Bring History Alive: A Sourcebook for Teaching United States History

By National Center for History in the Schools (U. S.)

Book Overview

A resource manual created by teachers and for teachers who wish to engage in an inquiry-based approach to historical knowledge and historical understanding. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963321854
• ISBN13: 9780963321855
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Natl Council for the Social
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Essays and Examples of Classroom Teaching for Different Grades

From Introduction: "This book is a resource manual created by teachers for teachers. It is not a curricular plan, nor a textbook, and not a prescribed set of classroom exercises. It is presented for the consideration of those who wish to engage in an inquiry-based approach to historical knowledge and historical understanding... [the book] is built around some 1,200 classroom activities. A large majority were first published as illustrative examples of how students could master the 'National Standards for United States History.' In preparing this book for publication, its editor have combed the original examples of student achievement to ensure that each activity raises questions about important topics without dictating or inferring answers. The activities and questions are meant to be open-ended. They are invitations to explore historical issues, problems, ideas, values, behaviors, interests, motives, and personalities. Though numbering in the hundreds, the activities are explicitly not meant to add up a curriculum. Nor are they intended to cover every important topic -- or every personae -- in United States history. Every reader...should understand that the teaching examples are simply examples--ones chosen to enliven classrooms with material that is not customarily found in curricular materials." The teaching examples, organized by grade level and by era, are supplemented by essays of two kinds. In part I, we have brought together a number of short essays by experienced teachers that explores ways of bringing history alive in the classroom and ways to discourage a passive reliance on textbooks and rote exercises. In part II, essays have been selected to introduce each of the 10 eras of the U.S. history. ..each essay dwells on a particular theme or approach relevant to the era." ********** Contents Include: * Introduction Part I: APPROACHING UNITED STATES HISTORY: FOUNDATIONS OF GOOD TEACHING * Rationale: Why Study History * Methods: Historical Thinking Skills * Explorations: 'Adding Inquiry to the 'Inquiry' Method - Clair W. Keller ' Primary Sources in the Teaching of History' - G. Danzer & M. Newman 'Writing Essays that Make Historical Arguments' - Ray. Karras 'Creative Book Reviews' Kathryn Sexton Part II: TOWARD HISTORICAL COMPREHENSION: ESSAYS AND EXAMPLES OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES Era 1: Three Worlds Meet (Beg to 1620) * Essay: 'Native American Women in History' - Nancy Shoemaker * Sample Student Activities Era 2: Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763) * American History, With Memory and Without Religion: '...the whole truth...so help me God' - Edwan S. Gaustad * Sample Student Activities Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s) * Inspired Expedient: How James Madison Balanced Principle and Politics in Securing the Adoption of the Bill of Rights - Jack Rakove * Sample Student Activities Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861) * Women and thee Ne