Reading History

Abstract

Having trouble interesting your students in history or the history textbook? Concerned about the ability of your students to actually read the textbook? Learn ways to tie reading strategies to the learning of history, and discover sources that will help history come alive for your students. Nationally known literacy advocate Janet Allen discusses strategies for teaching nonfiction reading using Joy Hakim's award winning A History of US series as the center of a blossoming campaign among educators to integrate literacy and history. Classroom tested at a variety of grade levels, real student samples are interspersed throughout the book providing clearer understanding of the strategies in action.

The Dominant Narrative of Slavery in South Carolina's History Standards

“…As to the second lost opportunity, although the Support Document claimed Abraham Lincoln was not an abolitionist, historians have varying perspectives of Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery and abolition. Here, analyzing Lincoln's evolving and conflicting thoughts on slavery would engage students through powerful questions and stimulating sources that tap their intrinsic curiosity and leads them to a greater, more complex understanding of the world around them (Allen & Landaker, 2005;Fischer, 2011;Wineburg, 2001). However, instead of requiring nuance and sophistication of thought in understanding such changes in Lincoln and others, the Support Document firmly labels Lincoln as not an abolitionist.…”