: These are examples of historical content and significant questions that could be coveredin each course within the various patterns. Many questions and activities used to illustrate howone pattern looks in the classroom could, of course, be useful in other patterns.

Elementary Pattern A

RATIONALE: This pattern connects the child's present world todistant places and other times. It offers comparative studies offamilies and communities, and extends those studies to episodesand heroes in state, national, and world history.

Grade CourseK-4 History-centered Social Studies

Children of Other Lands and Times

1 Families Now and Long Ago

2 Local History: Neighborhoods and Communities

3 Urban History: How Cities Began and Grew

4 State History and Geography: Continuity and Change

Kindergarten:Children of Other Lands and Times

Kindergarten students delight in learn-ing about the daily lives of other childrenfrom times past. Historical studies at thislevel should encourage investigation ofchoices, responsibilities, and routines ofchildren from various places and timeperiods.

Examples of Content1. Students identify, through Native

American folk tales, some characteristicsof the lives of children in the Americasprior to the arrival of Europeans.

2. Students listen to and retell storiesabout the childhoods of historical figureswho led exemplary lives. These figuresmight include Abraham Lincoln, HarrietTubman, Dolley Madison, and Tecumseh.The act of retelling reinforces chronolog-ical thinking.

3. Students examine and act out storiesthat teach about other lands and times.Stories well suited for this purpose includeAesop's fables and Virginia Hamilton'sThe People Could Fly.

25

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. What games did Native American

children play long ago?2. What was life like for children in tra-

ditional Japan?3. What was Aesop worried about?4. What was it like to be a child moving

west in a wagon train?5. What kind of work was expected of

children long ago and throughout theworld, including helping on the farm,apprenticing to learn a trade, and helpingwith cooking and weaving? Why did chil-dren have to work long ago, but now chil-dren go to school?

28


Elementary Pattern A (continued)

Grade OneFamilies Now and Long Ago

Grade One focuses on family, includingtheir own family history and that of others.Through the investigation of the roles offamily members over time, students gainan understanding of the significance of thepast to their own lives.

Examples of Content1. Students research and tell the story of

their own or another family.2. Students work with time order,

recounting personal and historical storiesusing ordering terms such as "first,""next," and "last."

3. Students gather information about thepast through interviews of family membersand neighborhood elders. Veterans' Day,for example, could be commemoratedthrough the sharing of stories by familymembers who served in any branch of thearmed services.

4. Students hear stories of real and fic-tional families in at least 4 historicalgroups: Native Americans, colonial Amer-icans, African Americans, and 19th or 20thcentury immigrants.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How do the books we use in school

today compare with books used long ago?2. What happened at the beginning, in

the middle, and near the end of theThanksgiving story (or stories of other fam-ily celebrations)?

3. How did people travel when mygrandparents were children?

4. How did families in earlier times andplaces meet their needs for shelter, food,water, clothing, and safety?

Grade TwoNeighborhoods and Communities

At Grade Two students search for exam-ples of continuity and change in theirneighborhood and community and in otherplaces and times. They use literature andhistorical evidence to gather information.They investigate the important role thatdifferent people have had within com-munities.

Examples of Content1. Students study the built environment

and the architecture of their surroundingsto identify changes over time.

2. Students read biographies and con-duct interviews to determine ways thatindividuals have shaped their com-munities.

3. Students study photographs to dis-cover some facts about daily life in earliertimes.

4. Students research a historical place,such as Colonial Williamsburg, an Eskimocommunity of long ago, or an Aboriginalcommunity of Australia.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How would a landscape drawing of

our neighborhood today compare to alandscape drawing of the same place manyyears ago?

2. How did George Washington's boy-hood surroundings help prepare him tobecome a great leader?

3. What does a historian look for in aneighborhood or town?

4. How do neighborhoods gain theirown special characteristics over time?

5. What are some well-known historicalneighborhoods or communities near us?

6. How do people preserve the historicplaces in their neighborhoods?

26


Elementary Pattern A (continued)

Grade ThreeUrban History: How cities began

and grewStudents pursue the study of people,

events, and changes that have shaped thegrowth of cities. They compare Americandevelopment to that of metropolitanregions in other times and places.

Examples of Content1. Students identify groups that have

moved into and away from cities, and ana-lyze why they did.

2. Students discuss how individualshave contributed to changes in city life.

3. By exploring the history of tradingcenters such as Cahokia and St. Louis, stu-dents discover that economic resources andconditions have stimulated communitygrowth.

4. Students investigate the reasons forthe location of at least 4 cities of the world(possibilities include: New York, MexicoCity, Beijing, Paris, New Orleans, London,Tokyo, San Francisco, and Washington,DC).

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How were the early towns of Saint

Augustine, Plymouth, Jamestown, andSanta Fe similar to and different from oneanother?

2. How did the work of inventors suchas Ben Franklin, James Watt, Thomas Edi-son, Eli Whitney, Robert Fulton, AlexanderGraham Bell, or Guglielmo Marconi createchanges in daily life in cities?

3. How did rivers, canals and railroadsstimulate the growth of communities?

4. Why did New York, London, Wash-ington, and Tokyo grow where they did?

Grade FourState History and Geography:

Continuity and ChangeStudents investigate the people, places,

events, and turning points, which havecontributed to the development of theirstate.

Examples of Content1. By examining legends, games, art,

and daily life practices, students experiencethe cultures of Native American groupsthat lived in our state prior to Europeanexploration. Students search for ways thatnative groups adapted to and changedtheir environment.

2. Students learn the significance of keyevents leading to the development of ourstate. Students design time lines depictingcauses and consequences of change.

3. Students recognize the importance ofindividuals who made a difference in thehistory of our state. Students make defend-able judgements about heroes and villains.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. In the land that later became our

state, how did Native American culturesinteract with early European groups?

2. What was happening in our stateduring the Civil War and World War II?How was our state changed by migrationand immigration?

3. What historical episodes do naturaland man-made state landmarks represent?

4. What kinds of natural resources wereimportant to early settlers in our state?

5. Which individuals in our state werealso important to our country? Why werethey important to both?

6. Choose the most important event inour state's early history and tell why youchose it.

27 3 0


Elementary Pattern BRATIONALE: Children's literature, rich in historical content, isa defining element of Pattern B. Through the use of biography,compelling narrative, folk tales, and well-written nonfiction, stu-dents increase their understandings of historical events, tradi-tions, and heroes, and gain understandings about the connec-tions between the past and today.

GradeK-4

1

2

3

4

CourseHistory-centered Social StudiesLearning and Working Nowand Long AgoA Child's Place in Time andSpace

People Who Make a DifferenceContinuity and Change: Localand National HistoryA Changing State

KindergartenLearning and Working Now and

Long AgoStudents in Kindergarten are intro-

duced to ideas of place and time, and tothe concept that events have causes andconsequences. Students explore geo-graphic and historical connectionsbetween the world today and long ago.Historical stories of ordinary and extraor-dinary people encourage students to inves-tigate the concepts of courage, self control,justice, heroism, leadership, and respon-sibility.

Examples of Content1. Students compare descriptions of

work and chores at school and at home towork and chores of various historical peri-ods. For example, students might inves-tigate their own teacher's responsibilitiesas compared to the responsibilities of ateacher in a one-room schoolhouse.

2. Students find examples of the workof leaders from America's past and fromother parts of the world.

3. Students investigate the ways chil-dren learned in other places and times.Investigations could include constructinghornbooks, writing with quill pens, andmodeling "blab schools."

28

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How do we get food, water, clothing,

and places to live? How did pioneer fam-ilies of the 1800s meet those needs? Howdid Native American families in the 1600sprovide for their food, shelter, and cloth-ing?

2. What examples of honesty, courage,determination, individual responsibility,and patriotism can we find in the work ofleaders such as Benjamin Franklin, NathanHale, Booker T. Washington, or Geronimo?

3. How are today's children and theirfriends alike and different from childrenportrayed in such stories as Thy Friend Oba-diah, selected portions from the LittleHouse... stories and Samuel Eaton's Day: ADay in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy, and SarahMorton's Day: A Day in the Life of a PilgrimGirl, both by Kate Waters and photo-graphed at Plimoth Plantation.

4. What problems were faced by thecharacters in selected stories and fables?What are their fears, strengths, and weak-nesses? Are their values and feelings differ-ent than other characters you have stud-ied? How are they different from ourstoday?

3 1.


Elementary Pattern B (continued)

Grade OneA Child's Place in Time and Space

Students in Grade One use a variety ofstories to broaden their understanding ofrights and responsibilities, fair play, andrespect for others. By hearing and readingstories about children of long ago and ofother lands, students compare geographicand economic aspects of life in their ownneighborhoods to those of other places andtimes.

Examples of Content1. Students hear and read biographies

and historical fiction about figures such asDavid and Goliath, Paul Revere, PatrickHenry, Sacagawea, and Ruby Bridges tolearn about heroes, including children,engaged in heroic deeds at different times,in different places.

2. Once students know something aboutthe interdependence of people and trans-portation involved in the mail service or inprocessing wheat to bread, they "stepback" in time and study a parallel processin the long ago, such as the Pony Express orwheat harvests during the days of scytheand mill wheel. The use of pictures andflow charts in studying processes helpsreinforce chronological thinking for pupils.

3. Students hear and read a variety offolk tales from world cultures and the longago to learn moral insights from the storiesand to explore the ways people, families,and cultural groups are alike and different.Teachers should lead students to identifygood and evil, right and wrong among thecharacters in the stories, supporting theHabit of Mind that recognizes not simplydiversity but also shared humanity.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. What did you like about (name of

character from a story)? What did (name ofdifferent character) do that was bad?Wouldn't it be a good thing if everyonewere kind and polite, like (name)?

2. How does my environment influencethe clothes I wear, the food I eat, the houseI live in, and the things I do each day? If Ilived in a different environment long ago,how would my clothes, food, home, andactivities have been different?

3. How did the Oxcart Man take his oxto the market? (See The Oxcart Man by Don-ald Hall.) How is this different from todayin our community? (The idea here is thatthe story is contrasted with a local enter-prise, crop, or product delivered to today'smarkets, which pupils learned about earlierin the year.)

Grade TwoPeople Who Make a DifferenceStudents in Grade Two explore the lives

of people who make a difference in theireveryday lives, and compare those peopleto extraordinary people in history whoseachievements have touched or inspiredthem. Biographies are a particularly impor-tant source at this grade level.

Examples of Content1. Students read biographies of notable

people such as Pierre L'Enfant, CrazyHorse, Phillis Wheatley, Rachel Carson, orSequoyah to determine ways that indi-viduals respond to their responsibilitiesand opportunities, and to discover waysthat individual effort has shaped history.

2. Students investigate some historicmilestones in the field of science and med-icine, such as the work of Louis Pasteur,Walter Reed, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford,Sir Alexander Fleming, and Charles Drewwith plasma and blood banks.

3. Students trace the history of a familythrough the use of primary and secondarysources, including artifacts, photographs,interviews, and documents. They compareand contrast their daily lives with those oftheir parents, grandparents, and/or guar-dians. They place important events in theirlives in the order in which they occurred(e.g., on a time line or storyboard).

4. Students understand the importance ofindividual action and character and explainhow heroes from long ago and the recentpast have made a difference in others' lives(e.g. from biographies of Jonas Salk, ChiefJoseph, Florence Nightingale, Branch Rickey,Jackie Robinson, Golda Meir, Marie Curie,Thomas Edison, or Sally Ride).

29 32



Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How do inventions such as the car

and the computer affect my life? Whowere the people responsible for developingthese inventions?

2. How did individuals such as JaneAddams and Theodore Roosevelt takeresponsibility and help others?

3. How is it possible for one person tobe a hero in the eyes of some and, at thesame time, a villain in the eyes of others?Hernando Cortes, for example, was a heroto the Spanish, and a villain to the Aztecs.

Grade ThreeContinuity and Change:

Local and National HistoryStudents in Grade Three learn more

about the connections to the past, includingthe historical roots of local, regional, andnational government, traditions, and sym-bols. Students explore the gatherings ofpeople and traditions that have contributedto common memories and the character ofour contemporary society.

Examples of Content1. Students describe Native American

societies in their local region long ago andin the recent past. They describe the relig-ious beliefs, customs, and traditions; showhow they obtained food, water, clothing,and tools; describe the economy and sys-tem of government; and recount the inter-action of new settlers with Native Amer-icans of the region.

2. Students trace why their town wasestablished, how individual and familiescontributed to its founding and develop-ment, and how the community haschanged over time, drawing on maps, pho-tographs, oral histories, letters, news-papers, and other primary sources.

3. Students trace the ways migrationand immigration have changed local ornational history. The land bridge betweenAsia and Alaska, and the potato famine inIreland, are good examples.

4. Students understand the symbols,icons, and traditions of the United Statesthat provide continuity and a sense ofunity across time. They can sing songs that

express American ideals or history, under-stand the basic significance of national hol-idays and the heroism and achievements ofpeople associated with them; they canidentify American symbols, landmarks,and essential documents (e.g., the flag, baldeagle, Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell,Mount Rushmore, the U.S. Constitution,the Declaration of Independence, AmericaThe Beautiful, There Are Many Flags In ManyLands).

5. The abstractions of change and con-tinuity are effectively introduced to thirdgraders through such stories as The LittleHouse by Virginia Lee Burton, The House onMaple Street by Bonnie Pryor, Bayberry Bluffby Blair Lent, Penny in the Road by Kath-arine Anne Precek, Heron Street by AnnTurner, New Providence: A Changing City-scape by Von Tscharner and Fleming, andThe Sky Was Blue by Charlotte Zolotow.Two art portfolios by Jorg Muller, TheChanging City and The Changing Countrysidevividly and dramatically demonstrate tochildren change over time (how thingschange or stay the same), and allow stu-dents to tell why they think changes aretaking place.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How did individuals such as the

founder of our town, Abraham Lincoln,Lewis and Clark, Cesar Chavez, or theWright Brothers influence historical turn-ing points?

2. Read Megan McDonald's story of ThePotato Man (illustrated by T. Lewin,Orchard Books). Based on the story andillustrations, how was life different in the1920s? How is it similar today? Whatthings have changed and what remains thesame?

3. How do art forms such as quilts andfolk songs show continuity and change incultures and traditions throughout varioushistorical eras?

4. How do old newspapers show whathas changed and what is still the sameabout our town or city?

30 3 3



5. How did early settlers of our regionmake their living (e.g. hunting, trapping,trade, agriculture, manufacturing)? Didthey own their own property? Did theywork for wages? Did they work in groupsand divide the proceeds?

6. Who were the early business ownersin our local area? What did they do? Howmany people worked for them? Were anybusinesses unsuccessful? Why? How didthe early business leaders influence thelayout of our town?

7. Examine a series of old photographsof "Main Street," showing how the streethas changed over time. In what ways wasthe street changed, and when? How dothese changes relate to what we know wasgoing on in our town then? What signs ofcontinuity are seen in the pictures? Arethere any evidences of community tradi-tions?

Grade FourA Changing State

Students learn the story of their homestate, its heroes, its unique place in Amer-ican and world history, and the effects ofits geographic features on economic, social,and political development. They inves-tigate their state's diverse populations overtime.

Examples of Content1. By examining music, art, food, cloth-

ing, folk tales, and heroes of different back-grounds in the state, students discover thediversity and contributions that definetheir state's heritage.

2. Students recognize the relationship ofresources and technology to episodes ofstate history.

3. Students understand the events lead-ing up to statehood. They understand thepurpose of their state's constitution, its keyprinciples, and its relationship to the U.S.Constitution (e.g., how separation of pow-ers and checks and balances are included inthe state constitution).

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How might events in state history

have been different if geographic factorshad been different?

2. What part did religious beliefs andmoral convictions play in the lives ofreformers or leaders? How are these stillimportant today in our state?

3. If I were to construct a time linedepicting ten events in my state's history,what events would I decide were most sig-nificant, and why?

4. What music, literature, and other artswere created in our state? Who are theimportant writers, composers, poets, andartists? Why are some well-known todayand others less well known? Why are someof them called regionalists? How doregionalists differ from other artists? Howmight regionalists offer a more completeexpression of a state's people and culture,or a different interpretation of them?

5. How did World War I and II andtheir aftermaths affect life and society inour state?

6. What are some current problems orcontroversies unique to our state? How arethey rooted in historical events?

7. What is the rate of voter participationin our state now, and in selected electionsin the past? What may account for the dif-ference(s), if any?

31 3 4


Elementary Pattern CRATIONALE: Pattern C expands on the children's literaturefocus, and supports historical narrative through the use of pri-mary sources and investigative projects. This pattern offers thestudy of a wide choice of periods, significant individuals, andhistoric organizations. The opportunity for research within thispattern leads children into adventurous journeys through avariety of eras and cultures.

Grade Course

K-4 History-centered Social Studies

Children's Adventures: Long Ago and Far Away

1 People Who Made America

2 Traditions, Monuments, and Celebrations

3 Inventors, Innovators, and Immigrants

4 Heroes, Folk Tales, and Legends of the World

KindergartenChildren's Adventures:Long Ago and Far Away

At the Kindergarten level, children areeager participants in adventures, large andsmall. Students at this age are inspired bystories of youthful heroes and memorablejourneys. Rich historical narrative is a pathdown which the very young can travel toexotic places and distant times.

Examples of Content1. Students identify morals valued by

various people as they hear and retellfables. The fable of The Blind Men and theElephant teaches that, even long ago, in thetime of Aesop, people held differing view-points of the same thing or event. Folktalessuch as the Story of Wali Dad from India andLuba and the Wren from Russia tell the storyof characters finding out what are man'smost valuable gifts.

2. Students learn about children in his-tory by listening to vivid historical nar-rative. Tales of Abe Lincoln's boyhood, orthe early memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder,help students visualize day-to-day life inother times and places. They begin to rec-ognize shared humanity and diverse cul-ture by identifying differences and similar-ities with life now and in the past.

3. Students discuss the differencebetweeen the truth and a tall tale by exam-ining stories such as Paul Bunyan or JohnnyAppleseed and discussing what is the truthand what is an exaggeration.

4. Students begin to study the settingwhere a story takes place. They learn aboutgeography by recognizing global featuresand search for how these play an importantpart in the human story.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How are we like the characters in the

story? How are we different? What kindsof celebrations and daily adventures didthe characters face in the story? What kindsof celebrations and daily adventures didmy grandparents experience when theywere my age?

2. What problems were faced by thecharacters in selected stories and fables?What are their fears, strengths, and weak-nesses? Are their values and feelings differ-ent than other characters you have stud-ied? How are they different from ourstoday?

3. What are the main features of thebackground and setting? How do peopleuse the enviroment to meet their basicneeds? How is the setting of one story dif-ferent from another? Does the setting(place) play a part in the story?

32 35


Elementary Pattern C (continued)

Grade OnePeople Who Made America

Grade One focuses on people who influ-enced American history, and who helpedto define the unique place of the UnitedStates in the world. Students hear and readstories of encounters and explorations, andwill investigate cultural arts.

Examples of Content1. Students hear and read biographies

and fiction to learn that our country wasmade by ordinary and extraordinary peo-ple. They learn about carpenters, printers,sailors and common soldiers. They learnabout famous people in history such as Vir-ginia Dare, Clara Barton, William Penn,Charles A. Lindberg, George Washington,Sitting Bull, and Martin Luther King.

2. Students study individuals andgroups that played a part in forming ourcountry from the early migration of the iceage to present-day immigration. Possibleread-aloud books are: Wolf Child, A SmallBlue Bead, Immigrant Kids, and How ManyDays to America.

3. Students examine problems anddilemmas faced in the American story andthey learn how different people tookaction, resolved problems, and faced con-sequences. They work with books such asSarah Morton's Day, about a Pilgrim child inPlymouth, and Nettie's Trip South, about ayoung girl during the American Civil War.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. Why are these people important to

our history? Why are they significanttoday? Were these people reformers, inven-tors, scientists, politicians, etc.? What canwe learn about America's history as westudy the lives of American workers, suchas farmers, fishermen, miners, railroaders,ranchers, or factory hands?

2. What contributions did these peoplemake to their communities in their timeperiod? What contributions are still influ-encing us today? Where do these people fiton our country's timeline?

3. Can you define the problems theyfaced? What actions did they take? Whatwere the consequences? Are there still con-sequences from their actions today?

Grade TwoTraditions, Monuments, and

CelebrationsStudents in Grade Two learn more

about our connections to the past, and theways in which particular historic figuresdrove events. Students investigate theaccomplishments of national and worldleaders, and the symbols and traditionsassociated with these people.

Examples of Content1. Students identify American celebra-

tions, monuments, symbols and documentsthat relate to the core democratic valuesand principles of the U.S. They relate thestory behind each and tell why they are cel-ebrated today. Some examples are the Con-stitution, Declaration of Independence, theflag, National Anthem, Statue of Liberty,Lincoln Memorial, Arlington NationalCemetery, Independence Day, MemorialDay, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day.

2. Students listen to, read, collect anddiscuss family stories to learn about theirown traditions. They compare and contrastdifferent faMily experiences that mightinclude activities, beliefs, structures andcelebrations. Students might create a familykeepsake museum in the classroom.

3. Students learn about monuments andcelebrations from around the world andfind out the stories behind them. Thismight include the pyramids, temples, andstatues in town squares and capital cities. Itmight include Bastille Day and Cinco deMayo.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. Can you tell the story behind the

monument? Can you tell the story of themonument by placing it on a timeline?Which celebrations, monuments, symbolsand documents do you think are the mostimportant? Why?

2. What holidays and traditions are cel-ebrated at your home? How and why arethey celebrated? Can you compare theroles of your family members with theroles of other families through time andacross cultures? What are your familiy'sactivities? How are they like and how arethey different from others?

33 3 6



3. Regarding monuments of the world:Can you tell the story behind the monu-ment? Why was it built? When? Who builtit and how did the people doing the workfeel about it? Does it stand as a nationalsymbol for the people of the countrytoday? Can you tell the story behind thecelebration?

Grade ThreeContributions:

Inventors, Innovators, andImmigrants

Students in Grade Three identify thecontributions made by inventors, inno-vators, and people who have immigratedto this country. They recognize inventionsthat changed daily life and work, and lookfor effects of advances in technology. Stu-dents distinguish between innovationscreated by individuals, and innovative pro-cesses brought by one group of people toanother. Students recognize causes andeffects of immigration.

Examples of Content1. Students explain some of the legacy

and contributions of different civilizationsfrom around the world and throughout his-tory. For example, the students explainsome of the major contributions of theRoman Empire in the areas of governmentand architecture.

2. Students identify some effects (forgood or for ill) of the work of inventors andinnovators. They discover costs and con-sequences. They use timelines to explorecause and effect relationships. Theydescribe how written and spoken lan-guages such as those developed in Mes-opotamia, have been built upon andshared, or the impact of Gutenberg's print-ing press.

3. Students follow the interaction of peo-ple across borders with ideas and tech-nology. They learn ways people are inter-dependent with others. They note food,clothing, shelter, commerce, interactionwith others, technology and its changesthrough time.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How has the republican form of gov-

ernment known in Rome changed overtime? What ideas from Roman governmentinfluenced the democratic republican formof government in the U.S.? What buildingsdo we have today that are modeled afterthose of the Romans? What designs are stillbeing used for practical purposes?

2. What people should we thank forinventions that make our world safer andhealthier? Studies could include the workof Alexander Graham Bell, Louis Pasteur,Charles Drew, Eli Whitney, James Watt,Thomas Edison, or Cyrus McCormick.

3. What individuals made life differentfor people in our country by their ideas orthe work they did? Examples: BenjaminBanneker, William Lloyd Garrison, LouisArmstrong, Louisa May Alcott, HarriettBeecher Stowe, John Glenn, Jr., GeorgeGershwin.

4. How and why have groups of peoplemoved across borders and oceans? Studiesmight focus on the forced immigration ofAfricans to America, or the immigration ofthe Chinese and Irish to the United Statesin response to the demands of railroads forcheap labor.

34 3 7



Grade FourHeroes, Folk Tales, and Legends of

the WorldStudents in Grade Four investigate the

legends that help to define people andplaces around the world. They studyheroes, both fictional and historical, whohold places of honor in local, national, andworld folklore.

Examples of Content1. Students learn about great empires

such as those built during China's ancientdynasties, and read tales of legendary fig-ures like Confucius.

2. Students examine ideas of what hasbeen thought of as heroic in various cul-tures and across historic eras, for example:Robin Hood, Alexander the Great, JuliusCaesar, Cleopatra, Elizabeth I of England,Simon Bolivar, Sir Edmund Hillary, Mar-quis de Lafayette.

3. Students identify values and uniquecultural characteristics by reading folk talesrepresenting population groups and geo-graphic locations. Possible tales are Ramaand Sita: A Folk Tale from India, or Yussel'sPrayer: A Hebrew Legend, The Stone Cutterfrom China, or The Fisherman and His Wife,from Russia.

4. Students examine the stories of peo-ple such as Gandhi and Martin LutherKing Jr. and determine how the world isdifferent because of their work. Otherexamples could include: Louis Braille, Rob-ert Fulton, Captain Cook, Samuel B. Morse,Albert Schweitzer, John L. Lewis, Fr. Juni-pero Serra, George C. Marshall, WinstonChurchill.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. Why do we still know who Confucius

was, what he said, and why do we still con-sider it to be important?

2. What did Confucius consider to beheroic? How did Romans define heroic?How did medieval knights define it? Howdid Apache Indians in 1870? How didWinston Churchill in 1940? How did a Jap-anese soldier in 1943?

3. How do folk tales, such as Medio Pol-lito, and art, such as masks and dance, helpme understand the history of other peo-ples? How do myths, such as Osiris ofancient Egypt, or the myth of creation fromancient India (in which different classeswere created out of different parts of themonster Purusha), also help me under-stand other peoples?

35 38


Elementary Pattern DRATIONALE: In Pattern D, students begin the study of Amer-ican and world civilizations, with units on each during the year.They meet real people in U.S. and world history, and are intro-duced to the stories of such major ideas as the development ofconstitutional democracy, freedom and the struggle to obtain it,the origin and growth of civilization, major world religions, andmovements of people to explore, immigrate, and settle.

Grade Course

K-4 History-centered Social Studies

K Our World and Our Country

1 First Civilizations, and Introduction to Our Country (Part I)

2 Early Civilizations, and Introduction to Our Country (Part II)

3 More Early Civilizations, and Our Country's Beginnings

4 World History, and Our Country's Foundations

KindergartenOur World and Our Country

During the first year of school, studentsinvestigate historic examples of characterand leadership, through accounts offamous people of long ago and com-memorative holidays. These stories can bedrawn from both the world and the Amer-ican nation.

Examples of Content1. Students recognize heroic deeds by

hearing biographies of leaders such asChristopher Columbus, George Washing-ton, Abraham Lincoln, or Theodore Roose-velt.

2. Students learn the history behindcommemorative holidays. These holidaysshould include, but not be limited to, Inde-pendence Day, Columbus Day, andThanksgiving.

3. Students become familiar withnational symbols, including the Statue ofLiberty, the United States flag, MountRushmore, and the White House.

4. Student learn about the lives ofNative Americans, especially when learn-ing about the holidays in #2 above.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How did Abraham Lincoln show

honesty in his lifetime?2. How was traveling different for

Columbus a long, long time ago, from theway we travel today?

3. What is the significance of the starsand the stripes on the United States flag?

4. What does it mean to have all thepeople make rules instead of just a kingmaking them?

5. How did Native Americans have tochange their lives when new people cameto their lands?

36 3 9


Elementary Pattern D (continued)

Grade OneFirst Civilizations, and Intro-

duction to Our Country (Part I)Students in Grade One learn what it

means to have a civilization, through sto-ries of the first civilizations in the Tigris,Euphrates, and Nile River valleys, and thelater Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations inthe Americas. They recount the stories ofthe nomads across the Land Bridge, andare introduced to explorers and settlers inour country. Geography is integral to eachunit.

Examples of Content1. Students learn about the early civ-

ilizations in Mesopotamia and Egyptthrough stories of such people as Ham-murabi, Moses, Queen Nefertiti, and KingGilgamesh.

2. Students learn how people in earlycivilizations (Maya, Inca, Aztec) dividedup the work, how they traveled and com-municated.

3. Students compare American familylife today with daily life during Colonialtimes.

4. Students discuss what it means to bean explorer, and how first graders can beexplorers. They hear and retell the storiesof several explorers un early America.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. What would my daily life, and that

of my family, have been like if I had livedin Ancient Egypt?

2. How did the Mayans, Incas, andAztecs use their land to build cities? Dis-cuss how their cities were similar to anddifferent from our cities. In what wayswere the ancient Egyptians like the Aztecs?How were they different?

3. What evidence will help me learnabout the schooling, work, play, food, anddress of Colonial children?

Grade TwoEarly Civilizations, and

Introduction to Our Country(Part II)

Students continue their age-appropriatejourney through the stories of ancientChina, India, and Greece, meeting such realpeople as Confucius and Alexander TheGreat. They also hear the myths of ancientGreece, as well as stories of the Olympicgames and the city of Athens. Major epi-sodes of early American history are pre-sented in narrative form here, to bedetailed in subsequent in-depth studies inlater years.

Examples of Content1. Students hear stories of leaders in

ancient Greece, India, and China, such asKing Ashoka of India, Qin Shi Huangdiwho built the Great Wall, and Confucius.

2. Students explore the ideas of rulesand laws, including stories of such thinkersas James Madison.

3. Students recount the stories of theWar of 1812, Westward expansion, theCivil War, and immigrant experiences,including such people as Francis Scott Key,Harriett Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, RobertE. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and PresidentLincoln.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. How did the Greeks depict their

gods in their artwork and myths? Whatwas the Oracle at Delphi (foretold thefuture but always answered questions withriddles)?

2. What does the phrase "We, the peo-ple.." mean?

3. What was life like for the pioneers ofthe Oregon Trail? How did their movewest affect the Native Americans withwhom the pioneers came in contact? (nearextermination of the buffalo, "Trail ofTears")

37 4 0


Elementary Pattern D (continued)

Grade ThreeMore Early Civilizations, and Our

Country's BeginningThird grade content builds on the stud-

ies of world civilizations begun in earliergrades, although not in formal terms. Stu-dents examine the ancient civilizations ofRome and Byzantium through stories ofRomulus and Remus, Roman gods, JuliusCaesar, Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, Con-stantine, and Justinian. In early Americanhistory units, students examine theVikings; Eastern Woodland Indians;explorers such as Ponce de Leon andDe Soto; and settlements in the South Eastand South West such as St. Augustine andSanta Fe. They also study SouthwesternIndians, the explorers who searched for a"Northwest Passage," and the settlers ofthe original thirteen colonies. Geographicalcontext relates to each civilization or per-son under historical study.

Examples of Content1. Students read Roman and Native

American myths and legends. Theyrecount the story of the eruption at Pom-peii and its devastating effect, but also thewonderful "time capsule" it presents.

2. Students create pictorial time linesdepicting turning points and major epi-sodes in Native American settlement andlater European exploration and migrationto North America.

3. Students compare and contrast majorfeatures of early American settlements inSanta Fe, St. Augustine, New York, Penn-sylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Cal-ifornia.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1. Who were some of the important

heroes in ancient Rome? Why were theyconsidered heroes?

2. Why did the great civilizations fail?What has our modern civilization inheritedfrom ancient Rome? Describe Roman aque-ducts and colosseums.

3. How was knowledge of geographyimportant for setting up the colonies in theAmericas and expanding them "west-ward?"

Grade FourWorld History and Our Country's

FoundationsFourth grade content departs dramat-

ically from state history, as it builds on thetheme of the growth of civilization begun inearlier grades. The World history units focuson stories from early and medieval periods inEurope, the Middle East, Latin America, Afri-can kingdoms, and Chinese dynasties. Amer-ican history units include the American Rev-olution, the making of constitutionalgovernment, early American presidents andpolitics, and early social reform movements,leaving later episodes of both World and U.S.history for Grades 5 and 6.

Examples of Content1. Students find out about the origins and

spread of Christianity, plagues in medievalEurope, the Five Pillars of Islam, and suchleaders as Richard the Lionhearted of theCrusades.

2. Students study early and medievalkingdoms of Africa and China, and leadersincluding Sundiata, Mansa Musa, Genghisand Kublai Khan, and Marco Polo.

3. Students read stories of feudal times inEurope (castles, knights in armor, chivalry)and meet such people as King John (as hesigns the Magna Carta) and Joan of Arc.

4. Students recognize ten or more influen-tial people in the American Revolution, andrelate this war to the making of a Constitu-tional governments.

Examples of Questions Students Could Explore1.Who were some of the heroes in med-

ieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, LatinAmerica, and China? Why were they con-sidered to be heroes by people at that time?

2. What would daily family life have beenlike if I had lived in medieval Europe orJapan? How were the lives of the peasantsand the nobles different?

3. What went on before the Declaration ofIndependence, the U.S. Constitution, and theBill of Rights were written? What were thehopes and fears of people living at the timeof the American Revolution?

4. How were William Lloyd Garrison,Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt, HoraceMann, and Dorothea Dix similar and differ-ent?

38 41


VII. History and Language Arts

We cannot, on the one hand, declare that wewant our students to have a full and well-rounded education, yet on the other, teach themonly how to read and compute.

Those skills are the keys to the kingdom, tobe sure; but we cannot afford to neglect othervital academic areas, such as history and nat-ural sciences. We can't afford to consign theseto high school; to do so is to short-change chil-dren's knowledge and understanding of theworld in which they must live.

English and language arts skills can belearned, applied, and enhanced only within thecontext of other content areas. History, forexample, is often the basis for much of what isread and studied in elementary classrooms.

Delaine EastinCalifornia State Superintendent

During the early years of a child's edu-cation, one goal dominates all others. Astudent must be able to read and write.Beyond word analysis or decoding, read-ing instruction at K-4 also includes system-atic vocabulary development, reading com-prehension, literature, writing strategiesand application, the conventions of writtenand oral English, and listening and speak-ing strategies and applications. As part ofthe Language Arts program, the youngreader needs to develop the ability to gleaninformation, follow a narrative, and ana-lyze subtle meanings. In addition to carv-ing out letterforms and recognizing basicspelling conventions, writing goals requirethe primary writer to express ideas in waysthat describe, explain, recount a story, per-suade, and inform.

As Superintendent Eastin noted, historyprovides a content- and context-rich envi-ronment for applying reading, writing,speaking, and listening skills. For example,such artifacts as churns or butter scoops,window cards for the iceman, or old tools

offer early kindergartners an opportunityto describe, in general and specific lan-guage, not only the objects themselves butalso the activities or events associated withthe objects' uses. In a basal reading pro-gram, First Graders traverse the worldwith African American explorer Bill Pin-kney*, learning important places andnames they will use in later history studies;when students trace each phase of the jour-ney in sequence, chronological thinking isstrengthened.

(*See Captain Bill Pinkney's Journey from OpenCourt First Grade Reading Program, Open CourtPublishing Co., 1996.)

If second graders are expected to writebrief narrativesgrammatical and cor-rectly spelled, moving through a logicalsequence of events, or describing setting,characters, and events in detaila familyhistory not only serves as a high-interestvehicle; it also helps acquaint them withsuch research methods and materials asinterviews, dictionaries, and maps.

Some state standards require thirdgraders to comprehend basic plots of clas-sic fairy tales, myths, folktales, legends,and fables from around the worlda per-fect opportunity for important history con-nections. If students learn to write theirown personal and formal letters, teachersmay share an authentic letter from localhistoryperhaps students' first real, pri-mary source in written formand askthem to compare the language and pen-manship with those of today.

If fourth graders are taught to summar-ize major ideas and supporting evidence;or write an informational report for whichthey must frame a central question aboutan issue or situation, and include pertinentfacts and details drawn from a variety ofsources, the study of state history amplylends itself to the basis for such reports.

Oral reading can be a beneficial meansof combining language development andhistorical understanding. When studentslearn to interpret such poems as "George

394 2


Washington" from Rosemary and StephenVincent Benet's A Book of Americans, orimportant speeches such as Abraham Lin-coln's Gettysburg Address, the purpose isnot to see if students recognize the wordsbut to help them understand and interpretthe meaning and spirit of the selection. Incoaching students, effective teachers usewell-directed questions, help students toform vivid mental pictures of the char-acters and events, and ensure that young-sters understand the historical backgroundof the selection. Oral reading can serve as arubric-based "performance assessment" orprovide program material for patriotic andholiday observances common in ele-mentary school.

Early childhood educators, faced withlimited time and resources, too oftendecide that sacrificing history instructionwill help them accomplish language artsgoals. This decision could be likened to theonce-avowed medical practice of leechingpatients to remove bad blood. The bloodlost could have would havebeen thesource of life-giving strength.

History's stories provoke both the avidand the reluctant reader to read more bystimulating in them a thirst to know. Richaccounts of past deeds and exotic placescan be irresistible motivators, and cancause students to seek more information.Students long to continue the magical re-living of history. How many, for example,have vicariously lived as prairie pioneerswith Laura Ingalls Wilder?

40

When Pa came back from the creekthey all sat by the fire and ate fried mushand prairie-chicken. Pa said he wouldmake a door that very day. He wantedmore than a quilt between them and thewolves.

(Little House On The Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder,Harper Collins, 1963)

What is mush?What is a prairie-chicken?

Why did Pa have to make a door?What will wolves do to people?

What "wolves" do my doors at home protectme from?

How is this family's dinnertime alike and dif-ferent from my family's dinnertime?

All of these questions bloom from onebrief passage. Such student-generatedquestions trigger the desire to read more,and to write parallel tales about con-temporary adventures. The anemic com-prehension questions that typically followtextbook readings are transparent imita-tions of the true comprehension questionschildren generate themselves as they readgood history.

The writing prompts endured by bothstudents and teachers are not necessary ifstudents are permitted to extend their his-torical understanding by writing explora-tions and predictions, and by simply retell-ing history's fabulous tales in their ownwords.

History is a door through which chil-dren can experience a kaleidoscope of folk-tales, legends, and astounding realities. Isit really surprising that so many of ourvery young students are making only tinygains in language arts development yearafter year? Too often we offer our K-4learners manikin-filled content, whenwhat they really need to read and to writeabout are living, breathing villains andheroes.

4 °


VIII. History and GeographyThe chronology of the human story is most effectively examined in the context of

place. It has been said that geography helps us see the stage on which history's dramasare performed. Rigorous historical studies at all levels require students to ask not onlywhat happened, but also where and why. Geography offers unique perspectives of spatialrelationships, place, and environment and society. This field of study offers us tools withwhich we are more accurately able to discover answers to history's questions.

Spatial Terms and Spatial SenseStudents at grades K4 learn character-

istics and uses of maps and globes. They arebeginning to understand Earth's rela-tionship to the sun, how that relationshipmatters to people and places today, and hasmattered to people and places during pasteras. They discover geography's language,including direction words and map fea-tures. They learn map skills such as usinggrids and measuring distances. Studentswho take neighborhood walks or go to theshore to experience sand or marshlands,develop first-hand a sense of space, dis-tance, direction, and geographic features.Places and Regions

The uniqueness of a place is defined byboth physical and human characteristics.As students study their own place andregion, they will compare and contrastcharacteristics of "home" to features ofother places and times. They will also dis-cover that people of different time periodsheld different values and perceptionsabout the world around them.Environment and Society

When students begin to recognize theways humans interact with environments,they gain geographic perspectives thathelp them interpret the past and thepresent. The answer to the question, Wherein the world is St. Augustine, Florida? is verymuch worth knowing, but teachers shouldextend the investigation: Why in the world isSt. Augustine located where it is? and, Howdo these reasons help form the culture or char-acteristics of St. Augustine today?

Teachers may wish to examine JaredDiamond's book Guns, Germs and Steel.Diamond views the biological, climatic,and geographical features of human envi-ronments and their impact on historicalevents. For example, he examines how cli-mates at different latitudes could have hadan impact on the diffusion of agricultureand domesticated animals in Neolithictimes. In Eurasia the domesticated plantsand animals could be transported eastfrom Western Asia to India and China aswell as west to Egypt ar,id Europe because

41

the lands were at similar latitudes withsimilar climates. In America, however, theaxis of movement was north-south andearly farming strategies had to be carriedacross regions with radically different cli-mates. Throughout the book Diamondshows how geographical factors helpexplain historical phenomena.

Using Maps To Make The History/Geography Connection

Local, state, national, and world mapsshould be prominently displayed in theclassroom, along with alphabet muralsand number charts. With maps readilyavailable, students develop the habit ofidentifying the location of biographies andhistorical tales. When students plan aCinco de Mayo celebration, for example,they should find Mexico on a map. Theylocate the state of Puebla, the site of the1862 battle of Puebla, which is the his-torical basis for the holiday.

Locational geography, including mapdrills, helps students develop the "mentalmaps" they walk around with in theirheads. Locational geography forms a nec-essary frame of reference for under-standing the most basic news and informa-tion about the world. Students shoulddevelop a reliable familiarity with placenames and practice correct spellings. Thirdgraders should develop locational geog-raphy skills that will prepare them forstate history. All students should developthe habit of using maps as reference toolsby asking themselves: What area of theworld does this folk tale represent? How wasour hero challenged by the place from whichhe/she came? Where did an historic episodetake place, and how did the location help todefine the event?

NOTE: In primary classrooms, wall mapsneed to be frequently placed on the floor,with "North" appropriately oriented. Chil-dren who learn mapping skills exclusivelyfrom maps hung on walls often believethat North is up, and envision travelingnorth as leaving the ground.

4 4


IX. History and Science

There is a wonderful word Why? that children, all children, use. When they stop usingit, the reason too often is that no one bothered to answer them. No one fostered and cultivated thechild's innate sense of the adventure of life.

More than any other area of study, sci-ence encourages students to ask "Why?"Great scientists have responded to thisquestion, thereby changing the course ofhistory. When we use scientific methods ofinquiry ourselves, we can discover truthsabout the pasttruths that nurture that"sense of the adventure of life."Geology and Natural Science

To grasp the human story fully, chil-dren must develop an understanding ofEarth's place in space, and of the resources,climates, and physical features whichmake up the human environment. Youngchildren get their first taste of the naturalworld by engaging all five senses in inter-active exploration. This exploration formsa basis for understanding historical epi-sodes and developments. The intriguingstory of Earth's past is a compelling venuefor children seeking historical knowledge.Fossil and artifact evidence gives studentsopportunities to evaluate and discover his-tory for themselves.Great People of Science

Students are intrigued by stories of sci-entists whose work improved life or rev-olutionized ways of thinking. Copernicushad the courage to demonstrate to us thatwe were not the center of the universe.Jane Goodall guided us to a deep under-standing of primates. Edward Jennerdeveloped the smallpox vaccination thatfreed populations from that deadly dis-ease. John Harrison's navigational clock(chronometer) improved ship travel andspurred global exploration. Mae Jemison,through her work as doctor and astronaut,became an inspirational role model andhero. When otir students examine the livesand works of leaders in the field of science,they discover historic prompts that trig-gered the work of scientists, and detectresulting changes that actually altered thecourse of history.Causes and Consequences

Students examine the questions of sci-ence to gain understandings of causes,effects, and consequences. Earth's positionin relation to our sun has defined life ways

42

Eleanor Roosevelt

of civilizations. The growth of technology,from the wheel to the PC, has generatedhuge changes, both positive and negative,and has created walls between those whohave technology and those who do not.Methods of Inquiry

When students explore historic docu-ments and artifacts, they analyze evidencefrom the past. Students can learn to avoidjumping to conclusions by makingrepeated observations, asking questions,making a guess, or hypothesis, testing thehypothesis, and then analyzing results. Forexample, one second grade student formedthis hypothesis after examining a collec-tion of fifty-year-old photographs: "Peoplefifty years ago must have worn only blackand white clothes." After repeating hisexamination of the photographs, he real-ized that the flowers, buildings, and otherobjects in the photographs also appearedto be either black or white. A field trip to amuseum displaying vintage clothing con-firmed his suspicions that his originalhypothesis was in error, and that theabsence of color in the photos had someother cause. The student was motivated byhis own research to read and discoversome facts about the history of photog-raphy.

By following the guidelines listedbelow, an instructor will be able to guideeven the very young student toward meth-ods of inquiry similar to those used by sci-entists.CLASSIFICATION: Students look for sim-ilarities between events, people, andplaces. This can be carried out at differentlevels, from general to specific.COMMUNICATION: Students share infor-mation in the form of writing, drawing,talking, or using symbols.INFERENCE: Students identify historicalquestions, interpret observations, anddevelop logical explanations.FORMULATING A HYPOTHESIS: Stu-dents make generalizations by combiningthe skills of observation, inference, andprediction.

45


X. A Sample One-Week Lesson Plan

"Community Keepsakes"

Each community has memorials, symbols, or sites that represent its unique history.When children study these community keepsakes, they learn about significant people andevents that helped to define and shape their immediate world.

Habits of Mind1. Students will understand the significance of the past to their own lives.2. Students will recognize the relationships between geography and history as a matrix of

time and place, and as context for events.3. Students will read widely and critically in order to recognize the difference between

fact and conjecture, between evidence and assertion, and thereby to frame useful ques-tions.

Vital ThemesHuman Interaction with the environment.Patterns of social and political interaction.

Day One: Read CriticallyShare information with students about

a local monument, landmark, or other sig-nificant structure that provides a visualrecord of a historic event or notable com-munity leader. Be sure that all informationused in the classroom comes from reliablesources such as local museums, libraries,or newspapers. Tell the students the sto-ries that these accounts reveal. Give themexcerpts to read for themselves whereappropriate. Have students write or dic-tate questions that this information gener-ates. Many of these questions will beanswered during the weeklong lesson.

HOMEWORK: Encourage students tointerview their parents and other adults inthe neighborhood to see what knowledgethey might be able to share about this com-munity keepsake.

Day Two: Field Trip / Gathering VisualRecords

Visit the historic site that was the focusof the discussion/reading/writing activ-ity on Day One. With permission of sitecaretakers, invite students to try their handat creating rubbings of carvings, textures,and shapes, and to make photographs.Record the questions students generatesuch as, "Why is this marker here?" Whatdoes this landmark mean to my com-munity and to me?" "What event or per-son does this place represent?" "Why isthe landmark in this location, rather thansomewhere else?"

43

Day Three: Analyzing EvidenceDisplay rubbings and photographs col-

lected on the field trip. Make a class chartof the questions developed in class and onthe field trip. Give students the oppor-tunity to share what they learned fromtheir homework interviews, and to deter-mine answers to their questions based ontheir observations, readings, and inter-views. New questions will likely be gener-ated during this analysis.

4 6


A Sample One-Week Lesson Plan (continued)

Day Four: Constructing a Picture TimeLine

Give the students a chance to tell thestory of the community keepsake theyhave been learning about. Have studentsconstruct a simple three-part time line.Direct students to fold a drawing paperinto three parts. In the box on the left stu-dents will draw a picture illustratingsomething that happened early in the lifeof the individual, or near the beginning ofthe event being symbolized. In the centerbox students will draw something thathappened later in the life of the person orin the development of the event. In theright-hand box students will illustrate howthe story ended, or how the monumentcame to be created. Using this picturetime line as a storyboard, students will beable to share their storieswith each other and withother classes, and will beassured of chronologicalaccuracy as the storyunfolds.

Day Five: Map MakingA child-created map canillustrate the intersection ofculture and nature, of timeand place. Ask students tocreate a map of the site vis-ited on day one. Studentsshould include the monu-ment, along with other sur-rounding features they

remember such as buildings, plantings,paths, and bodies of water. Subtle detailsof the area may have played a significant,or even causal, role in the story behind thecommunity keepsake being studied.Remind students of those relationships asthey work. These maps show relative,rather than exact, location. When themaps are completed, display them. Sincethe mapmaker can choose what to put intothe map and what to leave out, issues ofrelevance, significance, and personal per-spective insure that these maps will gener-ate powerful exchanges about what isimportant in this place, and how that mat-ters to each child.

eltarsandittipis Old Glory I

Red While, and 111..n The St

44 4 7


XI. A Sampler of Suggested Resources

The resources that appear in this listing were suggested by members of the NCHEAdvisory Council, and by many colleagues who have worked in, and with, elementaryclassrooms. The intent is to provide suggestions for good materials that nurture a history-centered K-4 curriculum. This collection of titles and sources should in no way be con-sidered complete or exhaustive. It is, however, a good place to start.

FOR K-4 STUDENTS

Dover Publications: Paper Doll Series;These well-researched collections offerexamples of clothing from a wide range ofcultures and historic eras. Explanatorytext accompanies each set of dolls. Sometitles include, "American Family of the1890s," "American Family of the PilgrimPeriod," "Ancient Greek Costumes,""Famous African-American Women,""French Folk Costumes," "Nicholas andAlexandra," and "Traditional Fashionsfrom India."Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors, byMaureen Taylor, Houghton Mifflin; Thisbook reinforces the idea that all of us havea personal history. It helps children getstarted with early genealogy projects, anddiscusses the value of family stories andkeepsakes.Eating The Plates, A Pilgrim Book ofFood and Manners, by Lucille Recht Pen-ner, Macmillan; Hunting, gathering, grow-ing, and preparing food was a full-time jobfof the Pilgrims. In a light-hearted,humorous style, the author helps studentsappreciate the struggle for survival thatdominated the Pilgrim way of life.They Put On Masks, by Bird Baylor,Charles Scribner's Sons; The vivid paint-ings of masks, representing many NativeAmerican tribes, introduce young readersto cultural art of both ancient and moderngroups.Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon, byJeannine Atkins, Farrar, Strause & Giroux;A picture book of the girl who grew up tobecome one of the most successful fossilhunters of all time. This account includesdetails of Mary Anning's efforts in a fieldusually reserved for the male gender, andof her contributions to the field of paleon-tology.See Through History Series, Viking Press:These books use acetate overlays torecreate finely detailed interior and exte-rior views of key locations and features ofhistorical subjects. Some titles include TheIncas and Ancient China.

45

Magic Windows / Ventanas Magicas, byCarmen Lomas Garza, Children's BookPress; Traditional Mexican folk art is usedto tell stories of the hispanic families, com-munities, and heritage. Historic explora-tions of ancient cultures and celebrationsare illustrated with papel picado (cut-paper art.)Portraits from North American IndianLife, by Edward S. Curtis, E.P. Dutton &Co: Photographs illustrating AmericanIndian life ways, beliefs, and culture arevividly depicted in this outstanding collec-tion.Oh Freedom! Kids Talk About the CivilRights Movement with the People WhoMade It Happen, by Casey King andLinda Barrett Osborne, Alfred A. Knopf;This model for classroom oral history pro-jects is written from interviews given tostudents by people who were eye-witnesses to events in the Civil Rightsmovement.Don't You Know There's A War On? byJames Stevenson, Horn Book; A youngboy narrates this story of life on the Amer-ican home front during World War II.With both humor and sadness, the storydetails the shortages, sacrifices, and fearsexperienced by families as they coped withthe effects of war.Sundiata: Lion King of Mali, by DavidWisniewski, Houghton Mifflin: This story,which takes place in thirteenth-centuryMali, is the tale of Sundiata, son of the kingof Mali in the time of the great Africantrading empires. The colorful illustrationsform a vivid backdrop for a powerful taleof courage and perseverance.Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline BriggsMartin, Houghton Mifflin; This is thebiography of scientist Wilson Bentley,known as the man who discovered that notwo snowflakes are alike. The book detailshis use of a camera with a microscopedesigned for the purpose of photo-graphing snowflakes. A Caldecott winner,this book is a story of determination andindustry.

4 8


A Sampler of Suggested Resources (continued)

Grandfather's journey, by Allen Say,Houghton Mifflin; The true story of theAuthor's grandfather, who immigratedfrom Japan to California, and his strugglesto resolve the conflicts of the two cultureshe valued. This Caldecott winner is richwith vivid watercolor illustrations.Children of the Tlingit, by Frank Staub,Carolrhoda Books; A story of an indig-enous people in Alaska, their struggleswith Russian explorers and settlers, andtheir later efforts to keep their culture alivein spite of changes forced upon them bythe United States government.I Was Dreaming to Come to America:Memories from the Ellis Island Oral His-tory Project, selected and illustrated byVeronica Lawlor, Puffin Books; Ellis Islandis remembered in interviews and recollec-tions of people who arrived in New Yorkbetween 1897 and 1925. The stories areshort, and help students to picture theimmigration experience.Kids' America, by Steven Caney, Work-man Publishing Company. A book thatwill guide children through a "roll-up-your-sleeves" kind of history experience.The huge selection of activities includesexploring tales and legends of the U.S.,panning for gold, and practicing hobo signlanguage.The Thirteen Colonies, by Dennis Fradin,Childrens Press; Beginning with a refer-ence to the fact that American Indianslived here long before Europeans came, thebook highlights early English settlements.From a brief account of the Lost Colony, tothe break with England, children learnabout experiences and struggles of earlycolonists.Phyllis Wheatley: First African-AmericanPoet, by Carol Greene, Childrens Press;This Rookie Biography is an introductionto the life of a writer who endured horribleconditions as a slave, and later overcamealmost impossible odds to develop her tal-ent.

46

Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's TrueStory, by Andrea Warren; Houghton Mif-flin. Through one child's experience as hesearched for a home in the early 1900s,student-readers will learn about the pro-gram that sought to find homes fororphans. With sometimes successful,sometimes tragic results, the orphan trainprogram lasted from 1854 to 1930.George Washington and Presidents' Day,by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, SilverPress; The nation's first president isadmired for his courage and leadership,but this book begins long before thosewell-known military and presidentialyears. Young readers will discover thatWashington, as a child, had many of thesame kinds of difficulties and challengesas do children today.50 American Heroes Every Kid ShouldMeet, by Dennis Denenberg and LorraineRoscoe, Millbrook Press. The 50 heroes inthis book include founders, teachers, art-ists, scientists, world leaders, and somepeople who might fit right in your neigh-borhood. Real heroes are often those whoquietly do what is rightespecially wheneveryone else seems to be doing some-thing else.ABC Book of Early Americana, by EricSloane, Henry Holt Co. Some 200 objectsfrom the 17th through the 19th centuriesare shown in their earliest American form.From Almanack to Zax, Sloane providesfascinating lore for every one of his dis-tinctive pen-and-ink drawings.

4 9


Suggested Resources (continued)

FOR K-4 TEACHERS

Teaching as Storytelling: An AlternativeApproach to Teaching and Curiculum inthe Elementary School, by Kieran Egan,University of Chicago Press. A practicalhow-to guide on integrating imaginationand reason into the curriculum, this bookprovides models for presenting ideas instory form.Social Studies and the Young Learner,This magazine, published quarterlythrough the National Council for the SocialStudies, develops topics of interest toteachers in the early grades. Once a yearthis periodical presents a special supple-ment listing notable Social Studies tradebooks for young people.Reclaiming Our Schools: A Handbook ofTeaching Character, Academics, and Dis-cipline, by Edward A. Wynne and KevinRyan, Merrill. Chapters 6 and 7 of thisbook offer insights and suggestions abouthow teachers can help children thinkthrough moral problems in history and lit-erature. See also Books That Build Char-acter by William Kilpatrick and Gregoryand Suzanne Wolfe (a Touchstone Book,Simon & Schuster).Book Links: Connecting Books, Librar-ies, and Classrooms: This magazine, pub-lished by Booklist Publications, is designedfor adults interested in connecting childrenwith high quality books. History-relatedtopics are developed through the use ofbook reviews. Literature annotationsinclude ratings for age-appropriateness.The Imagination of Early Childhood Edu-cation, by Harry Morgan, Begin & Garvey:The author explores the role of imaginationin the learning styles of young children.Harry Morgan, Professor of Early Child-hood Education at the State University ofWest Georgia, explains how to encouragethe development of historical imaginationin children.Portfolios, by Robyn Montana Turner, Bar-rett Kendall Publishing, LTD. Through theuse of masks, architecture, ceremonialclothing, portraits, and a wide range ofartifacts, this art series teaches children,and adults who work with children, howto learn about history through art.

47

A History of US Series , by Joy Hakim,Oxford University Press: This series ofbooks provides invaluable core informa-tion, in a quickly accessible format, for thebusy elementary teacher. Complicatedissues are carefully developed so thatviewpoints are balanced. The text helpsprimary teachers lead their young stu-dents to historical literacy, while freeingteachers from the need to do lengthy back-ground research themselves.Books To Build On: A Grade-by-GradeResource Guide for Parents and Teach-ers: edited by John Holdren and E.D.Hirsch, Jr., Delta: Written to support theCore Knowledge curriculum, this volumeresponds to the query, "Can you rec-ommend some good books on . ..?" Thisannotated collection of book referencesidentifies the grades and topics bestserved by each entry. It is an importantresource for use with any substantive his-tory program.Like It Was: A Complete Guide to Writ-ing Oral History, by Cynthia StokesBrown, Teachers & Writers: The authorgives clear, helpful advice on the oral his-tory process. For teachers, it is an easy-to-follow guide for helping children makethe writing/history connection.Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Dia-mond; W.W. Norton & Co. A PulitzerPrize winner; passionate, whirlwind tourthrough 13,000 years of history on all con-tinents; origins of empires, religion, writ-ing, crops, and guns; convincing explana-tions for differing developments of humansocieties on different continents.Far Away and Long AgoYoung His-torians in the Classroom by MonicaEdinger and Stephanie Fins, StenhousePublishing. This book details the day-to-day experiences of a teacher and her ele-mentary students as they examine docu-ments and artifacts to interpret historicalevents. Hundreds of practical ideas, manyillustrated by student examples, make thisan inspiring and motivating teacherresource.Pages of the Past, Grades K-6 History-Social Science Literature List by Cal-ifornia County Superintendents Educa-tional Services Association. An annotatedlisting of historical fiction/non-fiction byGrade, keyed to the Califonia Standards.

50

Part Two: Building A History-Centered K-4 Ciirrici;lum National Council for History Education

Suggested Resources (continued)

Web Siteswww.kidsource.comHelping Your Child Learn History: Historystudies at an early age should be full ofpurposeful activity. This site details kid-friendly history adventures that teachersand parents can use to readily engage theiryoung learners in meaningful historyexplorations.www.myhero.comBiographies of regional, national, andworld heroes, past and present, are fea-tured on this site. There are also oppor-tunities for students to write about theirown heroes, and to exchange ideas.www.myhistory.orgA project of the National Endowment forthe Humanities, this site encourages Amer-icans to discover history by following fam-ily and community stories. Topics include"Things You Can Do to Save America'sPast," and "Saving Your Family Treasures."It also offers a variety of links to other his-tory-related venues.www.loc.govThis Library of Congress web site is a mul-timedia anthology of American historyonline galleries, recordings, and school-family activities, all of which make this arich source for history ideas and materials.www.monticello.orgThe influences of Thomas Jefferson's lifeand work will be felt for generations tocome. Find details about Jefferson'saccomplishments, ideas, and motivationsat this web site sponsored by the ThomasJefferson Foundation, Inc.www.historyplace.comLocate quotes, photos, points of view,famous speeches, and much more at thisweb site dedicated to students, educators,and all who enjoy history.www.ibiscom.comArtifacts and personal accounts, from theancient world to the present, provide vivideyewitness descriptions of historic eventsand periods. The past is illuminatedthrough personal narrative, primarysources, and historical recollections.scoresims.k12.ca.usThis site has links to student-friendly pri-mary sources, chosen and rated by teach-ers, and classroom activities incorporatingthe Internet. All fields of World and U.S.History are covered.

www.win.tue.n1/engels/discovery/(or type "discoverers web" into search box.Then click on "Discoverers Web") Thelives, accomplishments, and controversiesof world explorers are the focus of this site.Names of explorers are arranged alpha-betically for ease of use. Entries offer por-traits, timelines, voyage details, geographicinformation, maps, bibliographies, andlinks to related web sites.www.biography.comOver 25,000 biographies of past andpresent personalities are available at thissite. Each biography includes significantinformation in a readable format, alongwith a photo or portrait. Links to relatedweb sites at the end of each biographyencourages further research.www.ushistory.orgPhotos, diaries, quotes, biographies, andmuch more are available at this U.S. his-tory site created by the Independence HallAssociation in Philadelphia. Take a tour ofthe Betsy Ross house, or get the directionsfor making Franklin's famous kite, in hisown words, no less!www.historychannel.comInformation to support local, national, andworld history studies is available in abun-dance at this site. In addition to materialsthat extend the channel's programming,offerings include primary sources, time-lines, in-depth theme development, andteacher guides.www.history.org/ncheNational Council for History Education;professional organization for history edu-cators; information on professional devel-opment opportunities, news, notes, andideas on history teaching; links to othersites.www.history.ctaponline.org/#childCalifornia History-Social Science CourseModels Online Professional Resources: aproject overseen by the California Depart-ment of Education and developed by CAHistory Project leaders and fellows. TheCourse Models are instructional materialsdesigned and written by teachers. Theselessons are geared to the California frame-work and standards, but there is muchcommon ground with other states' cur-ricula, making the lesson ideas useful inclassrooms across the nation.

48 51

XII. Preparing To Implement This Guide

Schools and districts that decide to im-plement the kind of history curriculumoutlined in this booklet, or in the others inthis series (Building A History Curricu-lum, Building A United States HistoryCurriculum, and Building A World Histo-ry Curriculum), will want to take care thatteachers have opportunities for profession-al development in history. Lawyers, doc-tors, and scientists must continually stayabreast of their professions. In the sameway, a history teacher's education does notend upon graduation from college. Historytaught as has been suggested in thesebooldets requires that teachers do histori-cal reading and research, that they knowcurrent educational techniques for helpingtheir students learn history, and that theyhave collegial contact and relationshipswith historians at the college/universitylevel.

Providing professional developmentthat is at once content-rich and pedagogi-cally innovative is a challenge and a re-sponsibility. NCHE has developed an in-tensive, 3-day, professional developmentprogram that can help history teachers im-plement some of the curriculum changessuggested in this series of booklets. CalledThe History Colloquium, the program is ledby a 3-person team consisting of an aca-demic historian, a master classroom teach-er, and a specialist from a college of educa-tion or historical society. Together with thelocal participants, the team custom-tailorsa program to deal with specific topics orproblems. Presented within the district, theColloquium eliminates travel costs forteachers and gives them contact with topscholarship and effective models in a con-venient, flexible format.

NCHE Can Conduct Your Colloquium

For districts that do not have the timeor resources to organize a Colloquium,NCHE can do it for them. NCHE will re-cruit a 3-person team of scholars especiallyto meet the local objectives. They will cus-tom design a program that will help teach-ers to: use primary sources, combine histo-ry and literature, teach history in

the elementary grades, or develop K-12history curriculum; to name only a few ofthe topics previous colloquia have cov-ered.

Hundreds of teachers in school districtsacross the country have benefitted fromNCHE customized staff development pro-grams.

If you are interested in having NCHEconduct a colloquium for you, contactElaine W. Reed at NCHE (440-835-1776) todiscuss schedules and fees.

NCHE History Teacher Institutes

The NCHE has conducted two recentSummer Institutes for teachers, one at TheOhio State University for teachers of K-12,and the other at the University of Califor-nia, San Diego for teachers of K-6. Fea-tures of the 4-week sessions are an empha-sis on refreshing the knowledge ofteachers in the content of history and pro-viding them with the time, resources, andguidance to do serious original studies oftheir own.

Other NCHE Programs

NCHE conducts national conferences:intensive two-day discussions, lectures,and workshops in the content and teachingof history at both K-12 and college / uni-versity levels. We also encourage thegrowth of independent state-level councilsfor history education which help to carryout our recommendations for history edu-cation reform.

NCHE Speakers' Bureau

NCHE can help your organization findhistorians, master classroom teachers, orhistory curriculum specialists to addressyour meeting. We can help you find ateam or an individual speaker, from yourarea or nationally, for a single speech or aworkshop, on a variety of topics.

To arrange for a speaker contact: ElaineW. Reed at NCHE.

ph: 440-835-1776

FAX: 440-835-1295

5 2

email: [email protected]

53

Who Should Read This Booklet

If you've read the Bradley Commission's Building A History Curriculum:Guidelines for Teaching History In Schools and are ready to put its broad prin-ciples into specific practice in the elementary grades, this booklet will guide youalong the way. Teachers and schools must ultimately make their own decisions onwhat to put in and what to leave out of a history-centered lesson, but this bookletprovides teachers, administrators, and parents with principles of selection andsuggestions for episodes to use as they talk to young children about times, places,and people who lived long ago and far away.

This booklet, Building A History-Centered Curriculum for Kindergartenthrough Grade Four, will be useful to:

elementary school teachers who are interested in using major topics andthemes, including continuing questions across the grades, to build historyinto their curriculum.

teachers who are organizing their lessons and classrooms in ways thatwill prepare their students for a more formal study of history in the latergrades, in the wake of the national standards movement and amidst thestate standards and state curriculum reform projects.

curriculum-makers who seek solid guidance in structuring the curriculafor the elementary grades, based on top scholarship and proven models ofeffective pedagogy in history education.

school and district curriculum coordinators and library/media specialistswho want a broad range of choices as they help put together specific les-sons and support for elementary grade teachers.

elementary grade teachers and others interested in professional develop-ment through recommended background reading.

college and university historians responsible for the historical educationof teachers.

elementary school teachers and principals who want to explain to schoolboards, school administrators, and parents their reasons for teaching a his-tory-centered curriculum, and why it requires time and resources.

ISBN: 0-9704599-1-2

Other booklets in this series:Building a World History Curriculum (1998)

Building a United States History Curriculum (1997)Building a History Curriculum (2nd Edition 2000; ISBN:0-9704599-0-4 )

published byNational Council for History Education

26915 Westwood Rd., Suite B-2, Westlake, OH 44145Phone: 440-835-1776 FAX: 440-835-1295 email: [email protected] <http://www.history.org/nche>

,

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

National Library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

Reproduction Basis

IC1.

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form(either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").

EFF-089 (3t2000)