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THINKING LIKE A HISTORIAN:
rethinking history instruction

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
cause and effect cHange and continuity
•what were the causes of
past events? • what has changed?
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

•what were the effects? • what has remained the same?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

tHinking like
a Historian

using tHe past turning points

• How does the past help us make • How did past decisions or actions
sense of the present? affect future choices?

tHrougH tHeir eyes

• How did people in the past
view their world?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
™ CESA 2, UWW, WHS - 2006

A Framework to Enhance and Improve

Teaching and Learning

Nikki Mandell and Bobbie Malone

Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Publishers since 1855
www.wisconsinhistory.org

© 2007 by Nikki Mandell and Bobbie Malone

Reuse of material from Thinking like a Historian, ISBN 978-0-87020-438-8, for educational purposes is
acceptable under the fair use doctrine. For permission to reuse material for all other purposes, please access
www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA
01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety
of users.

Photos by permission of Janet Elzy (pp. 34, 54), John Hallagan (pp. 78, 79, 104), and the Wisconsin Historical Society
(pp. 2, 50, 81, 88).

Printed in Wisconsin, U.S.A.

15 14 13 12 11 10 3 4 5 6

For further information on applying Thinking like a Historian and its concepts in the classroom contact:
Nikki Mandell, History Department, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
[email protected]
Bobbie Malone, Office of School Services, Wisconsin Historical Society
[email protected]

∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for
Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Authors and Contributors

Nikki Mandell, earned her Ph.D in history at the University of California-Davis. She is a member of the history department at
the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where she teaches American and global women’s history, U.S. business history, U.S.
social history and courses in historical methods and research. She is the author of The Corporation as Family: The Gendering
of Corporate Welfare, 1890–1930. Dr. Mandell is co-chair of her university’s Social Studies Council. She served as project
director and participating historian in the Teaching American History program that developed and field-tested the Thinking Like
a Historian framework.

Bobbie Malone is Director of the Office of School Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society. With a master’s degree in
elementary education, she taught school for ten years in Louisiana and Texas before taking a doctorate in American History
from Tulane University. Dr. Malone is the author of Rabbi Max Hiller: Reformer, Zionist, Southerner, 1860–1929 and co-author
of the textbook Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story, which is designed around the Thinking Like a Historian framework. She has
authored and edited many other student books and teacher’s guides on Wisconsin history for the state’s classrooms. She served
as a project partner in the Teaching American History program that developed and field-tested the Thinking Like a Historian
framework.

Angela Bazan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1998. Since then,
she has been teaching social studies at Deerfield High School, in Deerfield, Wisconsin. Ms. Bazan teaches a wide variety of
subjects including US History, Sociology, Diversity, American Government and Advanced Placement American Government.
She grew up with a love of history and enjoys fueling that passion by igniting the same interest in her students. Ms. Bazan was
a Teaching Fellow with the Teaching American History Teaching program from 2003–2006.

Janet Regina Elzy migrated with her family from Shannon, Mississippi to South Beloit, Illinois, when she was a child. She
earned a B.S. in History Education from Northern Illinois University in 1976. Ms. Elzy holds two Masters degrees (in reading
and in learning disabilities) and special education certificates for the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. She has instructed special
needs students in language arts and social studies for twenty-five years at South Beloit High School in Illinois, and Aldrich
Middle School in Beloit, Wisconsin. Ms. Elzy began teaching American history at the middle school level in 2003, the year she
became a Teaching American History Teaching Fellow. This TAH experience had a profound effect. Her history classes engage
students in critical thinking as “investigators of the past and present.” She received a statewide Herb Kohl Teacher of the Year
Award in 1994 and a School District of Beloit All Star Teaching Award in 1995.

John Hallagan earned his Bachelors degree from Marquette University in 1975 and his Masters degree in Education from
National Louis University in 1993. He has been teaching in Wisconsin public schools for 28 years, the past 12 at Magee
Elementary School in the School District of Kettle Moraine in Waukesha. Mr. Hallagan wrote curriculum on immigration history
for the American Immigration Law Foundation, runs an annual writers workshop for children and has worked as a teacher
advisor with the Teaching American History program for four years. He received the Wisconsin History Teacher of the Year
Award from the Gilder Lehrman Foundation in 2005.

Tom Howe earned a Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a Masters degree in History from
Virginia Tech. He taught middle school and high school history and social studies for 25 years, most recently at Monona Grove
High School in Monona, Wisconsin. Mr. Howe teaches an annual Advanced Placement History summer institute for fellow
educators and is the author of The Petersburg Campaign: Wasted Valor, June 15–18, 1864. He is currently working with the
New Teacher Center at the University of California-Santa Cruz, which works to build strong mentor programs. He has received
a number of awards, including the Wisconsin Teacher of the Year (1995) and the United States-Russia-Ukraine Award for
Excellence in Teaching (1997). He is most delighted that in 1994 the senior class of Monona Grove High School selected him
to receive the first Teacher Appreciation Award.

Tim Keal has taught high school social studies for 8 years at Sun Prairie High School, Sun Pairie, Wisconsin. His classes
include world history, U.S. history, economics, international relations and legal studies. Mr. Keal was an active Teaching
American History Teaching Fellow for three years and, for the past two years has worked full time as a new teacher mentor
with the Sun Prairie Area School District.

Mike McKinnon is Curriculum Coordinator for the Janesville School District, Wisconsin. He earned Bachelors and Masters
degrees in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been an educator for 40 years, including 18 years teaching
high school history and, more recently, as an instructor at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. McKinnon
is former President of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies and former Chair, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Sub-Committee on the Teaching of History. He served as a project partner in the Teaching American History program that
developed and field-tested the Thinking Like a Historian framework.
 THINKING LIKE A HISTORIAN:
rethinking history instruction

We invite you to use Thinking Like a Historian to bring history into your classroom or to
reenergize your teaching of this crucial discipline in new ways.

A group of experienced Wisconsin historians and educators, representing elementary through

university levels, developed and piloted this framework. The Thinking Like a Historian charts which
are the centerpiece of Thinking Like a Historian were created by condensing into simplified and
easily remembered language the combined expertise of the historical profession as expressed in
the published standards of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American
Historians, the National Council for History Education, the National History Standards and state
standards for Wisconsin and California.

The work that follows is the fruit of our thinking and practice grounded in the highest standards
of the discipline – designed to stimulate your own thinking, planning, and teaching. Read it as
a philosophical and pedagogical guide to history as a discipline. Use it to support curriculum
development and professional development. Adapt or draw inspiration from the examples for
engaging and effective lessons and classroom activities. Return again and again to the common
language of Thinking Like a Historian as a foundation that can connect and develop students’
curiosity about and understanding of history throughout their school years.

We love history. We’re fascinated and enthusiastic about studying and teaching it. As history
educators we wholeheartedly embrace the responsibility and opportunity to guide the next
generation to think more deeply about the past -- to think like historians.

We thank the Teaching American History Teaching Fellows and their students who contributed
to the development of the ideas and practices that follow.
HISTORY DOES MATTER
Why Does History Matter?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Learning History – Making Sense of the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
What Should Students Learn? What Should I Teach?  . . . . . . . . . . 9

THINKING LIKE A HISTORIAN:

Elements of Historical Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
How Do We Know? – Historical Process . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . 13
Historical Categories of Inquiry  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Teaching historical literacy:

What does it look like?
Curriculum And Lesson Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Curriculum Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Choosing Historical themes – The Big Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Unit Planning: Deciding What to Teach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Lesson Planning - The Little Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Making History Engaging AND Meaningful . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Evaluating Pre-existing Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Selecting Sources for the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Classroom Practice
Classroom Activities: What Works? Cautions and Pitfalls . . . . . . . 66
The Art of Asking Historical Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  78
Asking Questions to Promote Student Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Teaching Students to Ask Historical Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Analyzing Historical Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Developing Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Assessing for Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Parting Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Resources
Finding Teaching Materials and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Professional Development Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Documents Cited in this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  114
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
 History Does Matter

WHY DOES HISTORY MATTER?

Teaching and learning history matters, and it matters deeply. For many years, teaching
history was an important part of the school curriculum. However, the past several
decades witnessed its reduction in many school districts into general social studies
courses, sometimes taught by those without history degrees. More recently, reductions
in social studies programs in some schools are further limiting history teaching and
learning.

This state of history education is a significant issue. As a discipline history encourages

the sort of deep thinking and reading literacy required in our increasingly complex
society. As a subject matter history contains the very essence of who we are and where
we come from. By applying a disciplined approach to its study, one can develop a
deeper understanding of how nations and cultures came to be. Rather than infusing the
study of history into social studies or American civilization courses, school districts should
place this important discipline front and center. Only history can give students the
information and skills to understand where we’ve been and why we are as we are.

History is at once interesting, fun, and troubling. Whether we view historically themed
films, read historical fiction, visit historical sites, or watch the History Channel, we
connect with the struggles and successes of those who have gone before us. History
enlivens, informs, and excites both adults and students, and many develop a lifelong love
and passion for the subject. Most significantly, the subject is far more than a collection
of disconnected dates, facts, and events. History is a discipline: a way of thinking
that encourages students to analyze historical evidence, evaluate it, and then
demonstrate their understanding of that evidence. Teaching and learning history
requires repeated practice with these essential elements of the discipline. Students
who have the opportunity to “do” history engage their passion and enthusiasm for the
past while applying the highest levels of critical thinking. Such involved work is well
beyond simple memorization of factual material and prepares young people for the kinds
of sharpened thinking necessary for a successful adult life.

Beyond a body of knowledge and a way of thinking, the discipline of history helps one
make meaning in a chaotic and changing present. The best history courses engage
students in the study of historical artifacts and documents--which are often contradictory
and muddled—from which they produce original work with nuanced and supported
conclusions. As a result of their experience in well-facilitated history courses, such
students tend to think more deeply and carefully about topics that matter, including those
in their present lives. They’re both more hopeful and less likely to be confused by
conflicting evidence in our world of “spin.” Many start to think in ways that the historian
David Hackett Fischer calls “if, then thinking,” suggesting that if we wish to make a
better world that incorporates the best of the past with fewer of its mistakes, then we must
explore what that past world looked like.1
1
David Hackett Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought (New York: Harper
Perennial, 1970), p. 315. Fischer’s insight is as valid today as it was then, in 1970.


Finally, studying history matters because nearly everyone in our society uses history. Some
interpret history for their own purposes or to forward a particular agenda. Some use
history as propaganda, hoping to remake the present by remaking popular beliefs about
the past. These uses and abuses of history are not a prerogative of any one political or
ethical persuasion more than another. In a society fueled by instantaneous information and
swirling with historical explanations, students need the power of discernment more than
ever before. History education equips students with powerful tools of thought that will
allow them to evaluate circumstances and make more learned choices. In a rapidly
changing world in which historical ignorance seems to be the rule rather than the
exception, there is no more important discipline for our students to practice, at all levels,
than history.

History Does Matter n 

 LEARNING HISTORY – MAKING SENSE OF THE PAST
History the Way We Used to Learn It:
David Lowenthal writes The Past is a Foreign Country. Sam Wineburg writes Histori-
cal Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts. James Loewen writes Lies My Teacher Told Me.2
The past is foreign? Thinking about the past is unnatural? Worse, teachers lie about it?
This is not the way most of us learned history. We were told that history is a large body
of indisputable facts about people, places, laws, wars, events, and, most importantly,
dates. Teachers and textbooks sought to make the past familiar, not foreign. They taught
us that learning history was like learning any other subject, with repeated exposure and
forced concentration we would remember the myriad details that made up the body of
knowledge known as history. The better we remembered those facts, the better we were
at history. At the most challenging levels one was expected to explain what happened in
the past by connecting those facts to one another. The accuracy of teachers and textbooks
was unquestioned. They had to be right. After all, they were usually the only source of
historical information.

History the Way We Should Have Learned It:

The problem with this vision of history is that it fundamentally misrepresents the discipline.
History is not akin to stamp collecting. Answering a history question is not like solving a
chemistry problem. “Doing history” is not passive. It is not simply memorizing and
sequencing facts. History is a discipline of inquiry and analysis. “Doing history” is
an active process of asking good questions about the past, finding and analyzing
sources, and drawing conclusions supported by the evidence. Since this is, as Sam
Wineburg writes, “unnatural” for most of us, it’s worth considering this basic foundation in
more depth.

How Do Historians Learn About the Past?

Most fundamentally, history is not the past. It is a study of the past. Studying the
st past can become quite complicated, but all history begins with questions. The historian, a
is to r y is not the Pa teacher, a student wants to know something about the past. She asks “Why did
H
a Study
History is immigrants come to America?” or “Why did the Egyptians build pyramids?” Quite often
t
of the Pas our curiosity about the past is shaped by our own experiences in the present. Following
the rise of dictatorships in the 1930s and the horrors of World War II in the 1940s many
historians began asking questions about the roots of American democracy. During the
1960’s civil rights activists wondered whether and how earlier generations of Black
Americans had struggled for justice. They wanted to know much more about the three
centuries of Black experience in America than could be found in the few paragraphs
surrounding the Civil War.

2
David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country, (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1985);
Samuel Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001);
James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me (New York: The New Press, 1995).

 ■ Learning History—Making Sense of the Past

In order to answer a historical question we need information. Depending on
the question, and on the vagaries of time, finding that information can range
from fairly straightforward to nearly impossible. Part of the ease or difficulty in
finding information is related to the kind of information needed. At this stage
History Be
of the historical process the teacher or student must take on the persona of a g
with Ques ins
“talkative detective.” Why a detective? History is not a compilation of indisputable tions
facts or statements. History is built on the reasoned evaluation and synthesis of
historical evidence. The historical detective searches for, compiles, and sifts through
evidence about the past.

Historical evidence comes in two forms: secondary sources and primary sources.
Secondary sources are comprised of information or explanations produced after ve
ve Detecti
the historical event by people who were not involved in the historical event. The Talkati
Secondary source information and explanations are based on primary sources
and other secondary sources. Primary sources are comprised of information or
explanations produced at the time of the event and by people who were involved
in the historical event. Secondary sources provide context, ideas, and information
that are essential to understanding the primary sources. The talkative detective
needs both.

Why talkative? Finding the “right” sources to answer a historical question is more
than a matter of technological competence. In order to find the right sources we
must enter into a “dialogue” with the sources by asking many questions of each
source we encounter: How does it relate to our historical question? Does it
duplicate or contradict other sources? Does it offer new information or
perspectives? Do I have a sufficient number and range of sources to be able to
answer my question - - do my sources include representation of the relevant voices,
interests, issues and/or data?

The conversation moves into a different vein when we turn to evaluating historical
sources. Evaluating historical sources is more than a matter of explaining the words Evaluating the
or pictures or numbers they contain. Why, when, and by whom was the source Evidence
created? How do these factors affect the importance and accuracy of the
information or ideas contained in the source? Does it reinforce, challenge or
deviate from other sources, both secondary and primary? In what ways does it
help to answer the historical question? Does it raise additional questions that need
to be investigated?

History Does Matter n 

 It’s worth pausing for a moment to consider how the requisites of
the talkative detective differ from what often happens in history education.

Textbook vs Multiple Sources

The omniscient textbook is often the first source of historical information.
Textbooks are highly synthesized secondary sources. True, today’s textbooks
are increasingly punctuated with primary documents. However, primary
document sidebars and insets generally serve the synthetic purpose of the
texts, either by demonstrating a point made in the narrative or simply by
enlivening the visual appeal of the page.

In the past, the next source after the textbook might have been an
encyclopedia. Today’s students are more likely to “google it” or look for a
“wiki.” Free-wheeling internet searches yield a hodge-podge of secondary
and primary sources of widely varying importance and quality.

These commonly used sources present historical information in the form of

seemingly indisputable conclusions or, in the case of some internet sites, in
the form of disconnected data. This is distinctly different from the way
historians use sources.

 ■ Learning History—Making Sense of the Past

How Do Historians Use Historical Sources?
Reconstructing
There is a fundamental difference between looking for answers in the sources and the Past
constructing answers from the sources. Historians construct an understanding of the
past from the sources. Constructing answers from the sources, is the final stage of C Looking for
“doing history.” At this stage we must put the evidence together to tell a coherent Evidence
story about the past – a story that answers the historical question. This story, or
history, must take into consideration not only multiple sources, but also the multiple C  ntering into
E
and contesting perspectives that shape all human experience. Historians bring those a dialogue
sources into the story as evidence to support and explain their conclusions. This with the
process of historical interpretation gives meaning to the past. It calls on us to explain sources
what matters and why it matters. It also distinguishes history from mere opinion.
C  nalyzing the
A
Building an interpretation based on evidence is the defining characteristic of
evidence
history. Interpretation is the culmination of the work of the talkative detective.
Unlike criminal detectives, however, historical detectives do not expect “open and
C  uilding
B
shut” cases or to “wrap up all the loose ends.” In some cases, where sources are one’s own
limited, historical interpretation must be tentative. In some cases, finding answers to interpretation
one set of questions opens the door to a new set of questions. Successful historical supported by
investigations can conclude with questions as well as answers. the sources

Ignoring the interpretive nature of history can lead to pseudo-history. One

tendency is to present history as uncontested truth (the “lies” James Loewen places
at the doorstep of teachers and textbooks). At the other extreme is a tendency to
conclude that the absence of a single “right answer” means that all answers are
equally valid or relevant. Thus, my historical opinion is as good as your historical All History is Not Equal
opinion. Let’s consider these misunderstandings one at a time. First, history is not
objective, fixed truth. The process of doing history, the ways in which historians
“know” about the past, ensures that history is always constructed. It cannot be static.
Why? Our questions about the past change – particularly as our present changes. Building Interpretations
Americans who lived through the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan in
Based on Evidence
the 1920s and 1930s wanted to know about the strengths of American democracy.
In the 1950s and 1960s many of their children saw a nation of inequality and
wanted to know about the nation’s long history of democracy denied.

Second, new sources can be discovered. The discovery of long-ignored anti-slavery

petitions from the 1830s opened a new window on the role of women in sustaining
the anti-slavery movement in the United States. The opening of the archives of the
former Soviet Union has spurred a reexamination of a wide array of topics ranging
from the Soviet’s domestic economy in the 1930s to the global Cold War of the late
20th century. Most recently, a cache of letters from Napoleon Bonaparte, Peter the
Great and Mahatma Ghandi were discovered in a laundry room in Switzerland. It is
too soon to know what new insights they may reveal.

History Does Matter n 

 Also, asking different historical questions leads us to interrogate familiar sources in new
ways. Curiosity about the strength of American democracy led a generation of post-World
War II historians to examine the constitutional system. Curiosity about failures in American
democracy led the next generation of historians to examine the constitutional system as
well. While the first group was drawn to constitutional provisions establishing federalism
and checks and balances, the second group was drawn to constitutional provisions that
protected slavery and denied citizenship rights to the majority of the population.

In addition, different people interpret and synthesize the stories told by the sources in
different ways, arriving at different answers to similar questions. This does not mean that all
historical answers are equally valid or correct. First, some answers are factually incorrect.
The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863, for example, did not free all the slaves.
(The Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery only in areas still in rebellion
– areas that did not recognize the authority of the United States government and, thus, did
not enforce the proclamation.) Second, some answers are not supported by the historical
evidence. In this category we might think of the common misconception that the United
The historical record States entered World War II to end the Holocaust. (The U.S. government did not publicize
includes all reasonably and chose not to take military action to stop or hinder the Holocaust. Most Americans
available primary and learned of the Holocaust only as allied troops entered the death camps at the end of the
secondary sources
war.) Beyond this, however, there are multiple “right” answers and many legitimate areas
of historical disagreement. This brings us to the issue of history as interpretation versus
history as opinion or bias.

Opinion is not history Historical analysis and interpretation must be grounded in a full consideration of the
historical record. The historical record includes all reasonably available secondary and
Opinion is marked by
the absence of primary sources. Yet, even when we examine the same or similar bodies of evidence,
historical evidence intelligent and thoughtful people can reach supportable, but different conclusions. The
key to good history, and the factor that distinguishes historical interpretation from bias or
opinion, is the absolute requirement that historical conclusions must be supportable by
the historical record AND take into consideration sometimes conflicting perspectives and
experiences in that record. Bias slips in when part of the historical evidence is ignored or
Bias is not history its importance is discounted without historical justification. This is not history. Opinion slips
in when statements are made or conclusions reached without evidence to support those
Bias is marked by statements or conclusions. This is not history.
selective use of the
historical record
Historical Categories of Inquiry:
Finding Patterns and Making Sense of the Past
The process of studying the past (asking questions, analyzing sources and drawing
supportable conclusions) is not the only distinguishing mark of the discipline of history.
The past is immense, diverse and complex. Studying and understanding that past could
be quite daunting, particularly if we described our task as recording everything that ever
happened, if we simply asked “What happened?” Fortunately, historians’ curiosity about
that immensely complex past tends to fall into recognizable patterns of inquiry. These
patterns, or what might be called historical categories of inquiry, organize both the
questions we ask of the past and the answers we construct.3

 ■ Learning History—Making Sense of the Past

 wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
cause and effect cHange and continuity
•what were the causes of
past events? • what has changed?

How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

•what were the effects? • what has remained the same?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

tHinking like
a Historian

using tHe past turning points

• How does the past help us make • How did past decisions or actions
sense of the present? affect future choices?

tHrougH tHeir eyes

• How did people in the past
view their world?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
C Cause and effect is perhaps thewHatmost
™
questionsfamiliar
do we ask of tHecategory
past? How? wHat? of historical
wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo? questioning and explanation. We
CESA 2, UWW, WHS - 2006

ask questions about the causes and consequences of past events. Not surprisingly, our answers to these
questions, our historical interpretations, take the form of stories about causes and consequences.

C We also ask questions about what has changed and what has remained the same over time. Answers to
questions about change and continuity connect events and give meaning to the chronological sequence
of events.

C In some cases we wonder if the change was so dramatic that the topic of study was a historical
turning point. By studying the historical record we are able to reach conclusions that some events or
developments so dramatically changed a society’s ideas, choices and ways of living that some paths
of development could no longer be followed and others became more likely or possible.

C In other cases we look to the past as a guide to our present. We want to know about the particular
course of events that shaped our present. Or, we are using the past to seek guidance in the form of
“lessons of history” that can help us grapple with current problems.

C We find it both necessary and fascinating to examine the ways in which people of different times, places
and conditions made sense of their world. We consider how their experiences, needs and worldviews
affected their actions and the course of events. We try to imagine their world through their eyes.

Recognizing the true nature of the historical discipline has significant implications not only for what we
want our students to learn, but also for how we teach. Instead of overwhelming ourselves and our students
with a plethora of disconnected events, “doing history” allows students to examine the past as a fascinating
narrative of human passion, struggle, triumph and tragedy. We become engaged and help students find
meaning in the past when we use discipline-specific skills of historical inquiry and analysis.

3
The historical categories of inquiry described here and in greater depth throughout this guide encompass the historical thinking skills and historical
habits of mind promoted by the major professional historical associations and K–12 national and state history/social studies associations and
standards. They were developed by condensing into simplified and easily remembered language the combined expertise of the historical profession
as expressed in the published standards of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the National Council for
History Education, the National History Standards and the standards for Wisconsin and California.

History Does Matter n 

 What Should Students Learn? What Should I Teach?
Deciding to invigorate your history curriculum or to introduce history into the curriculum is
Many Voices one thing. Actually doing it is another thing.
• competing demands
for classroom and Many Voices
lesson planning time Changing curriculum is not going to happen in a vacuum. Although the details may vary
• s tandards (school, from teacher to teacher, we begin by acknowledging the multiple factors that affect what
state, national) history we teach, how we teach history, and how our students learn history. At times these
can seem overwhelming.
• h igh stakes testing
(school, state,
Trying to balance and satisfy these many voices could lead one to question whether
national)
there is space for innovation or new initiatives. Yet, we do make choices every day
• c urriculum content about what to teach and how to teach. The ideas and examples that follow are
and pacing guides about those choices. They provide a framework and tools for making informed and
(school, district) supportable choices. They provide a framework and tools for doing a better job at what
• a vailability of we already do, or want to do.
resources and
classroom materials Coverage versus Depth
• s tudents’ abilities One of the first choices that shapes history curriculum is often posed as a trade off
and prior knowledge between coverage and depth.
• t eachers’ abilities
and prior knowledge C Coverage seems to promise that students will be exposed to and cognizant of the
• new knowledge many historical people, places, events, dates, institutions, and documents that are
from professional deemed essential to an educated citizenry.
development and
C Depth seems to promise that students will become engaged as they develop historical
historical scholarship
skills and enduring understandings of a limited number of significant people or events.

What are you teaching this week?

Coverage Depth
“I’m teaching Chapter 3.” “I’m teaching how the Constitution
changed during the 19th century.”

“The students are doing a worksheet “The students are studying the
on pp. 35–45.” consequences of WWI.”

 ■ What Should Students Learn? What Should I Teach?

The debate between coverage and depth is insoluble and misguided. It is insoluble because
there is no silver bullet or one right answer. It is misguided because it presumes that each of these
approaches, coverage and depth, are possible without the other. In reality, even the shallowest
coverage approach requires that some things be “left out.” Even the most fast-paced coverage
approach pauses or slows down at “key events.” Similarly, in-depth study of a historical topic
requires attention to historical context. Setting historical context requires covering broad develop-
ments as well as specific people, events and patterns that preceded, overlapped, and, in some
cases, followed the topic of in-depth study. We cannot make sense of any historical topic unless we
consider it within its historical context. Thus, the question is not: Which of these, coverage or depth,
should take priority? The question is: Which historical topics warrant more in-depth and which
historical topics warrant less in-depth study?

Thinking Like a Historian as a Guide to Lesson and Curriculum Planning

What does it mean to “warrant” more or less in-depth study? How can a teacher make this decision?
In the absence of better criteria, these choices can become disconnected from the primary
objective of deepening and broadening students’ understanding of history. The Thinking Like a
Historian framework can serve as a guide to making informed decisions that are directly
connected to significant course themes, driving questions and key understandings.

Deciding which historic topics warrant more or less in-depth study

Relevant but not sufficient Relevant and sufficient

• I have the materials. •H

 istory-specific standard of
measure. Which history matters?
• It’s the curriculum that was
handed to me. •P
 edagogically-specific standard of
measure. How will students learn best?
• Students really like it.
•H
 istorical Literacy: Does it further
• I found it on the web/in a
students’ understanding of history as
teacher guide
a discipline of inquiry and analysis?
Does it further students’ understanding
of history as meaningful and exciting
stories about the past?

The Thinking Like a Historian framework supports choices that move beyond commonly
cited explanations (my students like it, I have the materials) to ensure that history education is
both meaningful and engaging.

History Does Matter n 10

 thinking like a historian:
Elements of Historical Literacy?

TLH provides a common language

–TAH Teaching Fellow

Historical literacy incorporates the historical process (the disciplinary skills and procedures
that historians use to study the past) and historical categories of inquiry (the conceptual
patterns that historians use to make sense of the past). These two aspects of historical
literacy are embedded in the standards that influence history education today. However,
this is not readily apparent. The text of most history standards combine elements of
both historical process and historical categories of inquiry without distinguishing their
relationship to one another. As a consequence, the distinctive elements and qualities of
Historical Process the historical process and historical analysis are not clear. The Thinking Like a Historian
framework presented here is unique because it purposefully separates and
+ investigates these crucial aspects of historical literacy. By doing so, empowers
both teachers and students to become more historically literate.
ies
Historical Categor
of Inquiry The relationship between these two aspects of historical literacy is graphically represented
on the chart by the outer banner and the inner panel. The outer banner identifies
= the key elements of the historical process. The inner panel identifies the key historical
categories of inquiry.
Historical Literacy
 uter Banner:
CO Historical process is the history-specific ways of learning about the past:
How do we know? Historical process is the way we investigate the past.

C Inner Panel: Historical categories of inquiry are ways of organizing inquiry and
analysis of the myriad people, events, and ideas of the past. These categories of
historical inquiry and analysis provide the patterns that help us make sense of the past.

The outer banner and inner panel are in continuous, dynamic interaction with one
another. The outer banner wraps around the entire poster because the historical process of
studying the past informs what we can know about the past. The inner panel is relevant to
all stages of the historical process because we use these categories of inquiry to formulate
the questions we ask of the past and to determine what matters and why it matters as we
construct a historical interpretation.

Understanding the elements of historical literacy is essential to teaching historical literacy.

This section of the guide explains the key elements of historical process and historical
categories of inquiry. It includes rubrics you can use to assess the historical literacy of
curriculum plans, classroom activities and student learning. (Full page copies of these
charts and rubrics are included in Section 4: Resources.)

11  ■ Elements of Historical Literacy

 wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
cause and effect cHange and continuity
•what were the causes of
past events? • what has changed?
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

•what were the effects? • what has remained the same?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

tHinking like
a Historian

using tHe past turning points

• How does the past help us make • How did past decisions or actions
sense of the present? affect future choices?

tHrougH tHeir eyes

• How did people in the past
view their world?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
™ CESA 2, UWW, WHS - 2006

[Full size chart available in Resource section]

Important points to keep in mind as you read on:

C  istorical literacy cannot be separated from “content.” Content is essential

H
and inescapable. The historical process requires the evaluation and analysis
of historical evidence (historical facts, broadly defined). Content supplies the
building blocks for historical interpretation.

C  ome
S processes and concepts are easier to communicate than others.
For example, most teachers can imagine ways to explore cause or effect with
children of all ages. Some are more difficult and can be misunderstood. For
example, many teachers may wonder whether young children can make
connections between past and present. However….

C Learners at all levels can engage in all stages of the historical process and they
can use all historical categories of inquiry. Naturally 3rd graders will not master
these at the same level or complexity as 10th graders. Teaching historical literacy
requires developmentally appropriate classroom activities and lessons for all
learners. See Section 3 for examples.

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 12

 How Do We Know? – Historical Process
The historical process is the procedure that historians use to learn about the past.
Historians use this disciplinary process whenever they study the past. It consists of three
steps. Although it must necessarily look and feel a bit different in the classroom, teaching
and learning historical literacy requires the same three steps.

1. Asking questions about the past

2. Gathering sources and Evaluating the evidence in those sources
3. Drawing conclusions, supported by the evidence, that answer the questions

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
How do How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
we know? we know?
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?

wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
cause and effect cHange and continuity
•what were the causes of
Questions past events? • what has changed?
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?

•what were the effects? • what has remained the same?

History is a study of the past, it is not the past itself. That study of the past, history, begins
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

wHat matters? wHy does it matter?

with questions. Historians and others ask a wide range of questions about the past. Yet, as
tHinking like
we examine those questions, we can discern certain patterns. Helping students understand
a Historian
this is an essential element of history education.
1. History begins with questions – something we want to know, something
using tHe past turning points
we are• How
curious about.
does the past help us make • How did past decisions or actions
sense of the present? affect future choices?
2. Questions about the past generally fall into one of the five historical
categories of inquiry. tHrougH tHeir eyes
• How did people in the past
3. Some questions are better than view theirothers.
world? The most interesting and meaningful
questions recognize that the human experience in the past was as complex
Howas
do the present. Historical events unfolded as different people, groups and
wHat matters? wHy does it matter?
How do
How can we find out? How do we evaluate tHe evidence?
institutions with different
we know? experiences, needs, ideas and degrees
wHat questions do we ask of tHe past? How? wHat? wHere? wHen? wHy? wHo?
of power
we know?
™
interacted with one another. CESA 2, UWW, WHS - 2006

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Historical Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

Process

• requires attention to • requires attention to • requires attention to • c an be answered with

Questions multiple perspectives or multiple perspectives or only one perspective or simple yes/no or T/F or
• Some questions are better experiences experiences experience fill in the blank
than others. The most • requires significant • requires some explanation • little explanation of • s eeks factual responses
interesting and meaningful manipulation and use of or manipulation of evidence required that require little to no
questions recognize that evidence to support answer evidence •m  ay not require explanation or integration
the human experience in • requires analysis that • requires some use of consideration of of evidence
the past was as complex incorporates two or more evidence to support answer historical context •d  oes not require
as the present. TLH categories •m  ay call for compare/ consideration of historical
• Historical events unfolded • requires consideration of contrast or before/after context
as different people, historical context and statements
groups and institutions change over time •m  ay not require
with different experiences, consideration of
needs, ideas and degrees historical context
of power interacted

13  ■ How do We Know?—Historical Process

 Evidence
In order to answer historical questions we need information. This information, the
historical evidence, comes from secondary sources (such as books, documentaries,
lectures, textbooks and maps) and primary sources (such as letters, newspapers,
speeches, diaries, treaties, photographs, oral interviews, and census reports). Historical
evidence contains facts about the past. Facts are not history. Helping students understand
this is an essential element of history education.

1. Facts are the building blocks and supporting evidence we need in

order to answer the really interesting and meaningful historical questions.

2. Not all historical sources are equal. It is necessary to consider ways

in which a number of factors may affect the validity of each source.
Among these are: the creator of the source, the creator’s perspective
and knowledge about events, the purpose the source was created,
and the intended audience for the source.

3. Multiple sources are needed in order to fully understand the complexity

and importance of any historical event, era, or person, or group.
“Dumbing it down” can lead to incorrect, distorted or mythical conclusions.

4. Sources must provide information about both historical context and the
topic under study.

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Historical Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

Process

•u  ses multiple primary • uses multiple sources •u

 ses one or two sources, •u
 ses one, generally
Evidence and secondary sources •g  enerally includes com- generally secondary; secondary source
Historical sources are not representing a variety of bination of primary and source(s) presents its (textbook, encyclopedia)
all equal. perspectives and/or types secondary sources, account of the past as •n
 o attempt to evaluate
• It is necessary to consider of information although may use one or “authoritative uncontested validity, perspective or
factors that affect the • identifies author/creator of two of each truth” credibility of source
validity of each source. sources and requires • identifies author/creator •n
 o attention to evaluating
• Among these are: the assessment of effect of this of source, although may validity or perspective of
creator of the source, the on validity and perspective not consider the effect of the source(s)
creator’s perspective and • requires deep analysis of this on validity, perspec-
knowledge about events, information, motivation tive or how to evaluate the
the purpose the source and perspectives expressed source(s)
was created, and the in sources • requires some
intended audience • requires comparison/ consideration of
• Multiple sources are contrasts with other sources information, motivation
needed in order to fully as part of each source and perspective expressed
understand the complexity analysis in source
and importance of any
historical event, era,
person, or group.
“Dumbing it down” can
lead to incorrect, distorted
or mythical conclusions.

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 14

 Interpretation
The final and essential step in doing history is historical interpretation. Historical
interpretation answers a historical question using the reasonably available historical
record (primary and secondary sources). Helping students understand this is an
essential element of history education.

1. Whether the question is stated explicitly or not, all secondary

sources are examples of historical interpretation.

2. Although the past cannot change, history does change. History

is a study of the past. New questions, new sources or new
understandings of familiar sources and/or new explanations or
syntheses of the evidence lead to new interpretations.

3. All historical interpretations are not equal. Some are better

than others. Some are wrong. Some are misleading. (see
discussion of bias and opinion vs interpretation in Section 1)

4. The quality of one’s historical interpretation depends on the

questions one asks, the breadth and depth of the sources one uses,
and the sophistication of one’s analysis and synthesis of the sources
in support of the answer to the historical question.

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Historical Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

Process

Interpretation • a nalysis and synthesis are •e

 xplains how and why (as •p  rimarily addresses what, • responses are at recall
fully supported by ideas, well as what, when, where, when, where, who level of Bloom’s taxonomy
concepts and information who) • responses are low on •d  oes not use evidence to
Historical interpretations are
from multiple sources •m
 ay concentrate on Bloom’s taxonomy (identify support responses
not all equal
• e
 xplains historical context presenting a linked and describe)
• Some are better than
and reasons for change chronology or juxtaposing • little use of evidence to
others.
over time two different perspectives support response
• Some are wrong.
• a
 ccounts for multiple •u
 ses some evidence from
• Some are misleading. perspectives and sources to support
experiences explanations
• m
 akes connections and •m
 ay recognize, but does
explains relationships not analyze reasons for
between people, events, differences, similarities,
ideas, places change over time
• e
 xplanation of significance •o
 ffers generalized
is clear and recognizes explanation of significance
complex connections
between people, events,
concepts and/or past and
present.

15 ■ How do We Know?—Historical Process

Historical Categories of Inquiry
Historical categories of inquiry are ways of organizing investigation and interpretation
of the past. They encapsulate key patterns of historical inquiry, analysis and synthesis.
Regardless of the specific time or place, historians’ curiosity about the past (questions) and
their conclusions about what matters and why (interpretations) are connected to these
categories:

1. Cause and Effect

2. Change and Continuity
3. Turning Points
4. Using the Past
5. Through Their Eyes

Teachers can use these historical categories of inquiry to connect the study of one period,
place or event to other periods, places or events. Pedagogically, this serves two important
purposes:

• First, continuous use of these historical categories provides a way to integrate students’
prior knowledge. In this respect, the framework can serve as the foundation of a
spiraled and sequenced curriculum, even as the “content” topics shift from the American
Revolution to the Civil War or from state history to ancient civilizations.

• S
 econd, continuous use of these historical categories builds a common language that
students can use to direct their curiosity and exploration of any historical topic. As students
learn to think about the past according to these disciplinary patterns they are freed from
notions of history as a collection of facts. History becomes a way of thinking about the
past, rather than details to be recalled as history teachers and tests demand.

The questions in the following pages explain and expand on the Chart and
Question Chart below. [Full size charts available in Resources section]

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 16

 TLH Chart, Inner Panel

What Questions do We ask of the past?

thinking like a historian

cause and effect change and continuity turning points using the past through their eyes

What were the causes of What has changed? how did past decisions or how does the past help us how did people in the past
past events? actions affect future choices? make sense of the present? view their world?
What has remained the same?
What were the effects? • How did decisions • How is the past similar • How did their worldview
• Who has benefited
or actions narrow or to the present? affect their choices and
• Who or what made from this change?
eliminate choices actions?
change happen? And why?
for people? • How is the past
different from the • What values, skills
• Who supported • Who has not benefited?
• How did decisions or present? and forms of
change? And why?
actions significantly knowledge did people
transform people’s • What can we learn need to succeed?
• Who did not support lives? from the past?
change?

• Which effects were

intended?

• Which effects were

accidental?

• How did events

affect people’s lives,
community, and the
world?

™ CESA 2, UWW, WHS - 2006

TLH Question Chart

Teachers and students can use these questions as starting points to guide their inquiry and
analysis of historical topics. The generic nature of these questions captures the common
threads that underpin historical knowledge and make it possible to explore similarities,
differences and trends across historical time and place. These questions are purposefully
broad in order to suggest the range of issues that can be explored through each analytical
category.

Teachers and students can use these questions as prompts or starting points for
elaborating more detailed or topic-specific questions. For example, a sub-set of the Cause
and Effect question, “Who or what made change happen?” might be: “How did economic
conditions affect what happened?” or “How did the new law affect world trade?” A
sub-set of the Turning Points question “How did decisions or actions significantly
transform people’s lives?” might be: “How did the arrival of millions of immigrants
between 1880–1920 transform American cities?” or “How did U.S. foreign policy
change as a consequence of World War II?”

17  ■ Historical Categories of Inquiry

 Cause and Effect
Although the terms sound simple, the causes and effects of historical events can be very
complex. In order to investigate and develop a meaningful understanding of historical
cause and effect students need to look beyond single factors. They need to explore the full
complexity of the past, recognizing that every event was effected by and affected multiple
groups of people and institutions.

We can never know, and certainly we cannot teach, about every person, group or
institution. However, full consideration of key groups and their different ideas, motives,
actions, and experiences must be part of the story if we are to develop an understanding
of the past that reasonably explains what happened and why. This demands attention to
causes and effects that are readily apparent as well as those that are more subtle although
no less significant, to causes and effects connected to the period immediately surrounding
an event as well as those that unfolded over long periods of time, and to causes and effects
that were intended as well as to those that were unintended. The following questions open
pathways to deeper inquiry and analysis: [excerpted from Question Chart, Resources section]

What were the causes of past events? What were the effects?
• Who or what made change happen? • Which effects were intended?
• Who supported change? • Which effects were accidental?
• Who did not support change? • How did events affect people’s lives,
community, and the world?

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Categories Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

of Inquiry
•d  istinguishes multiple •d  istinguishes multiple •a
 ddresses multiple causes •a
 ddresses only one or two
Cause & Effect causes and/or multiple causes of an event and/or and/or effects causes and/or effects
Long term causes and/or effects, including both multiple effects of an event, •b
 ut limited to short term •g
 enerally limited to short
effects include: obvious and intended including long and short and obvious/intended term and obvious/intended
• events, actions or and more subtle and term only only
changing patterns of life unintended causes and • recognizes that different
occurring years or effects, as well as long groups were affected in
decades before or after and short term causes different ways
the topic of study and effects
• existing cultural values or • recognizes that different
beliefs groups were affected in
different ways
• political or economic
systems that set limits on
people’s choices

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 18

 Change and Continuity
Historical chronology is a distinguishing characteristic of history. Historical chronology
differs from other chronologies. For example, the physical sciences include cyclical
chronologies (seasons of the year) and repeatable chronologies (experiments that can
be reproduced in accordance with a recognized method). Historical chronology is neither
cyclical nor repeatable. Rather, historical chronology is focused on change over time.
Historical chronology marks the passage of time and the passage of people and events of
that time.

Certainly there are patterns in human experience that reappear across time and space.
Understanding these patterns is part of, but not the entirety of understanding historical
chronology. More importantly, historians seek to understand how and why things change.
In order to do this successfully, they must consider that different people and groups
participate in and experience the same events in different ways. The following questions
open pathways to deeper inquiry and analysis: [excerpted from Question Chart, Resources
section]

What has changed?

What has remained the same?
• Who has benefited from this change? And why?
• Who has not benefited from this change? And why?

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Categories Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

of Inquiry
Change & • c learly links change AND • c learly links change AND • c learly links change AND •a  ddresses change OR
Continuity continuity to a specific continuity to a specific continuity to a specific continuity, failing to
event or series of event or series of event or series of address both
• The past does not repeat developments developments; developments • c onnection of change or
itself.
• addresses change and •a  ddresses change and • limited attention to either continuity to the specific
• Some aspects of the continuity on multiple levels continuity in terms of both long OR short time periods event or series of
human experience are including social, economic, long and short time and/or focus on only one developments not clear
constant over long periods political and/or cultural periods, trends or patterns type (social, economic,
of time. and over both long and political or cultural)
•m  ay focus on only one type
short time periods, trends (social, economic, political
or patterns or cultural);
• recognizes that different • recognizes that different
groups were affected in groups were affected in
different ways different ways

19  ■ Historical Categories of Inquiry

 Turning Points
Some change is so dramatic that historians refer to these points of new departure as
historical turning points. A turning point signifies a profound change in one or more of
the major arenas of human experience (political, social, economic or cultural/intellectual).
Turning points are characterized by change of such magnitude that the course of
individual experiences and societal development begins to follow a new trajectory,
shaped by a new set of possibilities and constraints.

In some cases, people recognize that they are in the midst of a historical turning point. The
dropping of the atomic bombs at the end of World War II is a relatively recent example
of this. (Of course, recognizing that one is living through a historical turning point does
not mean that one can predict the outcomes of that turning point.) In other cases, people
do not recognize that shifting events are remaking their world. Only the rare American in
1776 might have guessed that their War of Independence was the opening battle in an
“age of revolutions” that overthrew the Ancien Regime in France and European empires
in the Americas. The following questions open pathways to deeper inquiry and analysis:
[excerpted from Question Chart, Resources section]

How did past decisions or actions affect future choices?

• How did decisions or actions narrow or eliminate choices for people?
• How did decisions or actions significantly transform people’s lives?

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Categories Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

of Inquiry

Turning Points • recognizes both major • recognizes major, tradition- • recognizes major, tradi- •d
 oes not identify any
historical events (wars, ally-studied historical tionally-studied historical historical changes or event
New set of parameters or industrial revolution) AND events as “turning points” events as “turning points” as a “turning point” which
new path of social, political less obvious events (migra- (wars, industrial revolution, (wars, industrial revolu- set a new course or new
or economic development tion and demography, economic depression) tion, economic depression) set of parameters
For example: social or cultural changes, •e  xplains why or how •d  oes not explain why
• end of slavery technological or medical these events established a or how these events
• rise of waged labor changes) as “turning new set of parameters or established a new set of
• rise of U.S. as a global points” established a different path parameters or established
power • explains why or how these of historical development a different path of
• emergence of Victorian developments established historical development
norms of womanhood a new set of parameters or
and manhood established a different path
of historical development

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 20

 Using the Past
Drawing lessons from the past can be a powerful way to make sense of the present and to
inform decisions about the future. One can also use the past for less immediate purposes.
Historians use their understanding of one historical event to explain the background to
or raise questions about another historical event. Using the past in both ways, to inform
choices in the present and to better understand events in the past, makes history relevant.
Using the past invests history with meaning.

At the same time, using the past responsibly is fraught with enormous challenges. Since
history does not repeat itself, no past event is a perfect guide to later events or future
actions. Using the past responsibly requires finding the useable past. In order to find
the useable past we must be able to discriminate between those events and aspects of the
past that are relevant to and those that are not relevant to the event under study.

Some historical similarities are comparable, others are not. For example, comparing
divorce rates in 1890 to those in 1990 would lead to false conclusions about the stability
of the American nuclear family. Why? The significant causes of family instability in 1890
were death and desertion, not divorce. Although many Americans opposed U.S.
involvement in both the Philippine-American War and World War I, the former is more
relevant if one is trying to understand public opposition to the American War in Vietnam.
Why? Guerilla warfare and charges of imperial intent fueled popular discontent with both
of these wars. The following questions open pathways to deeper inquiry and analysis:
[excerpted from Question Chart, Resources section]

How does the past help us make sense of the present?

• How is the past similar to the present?
• How is the past different from the present?
• What can we learn from the past?

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Categories Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

of Inquiry

Using the Past • distinguishes elements of, • traces developmental • recognizes similarities •m
 akes no connections be-
or patterns in, past events relationship, over time and and/or differences tween past events or trends
Historians only use parts or periods that are similar space, between past between past events and and contemporary life
of the past. Need to to AND that are different events or patterns and contemporary issues,
discriminate between which from a contemporary contemporary events or but makes simple, linear
parts of past events are situation patterns; connections that jump
comparable and which are • using knowledge of that • recognizes factors that over decades/centuries of
not by considering: past event or period draws have contributed to time without addressing
• What are the parallels or supportable conclusions changes over time in the impact of intervening
similarities? about the contemporary parallel event or pattern developments
• What is different? situation
• All similarities are not
“useable” for comparative
purposes

21  ■ Historical Categories of Inquiry

 Through Their Eyes
This can be the most fascinating aspect of historical study. It opens a door to understanding
both what all humanity shares in common and the many ways in which we are different. It
brings us closest to the real lives of real people in the past. What did their world look like?
How did they spend their days and nights? Who was in their family and what were they
expected to do? What motivated them to act in the ways they did? How did they deal with
the problems of their day?

This can also be the most misunderstood aspect of historical study. Exploring these and
many other questions can deepen historical understanding only if we remember
that we are observers of the past, not actors in the past. We can never be an
African-American woman watching her children dragged away by slave traders. We can
never be an Italian boy preparing to leave the only home he knows to join his father in a
far away place called New York. We have a different set of beliefs, expectations, desires,
fears, opportunities and experiences than they did. What is logical or rational to us may
have been impossible, inconceivable, or foolhardy in their world – and vice versa. Ignoring
this leads to errors of “presentism.”

What we can do is to “listen” to the voices of the past without preconceptions. We must let
people of the past begin and end their own sentences. In order to understand why people
thought and acted in the way they did in the past we need to see the world as they saw it.
We need to see their world through their eyes. The following questions open pathways to
deeper inquiry and analysis: [excerpted from Question Chart, Resources section]

How did people in the past view their world?

• How did their worldview affect their choices and actions?
• What values, skills and forms of knowledge did people need to succeed?

Rubric for teachers [excerpted from Instruction and Assessment Planning Rubric, Resources section]
Use rubrics for self-reflection, evaluating lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessment.

Categories Level: 4 Level: 3 Level: 2 Level: 1

of Inquiry

Through their •d
 raws interpretive • recognizes that historical • recognizes that people’s •u
 ses contemporary values
eyes connections between the actors brought multiple lives in the past differed and knowledge [early 21st
ways in which different perspectives to the same in significant way from century] to explain or
• Seek to understand the groups of historical actors event, reflecting differences contemporary, 21st make sense of past actions
world view of historical understood “their present” in class, gender, race/ century, life; inc. gender or decisions
actors and the ways this (as in level 3) and the ethnicity, region, religion, roles, class divisions,
affected their choices and ways they responded to age, education, past personal and national
actions. the problems, opportuni- experiences goals, racial/ethnic
• Avoid presentism (evalu- ties and choices that •d  oes not necessarily attitudes, material
ating the past according confronted them connect these perspectives standards of life
to present-day beliefs and to significant historical •m  ay connect this to
actions) developments personal goals or actions

Thinking Like a Historian: Elements of Historical Literacy n 22

 TEACHING HISTORICAL LITERACY:
What does it look like?

The study of history always begins with questions. Good history teaching also begins
with questions.

• What do my students know when they arrive in my classroom?

• What should my students know when they leave my classroom?
• Why should they know it? Why does it matter?
• How can I help them learn what they should know?

Connecting what we do in the classroom on a day-to-day basis to larger lesson, unit and
curriculum goals can be a challenge in any subject area. This section offers ideas and
examples of ways you can use the Thinking Like a Historian framework to make
those connections and build your students’ historical literacy.

CURRICULUM AND LESSON PLANNING

As discussed earlier, historians become “talkative detectives” in order
Course Plan: to answer their historical questions. [See Learning History-Making Sense
Historical Themes of the Past, Section 1] Teachers should engage in a similar type of
Big Picture conversation in order to ensure that history curriculum and lessons promote
historical literacy. In this case, the conversation needs to examine ways
to connect what will happen in the classroom on a daily or weekly basis to
larger unit, school year and developmental objectives for history learning.
Unit Plan: The challenge is to establish curriculum and lessons that clearly identify
Driving Questions and connect history specific learning objectives at each of these levels.
The Curriculum Planning chart, which has three tiers, serves as a guide
and overview. [Full size worksheet available in Resources section]

CURRICULUM PLANNING FOR HISTORY

Lesson Plan:
Key Understandings COURSE PLAN: Historical Themes — Big Picture
Historically significant developments, types of activities or patterns that students can follow or pick up at multiple
times during a school year and as they move from class to class.

Little Picture The Historical Themes for this Course will be:

UNIT PLAN: Driving Questions

Bridge between historical themes (big picture, above) and key understandings (lesson, below) Promotes deep
understanding of historically significant era or events. Focuses on the era or events in terms of historical
categories of inquiry. Driving Questions inform lesson design and define what students should know at the
end of the unit.

Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Additional

Units...
Driving Question: Driving Question: Driving Question:

LESSON PLAN: Key Understandings — Little Picture

Instructional purpose is determined by the historical themes for the course (big picture) and driving questions for
the unit. Explains what students will understand at the end of the lesson. Includes Content, Process and
Application.

Key Understandings: Additional Additional

Lessons... Lessons...

Lesson Content:

Lesson Process:

Lesson Application:

TM UWW, WHS, CESA 2 - 2007

23 ■ Curriculum Planning: Choosing Historical Themes

CURRICULUM PLANNING
Choosing Historical Themes – The Big Picture
Anyone who teaches history quickly realizes that there is an overwhelming amount
of content. Even if there is a clearly articulated curriculum, teachers must make
conscious decisions about what to teach. Knowing that a class must study
the American Civil War or Ancient Rome does not, by itself, tells us what
students should know about that topic. By asking – and answering – questions
about the past, teachers are able to prioritize content and present lessons that
provoke inquiry. Perhaps the most important question is: “Why does it matter?”

“Why does it Matter?” directs our attention to historical significance.

Historically significant
Historically significant people, events and ideas can be connected to larger
people, events and
historical stories. Historians sometimes call these larger historical stories “themes.” ideas can be connected
Historians construct historical themes as they study the past. They make sense of to larger historical
and find meaning in the details of the past by connecting people, events and ideas stories or “themes.”
to themes that cross time and space.

What are the historically significant themes? What are the larger stories that cross
time and space? Historians and teachers of history may arrive at different answers
When historians use
to these questions. As teachers we need to choose historical themes that have
scope and sequence across the school year and from year to year. Themes are
the term “time” they
historically significant stories that students can follow or pick up at multiple
mean the passage of
times during a school year and as they move from class to class. Themes chronological time as
are the building blocks for a history scope and sequence that can draw on measured by days,
student learning in prior units or classes and extend student learning for later months, years, centu-
units or classes. ries, millennia. When
historians use the term
Choosing themes should be the first step in curriculum planning. For those familiar “space” they mean
with the process of Backward Design, this is the history-specific equivalent of geographical place, as
choosing overarching understandings.1 defined by village, city,
countryside, region,
nation, empire.

1
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design, (Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005).

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 24

 CURRICULUM PLANNING FOR HISTORY

COURSE PLAN: Historical Themes — Big Picture

Historically significant developments, types of activities or patterns that students can follow or pick up at multiple
times during a school year and as they move from class to class.

The Historical Themes for this Course will be:

[Excerpted from Curriculum Planning for History Worksheet, Resources section]

UNIT PLAN: Driving Questions
Bridge between historical themes (big picture, above) and key understandings (lesson, below) Promotes deep
understanding of historically significant era or events. Focuses on the era or events in terms of historical
How does one go about choosing themes? To get started its important to remember that:
categories of inquiry. Driving Questions inform lesson design and define what students should know at the
end of the unit.
 istory encompasses change over time. Thus, historically significant themes focus
•H
attention on aspects of the past that underwent or contributed to significant change
overUnit Topic:
time. Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Additional
Units...
•H
 istory
Drivingencompasses
Question: allDriving
aspects of the humanDriving
Question: Question: Thus, historically
experience.
significant themes focus attention on economic, social, political, cultural, intellectual,
and/or technological developments.
• History encompasses the experiences of all people. Thus, historically significant
themes focus attention on everyday life, social customs, powerful people and groups
and people and groups with little or no power.
LESSON PLAN: Key Understandings — Little Picture
• Identifying and selecting historically significant themes that meet these criteria
Instructional purpose is determined by the historical themes for the course (big picture) and driving questions for
requires historical
the unit. Explains knowledge.
what students In addition
will understand at the end to one’s
of the own
lesson. historical
Includes Content, knowledge,
Process and
teachers should take full advantage of the collective wisdom of historians. Historians,
Application.
often in collaboration with classroom teachers and education administrators, have
produced a number of resources designed specifically to identify
Key Understandings: Additionaland explain significant
Additional
historical themes for K–12 education. Rather than reinventing Lessons...
the wheel, you Lessons...
can use the
three criteria above to select historically significant themes from these well-vetted sources.
Lesson Content:
[See “Starting Places: Finding Historical Themes” below.]
• Some state and school district history standards incorporate significant historical
Often these coincide with recommendations made in the sources listed below
Lesson Process:
themes.
because the standard-writers consulted these well-vetted sources.

Lesson Application:

TM UWW, WHS, CESA 2 - 2007

25 ■ Curriculum Planning: Choosing Historical Themes

Starting Places: Finding Historical Theme
Note: Some of the themes identified in these sources are immediately transferable to the classroom. Some of the
themes may need to be narrowed or expanded for courses focused on a particular historical era or region.

C L essons from History: Essential Understandings and Historical Perspectives Students

Should Acquire, identifies and explains four major narrative themes for U.S. and World
History. The themes for U.S. History, for example, are: (1) The gathering of the many
peoples who have made up and are still transforming U.S. society; (2) The economic
and technological transformation of the United States; (3) Change and continuity in
American culture, thought and education, in religious and moral values; (4) Democracy’s
evolution in the United States and our Changing global role.2

C  uilding a History Curriculum, describes up to a dozen central themes for U.S., West-
B
ern and World History. The eight themes for U.S. history, for example, include: (1) The
evolution of American political democracy, its ideas, institution, and practices…; (2) The
development of the American economy; geographic and other forces at work; the role
of the frontier and agriculture; the impact of technological change and urbanization…;
(3) The gathering of people and cultures from many countries, and the several religious
traditions….; (4) The changing role of the United States in the outside world; relations
between domestic affairs and foreign policy…3

C  merican Historical Association pamphlet series on teaching. Pamphlets on specific

A
historical topics explain the major themes that animate historical study of that topic,
provide succinct discussion of those themes and include recommendations for further
resources. Topics include African-American history, immigration history and women’s
history, among others.4

C  agazine of History, a publication of the Organization of American Historians, focuses

M
on a different historical topic in each issue. Introductory articles discuss the significant
historical themes and historical questions that animate study of that issue’s topic.5

C  istory Now, an on-line publication of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, also highlights a
H
specific historical topic in each issue. Articles explain historical themes related to that
topic as well as connections between those topical and larger historical themes.6
C [Additional resources listed in Resource section]

2
National Center for History in the Schools, Lessons from History: Essential Understandings and Historical Perspectives Students Should Acquire, (Los
Angeles: National Center for History in the Schools, 1992), pp. 28–40. This companion volume to the National Standards in History is a treasure trove
of ideas, information and explanations about topics and themes for both U.S. and World History.
3
National Council for History Education, Building a History Curriculum: Guidelines for Teaching History in Schools, (Westlake, Ohio: National Center for
History Education, 2003), pp. 12–15.
4
Titles for the teaching pamphlets as well as additional sources on teaching history can be found in the on-line publications catalog for the American
Historical Association. http://www.historians.org/pubs/overview.cfm [accessed 8/15/07]
5
Organization of American Historians, Magazine of History. Published bi-monthly. Subscription information available at:
http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/ [accessed 8/15/07]
6
Gilder Lehrman Institute, History Now. Published quarterly. Accessible on-line at: http://www.historynow.org/past.html [accessed 8/15/07]

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 26

 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

Examples from the Field Choosing Historical Themes

Unit Plan:
Driving Questions
• State History: Elementary School

Lesson Plan: When I plan the curriculum for fourth grade social studies I need to
Key Understandings consider all the social studies content strands pertaining to Wisconsin’s
Little Picture
geography, history, economy, culture, and government. I give focus and
direction to this broad spectrum of content by putting history at the
center.

I develop course themes for fourth grade social studies directly from
TLH: What matters? and Why does it matter? I address this issue of
significance by developing overarching questions about the past that
will help my students make sense of the present (using the past). These
thematic questions purposefully incorporate multiple categories of
historical inquiry: When did people come? Why did they stay? Why
did they leave? (cause and effect) What did the people of the past do to
survive? (through their eyes) What has changed? What has remained
the same? How have people’s attitudes changed over time? (change and
tor y
tate His continuity)
TOPIC: S
:
l Themes
Historica
e people When did people come here? Why did they stay? Why did they leave?
T h is la nd’s nativ f years
•  
iv e d th o usands o These questions allow me and my students to make connections
surv s
l resource
on natura , between the ancient people who migrated here during the last Ice
explorers
uropean
• Early E immigrants Age, the European explorers thousands of years later, immigrant
traders & hange
influence
dc settlers during the 1800s coupled with the forced relocation of
ted the Native peoples, and urban migration during the Industrial
ment crea
• Govern isconsin and
state of W s to relocate Revolution. Seeking answers to these big questions helps my
tive
forced na students develop a skeletal understanding of who came to this land
s tied
ic change
• Econom resources & before us. Using the past, students can analyze the factors that
l
to natura nces
o lo g ical adva brought their own ancestors to this place. Turning points such as
techn
impacted the Black Hawk War and the Trail of Tears are events that illustrate
a ti o n a l conflicts
• N
Wisconsi
n how others were forced out of their homelands, and compelled to
create new communities and means of survival.

27 ■ Examples from the Field: Choosing Historical Themes

What did the people of the past do to survive? This big question leads young histori-
ans to initially examine archeological evidence that points to hunting and gathering.
My students make connections to this theme as they read historical accounts of 18th
century fur trading, 19th century lumber industry, and the impact of advances in
agriculture and industrialization that preceded the current leading industry,
tourism. Learning about the change and continuity of our economic past enables
students to articulate thoughtful responses to the questions, What has changed? and
What has remained the same?

How have Wisconsin people’s attitudes changed over time? Striving to understand
how the people of the past perceived the world around them requires an emotional
detachment on the part of historians. To think like historians, my students learn to
refrain from using contemporary values to judge historical attitudes in an effort to
better understand the past. They need to avoid presentism. We look at the role of
government in the shaping of our state and note that one reason the first state
constitution was voted down in 1846 was because it gave women the right to vote.
Two years later, the second state constitution was ratified without that provision.
While such an attitude seems repugnant today, it does help to explain why women
have had and continue to have less voice in our government than men.

TOPIC: Moder
n
• Modern United States History: High School United States
History
Historical Them
es
• The growth of
Through much of my teaching career, and like many history teachers democracy
participatory
who wrestle with how to organize a great amount of content into a • The role of w
omen
limited time, I carefully outlined my courses into general time • Dissent and
dissenters in
periods, and then into units connected to historically significant American life
events. The unit titles described the big ideas connected to these • Land use an
d the significan
events. However, the course organization was based primarily on of the environm ce
ent
moving from one time period to another. • Religion in Am
erican Histor y
• The role of et
hnic and
As I reviewed my units and events using the framework, I minority groups
realized that what I taught during the first half of the course was • Work and th
e role of labor
not necessarily informing and supporting what I taught during
the second half. On reflection, I determined that time periods,

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 28

 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

which are useful organizers for the structure of a history course, are
Unit Plan: not, by themselves, historically meaningful or significant. Further,
Driving Questions major events within each time period can be studied in many ways. As
a consequence, historically significant connections between events in
different time periods may not be as self-evident to students as they are
to teachers. I needed to explore ways to tie together what
Lesson Plan: matters over time for my students.
Key Understandings
Little Picture
I began to look for the overarching themes that connected my units
across major time periods. I needed to identify historically significant
concepts, problems and types of events that appeared repeatedly across
time periods. I asked myself:

• “ What were the most significant changes in or characteristics of the

United States over time?”
• “Which changes have been most enduring or part of a process that
has unfolded across the stretch of time covered by my course?”

I looked for patterns embedded in my unit titles and reviewed national

and state standards. I used the historical categories of inquiry to
check whether I was considering the full range of historical inquiry and
experiences. I used my own skills and knowledge to decide that cultural
and social history is as important to understanding American life as is
political history. I determined to address historically significant ideas
and events often given short shrift by traditional U.S. history programs.

This process led me to select seven historical themes: the growth of

participatory democracy; the role of women; dissent and dissenters
in American life; land use and the significance of the environment;
religion in American history; the role of ethnic and minority groups;
and work and the role of labor.

Understanding how Americans think about land, use it, and fight over
it is central to understanding our nation. Land use patterns for much
of the American colonial period through the late nineteenth century
reveal a desire to shape the land for agricultural purposes or for

29 ■ Examples from the Field: Choosing Historical Themes

wholesale extraction of natural resources. This often resulted in the devastation of
native environments. By the progressive era, however, Americans began to think
differently about both land and resources in ways that encouraged responsible use
and conservation. Later in the 20th century, a fully developed conservation
movement entered national life in the arenas of government, science, education, and
private reform movements. Using this historical theme throughout the course allows
students to consider why land and resource use have changed over time, and why
that matters. This historical theme also promotes students’ understanding of the
historical literacy elements of change and continuity, cause and effect and turning
points.

The same is true of the historical theme of work and the role of labor. This is a
central characteristic of our national history so common that it often goes
unseen in many history courses. For example, across units of American history I
encourage students to use primary sources to explore how workers have viewed
their work conditions, and how working people have responded, individually and
collectively, to challenges posed by their work. This approach encourages students
to see the past through their eyes, and helps them to use the past to understand how
today’s working conditions are shaped by those who came before.

It is important to choose themes that make sense to you, that matter historically, that
are tied to national, state and local history standards, and that mesh with available
materials and resources in your school setting. Keep them fresh and change them
over time as your own historical knowledge grows. In the end, historical themes are
vitally important because they give your course a coherent shape that students can
recognize and use.

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 30

 Unit Planning: Deciding What to Teach
I find myself trying to design unit lessons so students can apply material instead of memorization/
assessment only.
–TAH Teaching Fellow

State standards and district curricula identify far more information than students will
understand and retain in any given year of study. Deciding which information is essential
and which may be covered more lightly or not at all can be difficult. The framework
enables a teacher to narrow the instructional focus and determine an order of importance
in choosing what to teach.

History begins with questions. A history unit begins with the development of driving
questions. Driving questions serve as the bridge between the big picture historical themes
identified for the course and the key understandings and learning goals for an individual
lesson. One can begin by using the historical categories of inquiry and the historical
themes for the course to identify the most significant aspects of the unit topic.

• Which
 events, people or ideas connected to this unit topic are most directly connected to
the historical themes for the course?
•S
 ee Getting Started: Finding Historical Themes, above, and the Resource section
for references to sources that can help you do this.

•A
 re those connections best demonstrated or historically significant because they help one
understand (one or more of the following):
•C
 ause and effect?
•C
 hange and continuity?
• T urning points?
•U
 sing the past?
• T hrough their eyes?

Use your answers to these questions to decide what you will teach.

•D
 evelop a limited number of declarative statements about what you want students
to understand by the end of the unit. “By the end of this unit students should
understand ________”

• T ransform those declarative statements into questions. These become the driving
questions for the unit. The driving questions should guide both teaching and student
learning. Students should be able to answer the driving questions at the end of the unit.

31 ■ Curriculum Planning: Unit Planning—Deciding What to Teach

 The answers to the driving questions help students make sense of the content.
Look for ways to expose students to all of the historical categories of inquiry, as well as
their accompanying pathway questions [See Question Chart], as the year progresses.
CURRICULUM PLANNING FOR HISTORY
Look for ways to use these repeatedly so that students gain familiarity and facility using
them to study the past.

COURSE PLAN: Historical Themes — Big Picture

Historically significant developments, types of activities or patterns that students can follow or pick up at multiple
times during a school year and as they move from class to class.

The Historical Themes for this Course will be:

UNIT PLAN: Driving Questions

Bridge between historical themes (big picture, above) and key understandings (lesson, below) Promotes deep
understanding of historically significant era or events. Focuses on the era or events in terms of historical
categories of inquiry. Driving Questions inform lesson design and define what students should know at the
end of the unit.

Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Additional

Units...
Driving Question: Driving Question: Driving Question:

[Excerpted from Curriculum Planning for History Worksheet, Resources section]

LESSON PLAN: Key Understandings — Little Picture
Instructional purpose is determined by the historical themes for the course (big picture) and driving questions for
the unit. Explains what students will understand at the end of the lesson. Includes Content, Process and
Application.

Key Understandings: Additional Additional

Lessons... Lessons...

Lesson Content:

Lesson Process:

Lesson Application:

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 32

TM UWW, WHS, CESA 2 - 2007
 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

Examples from the Field Unit Planning—Driving

Questions
Unit Plan:
Driving Questions
• The Built Environment: Middle School

Lesson Plan: As I plan units for my middle school classes I need to pay attention to
Key Understandings state standards and to all five strands of social studies (geography,
Little Picture
history, political science, economics and behavioral sciences).

I do this by placing history at the center of my social studies

curriculum. I have found that comprehension skills improve when
students act as historical detectives and seek answers to driving
questions. Students also gain a cogent understanding of the five
strands of social studies as they learn to answer the driving
ment
h e B u il t Environ questions. I use these tenets when planning eighth grade social
TOPIC: T artial list)
l Themes
: (p studies units.
Historica t is affecte ted
d by
b u il t e n vironmen e s lo ca
• The resourc
e ty p e o f natural In this unit I wanted my students to explore the course themes
th
n
in a regio and arch
itec- related to the built environment. Since the unit was going to
e o lo g ic a l remains p e o p le
• Arch ect th e focus on the built environment I decided that this was a good
ra l st ru c tures conn it h th e p eople
tu w
in the past opportunity to study something that my students could “feel
who lived p re se n t
in the
who live and touch.” Instead of studying the built environment in a place
u estions: they had never been, we would learn history from the built
Driving Q the early
t ways did munity use environment in a place that mattered to them – their own
• In wha m
of our co
residents s to alter their community.
source
natural re
ent?
environm ’s
om Beloit
d o e s e vidence fr The course themes related to the built environment are
• How ical record
and
archeolog structures connected to the historical categories of change and
ral
architectu ?
n st ra te change continuity and using the past. Studying the built environment
demo historical
d o e s id entifying us make in our local community would allow my students to discover
• How o f th e past help
re ?
architectu nity today that the past, historical change and evidence of change are
ur commu
sense of o
part of their everyday world. The local connection would
grab students’ attention and the materials needed to teach
the unit would be close at hand.

33 ■ Examples from the Field: Unit Planning—Driving Questions

One of my course themes integrates history and geography strands by focusing on
the relationship between natural resources and the man-made environment. Course
theme: The built environment is affected by the type of natural resources located in
a region. Combining this with the historical category of change and continuity can
lead to an understanding of how each generation or group that lived in this area left
evidence of its presence and its culture. I developed driving questions that would
direct my students to this understanding: In what ways did the early residents of our
community use natural resources to alter their environment? How does evidence
from Beloit’s archeological record and architectural structures demonstrate change?

Another course theme integrates the social studies strands by focusing on the ways
that the built environment connects past and present. Course theme: Archeological
remains and architectural structures connect the people who lived in the past with
the people who live in the present. Combining this with the historical categories of
change and continuity and using the past can lead to an understanding of why our
city looks the way it does today. I developed a driving question that would direct my
students to this understanding: How does identifying historical architecture of the
past help us make sense of our community today?

Art Deco Strong Building in the Downtown District.

Built c.1929

Queen Anne Style Home on Beloit’s East Side. Built c.1905

Although I didn’t have the answers to these driving questions when I began planning
this unit, the course themes and driving questions helped me locate sources quite
easily. The local library had information about historic buildings in our city. I
obtained a glossary of architectural styles from the state historical society. I used

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 34

 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

these to identify significant architectural structures in the city of Beloit

Unit Plan: – structures from historical eras and groups we would study during
Driving Questions the semester, structures that used different types of local resources,
structures that are still standing and would be familiar to my students.
Then, a colleague and I took pictures of these structures and buildings. I
planned to use these to take my students on a virtual tour of the city.
Lesson Plan:
Key Understandings The lessons that grew out of this unit were very successful. Excitement
Little Picture filled the room when students recognized public spaces, places of
worship, museums, and neighborhoods. When they saw the effigy
mounds students quickly realized that American Indians once
inhabited the area where a college campus is now situated. They drew
connections between local clays and the red and white brick that
characterizes early government buildings and houses of worship. As the
tour continued, students discovered that the local river once served as
a dividing line between the west side, home to the area’s first African
Americans enticed by jobs and company-built housing during World
War I, and the older established east side White community, reflected
in architecturally distinct housing styles. Local building of many styles
(Italianate, Queen Anne, and Art Deco) provided a timeline of the city’s
development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
ressive Era
TOPIC: Prog
l list)
hemes: (partia
Historical T
t
titudes abou
• Society’s at ho w pe ople
ed
gender affect s th ey • Progressive Era: High School
e choice
acted and th
made
st ions:
Driving Que and When I began planning this unit on the progressive era for
cts did women
• What effe ns ha ve
women’s orga
ni za tio my high school class I was overwhelmed by the number of people,
th e
rm during
on social refo ideas and events that could be “covered.” My textbook chapter on the
iv e er a?
progress progressive era devotes more space than usual to discussing women.
gain
hite women
• Why did w in 1 9 2 0 ? So, I decided that this would be a unit to focus on my course theme
te
the right to vo
about gender attitudes and people’s actions. Course theme: Society’s
attitudes about gender affected how people acted and the choices
they made. I took out a pad of paper and began to organize my
thoughts.

35 ■ Examples from the Field: Unit Planning—Driving Questions

 ehensive]
ded to be su ggestive, not compr
[this example is inten
ts - - -
People, Ideas, Even W W/ New Freedom vs
Debs/
N at io na lis m vs
ovement, TR/New ddams, Ida B. Wells,
Samuel
Settlement house m y Fi re , Ja ne A
Shirtwaist Fa ct or kers and
Socialism, Triangle ve ni le ju st ic e re fo rm, immigrant wor
ns, social gospel, ju th ts, initiative, referend
um & recall,
Gompers, trade unio 6- 19 am en dm en
ical reforms (1 ng campaign
neighborhoods, polit ct or y sa fe ty la w s) , NAACP, anti-lynchi
encies, fa
FDA & regulatory ag
al theme:
ctio ns be tw ee n un it topic and historic fo rm ers did not marry. In
stead
Conne m an y w om en re
) Jane Addams and selves in settlement
houses.
• Cause & Effect: (1 d ca re er fo r th em erns
kind of home an education and conc
they created a new ers pu t th ei r co lle ge
work women reform for healthier and sa
fer
Through settlement d ju st ic e to w or k
ren, democracy an most African-Amer
ican women,
about women, child ) Id a B. W el ls, lik e
communities and w
orkplaces (2 elf to work that
M or e th an m os t, she dedicated hers
r fam ily . omic
worked to support he in g th e ne ed s of he r race; exposed econ
come and serv
combined earning in a na tio nal movement agains
t lynching
ng an d le d
motives for lynchi oblems created by
re ss iv e era solutions to pr ily,
• Change and Cont
inui ty : (1 ) pr og
d fo cu se d on “fe m inine” concerns (fam
an
e pushed by women participate in
industrialization wer s fo r go ve rn m ent and who could
) new ro le omen
children, health) (2 of ci tiz en sh ip th at included white w
d a new definition
government include
:
ud en ts sh ou ld understand that eded to
By the end of this un it st
ve ry im po rt an t in identifying what ne
ere
en’s organizations w used by industrializ
ation
• Women and wom so lv e pr ob le m s ca
promoting reform to
be reformed and in e right to
fa ci ng sig ni fic an t opposition to earn th
any years while
• Women worked m
en” to them.
vote; it was not “giv
ive era
Driving questions: ’s organi za tions participate in progress
omen and women
• In what ways did w
reform?
ht to vote?
an d w hy di d w hite women gain the rig
• How

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 36

 Lesson Planning – The Little picture
Thinking Like a Historian has helped me focus my lesson planning so I can defend the choices I make with
credible evidence of pedagogy to the ‘powers that be’.
–TAH Teaching Fellow

Lessons within a unit of study must have a clear instructional purpose. Lessons must focus
on a key understanding as defined by the driving questions. In order to plan an effective
history lesson a teacher needs to keep this completed statement in mind:
“By the end of this lesson I want my students to understand ____________.”

Teachers can use the historical process, as described by the framework, to

translate generic best practice lesson planning into effective history-specific lesson
planning. Students need to use skills and categories of inquiry in meaningful ways.
Engaging and relevant activities create long-term understanding.

Lessons Components: Effective History Lessons

Content Content
Content is what a student should Determined by thoughtfully selected
know, understand, and be able to historical themes and driving questions
do as a result of the lesson. Include all of the following: facts, ideas,
concepts, skills and categories of inquiry
Make it possible for students to achieve a level
3 or 4 understanding on the rubric in at
least one historical category of inquiry [See
Rubrics in Sections 2 & 4]

Process Process
Process is the instructional strategies Models the historical process (questions,
designed to help the student under- evidence, interpretation)
stand the content. Engages students in inquiry and investigation
of a historical “problem” (the historical
problem is defined by the driving questions
and key understandings)
Uses multiple sources and different types of
sources (including combinations of primary
and secondary sources)
Provides opportunities for students to use
content to construct informed answers to the
driving questions.

Application Application
Application is how the student Guides student to conclusions that include
demonstrates what he/she knows, historical interpretation and significance
understands, and is able to do. Makes it possible to determine student’s
proficiency at one or more skills and
categories of inquiry

37 ■ Curriculum Planning: Lesson Planning—The Little Picture

 CURRICULUM PLANNING FOR HISTORY

COURSE PLAN: Historical Themes — Big Picture

Historically significant developments, types of activities or patterns that students can follow or pick up at multiple
times during a school year and as they move from class to class.

The Historical Themes for this Course will be:

UNIT PLAN: Driving Questions

Bridge between historical themes (big picture, above) and key understandings (lesson, below) Promotes deep
understanding of historically significant era or events. Focuses on the era or events in terms of historical
categories of inquiry. Driving Questions inform lesson design and define what students should know at the
end of the unit.

Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Unit Topic: Additional

Units...
Driving Question: Driving Question: Driving Question:

LESSON PLAN: Key Understandings — Little Picture

Instructional purpose is determined by the historical themes for the course (big picture) and driving questions for
the unit. Explains what students will understand at the end of the lesson. Includes Content, Process and
Application.

Key Understandings: Additional Additional

Lessons... Lessons...

Lesson Content:

Lesson Process:

Lesson Application:

TM [Excerpted from Curriculum Planning for History Worksheet, Resources section] UWW, WHS, CESA 2 - 2007

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 38

 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

Examples from the Field Lesson Planning

Unit Plan:
Driving Questions
• Economic Change: From Farming to Industry,
1840s–1990s. Elementary School

Lesson Plan:
Key Understandings I want my fourth grade students to think like historians during each
Little Picture social studies lesson on state history. All my lessons on state history are
grounded in two basic historical questions: What has changed? How does
the past help us make sense of the present?

For this lesson I applied these questions to the changes in

Wisconsin’s economy, which moved from farming to
manufacturing during the period under study. By the end of this
: From
Change unit I want my students to understand that:
conomic 1990s
TOPIC: E Industr y, 1840s–
to
Farming ial list)
l The mes: (part g • Agriculture evolved dramatically over the past 150 years,
Historica e s are tied
to existin
gi-
ic c h a n g c h n o lo allowing farmers to grow far more food with far less labor.
s te
• Econom sources as well a
natural re (This was much greater and rapid change than occurred
nces.
cal adva
: over the preceding thousands of years.)
uestions
Driving Q n’s
Wisconsi
changed • F
 arming jobs dissolved with these agricultural
• What ri m a ri ly
e from p
workforc rers? improvements.
to manufactu
farmers farming
w e r people l
• Why a
re fe et we stil • Innovation resulted in industrialization.
in th e p ast and y
than t?
ugh to ea
have eno • Manufacturing replaced agriculture as the primary source
g(s):
erstandin nd that - of income in Wisconsin as the Industrial Revolution came
Key Und de rs ta
will un signifi-
Students in agriculture od a of age.
g ie s
chnolo t of fo
• new te reased the amoun
ca n tl y in c
produce. I planned this lesson to begin with a hook connected to
farm can impacted s
ri a l R evolution ng job what my students already know. They come to fourth grade
• the Ind
u st
n o m y by shifti
n’s e c o ring and
Wisconsi u re to manufactu . knowing that agriculture requires fertile soil and a climate
c u lt ulation
from agri u rban pop
increasi n g th e conducive to growing a variety of crops and livestock. I
introduce the lesson by posing a question for my students:
“Our school is 157 years old. Until 50 years ago, every student who
attended our school lived on a farm. Now none of you do. Why don’t people
live on farms in this community anymore?”

39 ■ Examples from the Field: Lesson Planning

 This leads to a class discussion about how farming evolved in Wisconsin from 1840 to the
present. The purpose of this discussion is to develop questions that can help my students
answer a variant of the hook question: Why do we have fewer farms and yet more people?
We also contemplate what happened to all the farmers. This discussion produces a list of
questions that, with a bit of editing, typically looks like this:

• What changes in agriculture occurred during this period?

• How did transportation change?
• What other ways did people make a living?
• Why did farms turn into subdivisions?
• How come we have enough food without all the farms?
• W
 ere there any specific events that caused the reduction
in farms?
• How has this decrease affected the state’s economy?

The next step in the lesson, and in doing history, is to find information that will help
to answer these questions. I provide a variety of historical sources and make sure that
students understand that these are different types of sources and present different
perspectives. I give students an opportunity to “digest” what they learn from each
source through short writing assignments.

• S econdary source account of changes in farming technology provides details on

new scientific and technological advances from the steel plow in the 1820s to crop
rotation, fertilization, tractors, hybrid seeds and biotechnology; includes information
on changes in the number of people a single farmer could feed per year7
• Students write an analysis of the agricultural industry data

• Oral history primary source visit by an area farmer talks about the changes he’s
experienced in his 40 years of farming.
• Students write a letter to the farmer. In addition to personal comments
they must tell the farmer what they learned from his presentation.

7
Wisconsin Agriculture Association, This Business Called Agriculture, (Wisconsin, 2007)

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 40

 Course Plan:
Historical Themes
Big Picture

•  of leading inventors including Edison,

Bell, Eastman, Ford, Deere and the Wright brothers allow students to
Unit Plan: see them as people.
Driving Questions • S tudents prepare a biographical report that recognizes their
inventor’s innovation as a turning point and explains how it
impacts our world today.
• S econdary source readings on the problems and conflicts that grew
Lesson Plan: out of industrial development introduce students to more substantive
Key Understandings studies.
Little Picture
• C
 lass discussion about poverty, child labor, organized labor,
distribution of wealth, and the Wisconsin connection to the
progressive movement.
• Excellent challenges for interested and motivated students.

At this point we return to our initial set of questions. Students use the
information and insights from their study of each source to answer that
initial set of questions. The process of thinking like historians gives them a
better understanding of how Wisconsin shifted from agriculture to
manufacturing.

The lesson concludes with another brainstorming session that builds on

what they have learned, connects this lesson to those that follow, and
reminds students that historical events have long term consequences.
The class develops questions concerning the long-term effects of this
economic shift from a farming economy to a manufacturing economy.
Their questions typically include:

• How have these changes affected our food supply?

• W
 hat do these changes mean to our
environment?
• H
 ow have these changes affected different
groups in our society?

41 ■ Examples from the Field: Lesson Planning

 • Economic Change: Post-World War II America. High School

As a high school U.S. history teacher I was planning a lesson as part

of a unit on the economic and social transformation of post-WWII
TOPIC: Economic Chan
America. Students will have spent several days examining social Post-World War II Am
ge:
erica
changes and how those changes affected various Americans. Historical Themes: (pa
rtial list)
Focusing on the historical category of change and continuity, I • Reaction to change can
be
decided to highlight the beat movement as an example of seen in cultural expressio
ns
reaction to change, in particular a rejection of traditional values. Driving Questions:
This was also a good opportunity to collaborate with our language • How did the econom
ic,
arts teachers who helped me and my students identify the literary cultural, and political
changes of the post-war
characteristics of this kind of poetry. era
affect different groups of
Americans and American
social life?
I began the lesson by reading a poem from the beat movement.
Key Understanding(s):
Students listed examples of social changes of the postwar Students will understan
d that –
period rejected by the poet. After this discussion, the class used a • members of the beat
genera-
brainstorming activity to list other examples of postwar changes. tion rejected the traditiona
l
Then students are asked to create a beat poem critical of the values of 1950s mainstre
am
culture and challenged
values represented by the postwar changes. Students are given confor-
mity through writing, po
etr y,
an opportunity to share their poems with the class. and art.

As a result of this lesson, I want my students to know and

be able to identify examples of the social, economic, political, or cultural changes
of postwar America (Change and Continuity) and to be able to explain different
points of view (Through Their Eyes). The poem demonstrates students’ ability to
synthesize information and demonstrate written communication skills. Further, in
addressing change and continuity, I can make connections to later developments of
rock-n-roll, the counterculture, and to teenagers today. In this way, students have
a deeper understanding of the nature of popular culture and the role social factors
play in the construction of popular culture in a given time.

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 42

 Making History Engaging AND Meaningful
The TLH skills have given me a concrete way to show how history is relevant and important to
students’ lives.
–TAH Teaching Fellow

Many students believe that history is boring, full of facts, dates and rote memorization.
ged Thinking Like a Historian changes that notion. Rather than teaching students about
Students enga
in construc ti ng history, engages students in doing history. It supports creative teaching that
history are “hooks” students and draws them into the subject. When students are engaged in
ged in constructing history they become engaged in learning history. They want to learn more,
students enga
st or y. rather than do the minimum needed to get by. When students are participants in their
learning hi
own learning, they are engaged and the material they are learning becomes much more
meaningful to them.

A meaningful lesson is a lesson from which students learn in the short term AND
remember that knowledge in the long term. How do we know if a lesson is engaging
and meaningful to students? How can we distinguish between an engaging lesson that is
meaningful and one that is just “fun”? The key to making history engaging and meaningful
at the same time is to draw students into what they are studying and give them the skills to
use this newfound knowledge. If students feel they are a part of the process they are more
likely to take a vested interest in the outcome. This kind of lesson is:

• Relevant to Students
Imagine learning about people born thousands of years before you, in a place you
have never heard of, doing things that you don’t care about. Would you be interested?
If a history lesson can be made relevant to students, they are much more apt to become
engaged in finding out more about the topic. We need to relate historical events to
things that matter in our students’ lives. This does not mean pretending that the past was
exactly like the present or vice versa. Instead, teachers can make the past relevant, and
model critical thinking by

• h
 ighlighting big picture commonalities between past and present
(international and domestic crises can lead to war, new technologies
change relations between family and friends, societies make laws
to achieve a vision of order and stability, belief systems affect
individual and society-wide behaviors)
• d
 rawing connections between causes or consequences of a historical
event and students’ present day lives (roots of present day customs
and beliefs, historic origins of everyday items, historical turning points
that contributed to the opportunities or problems current in students’ lives)
• introducing a historical topic in terms of a problem, challenge
or incomplete story to be investigated (partial or conflicting evidence
about the causes or consequences of an event, stories about the
actions or experiences of a real person)

43 ■ Making History Engaging AND Meaningful

• Uses Primary Sources to Bring the Past Alive
The best way to make history engaging and meaningful is to tell stories of the past using
the words and pictures of those who lived it. Using primary source documents is an
excellent way to draw students into history, into factual details and specific events as
well as the emotions and choices that shaped those events. In doing so, teachers must be
careful to choose sources that are authentic and that allow students to “see” the event or
subject of study from multiple vantage points. Create research opportunities for students to
participate in the search for these sources, to identify sources that are most meaningful to
them, and to authenticate those sources and the stories that emerge from the sources.

• Calls on Students to Apply their Knowledge

In order to find history meaningful students need to be able to do something with the
information they are learning. They need to be able to draw conclusions and educated
inferences from the knowledge they are gaining, and to apply those concepts to their own
lives and events happening around them.

Create lessons that ask students to participate in meaningful, relevant history. Lessons should
lead to knowledge that students will be able to use in and out of the classroom. Avoid
activities that use gimmicks simply to make history more “fun” for a day.

Teaching Historical Literacy: What Does it Look Like n 44

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
—Taisez-vous, mauvais pince-sans-rire!... Ce petit garçon n'a peut-
être pas une intelligence hors ligne ni des moyens extraordinaires.
—Je le crois aussi!...
—N'importe! il représente bien, et il a foi en lui, du moins en son
avenir. C'est beaucoup.
Imperturbable, en apparence à cent lieues de cette conversation,
Cady n'en perdait pas un mot.
Lorsque sa mère les distança pour aller s'asseoir à une table du
buffet, elle glissa tout bas, en serrant sournoisement la main de son
ami:
—Je m'amuse comme une petite folle!
Il répondit presque involontairement à la pression des doigts de la
fillette et lui jeta un regard long, ambigu.
—Tu ne t'amusais pas autant, il y a un mois, dans mon cabinet,
murmura-t-il.
Elle se détacha de lui, le visage soudain morose, fermé.
—Oh! que c'est bête! dit-elle avec dédain, du bout des lèvres. Qui
est-ce qui songe à cela, à présent? C'est de l'histoire ancienne!...
En effet, le «drame de la rue Pierre-Charron», qui, durant un temps,
avait éveillé la curiosité publique, tombait déjà dans la nuit du passé.
L'affaire avait dû être classée, l'instruction ne découvrant aucune
piste digne d'être suivie.
A contre-cœur, le député et sa femme s'étaient résignés; lui, à la
perte d'une somme assez ronde; elle, au crève-cœur de la
disparition de la plupart de ses bijoux. Cependant, certains, dont
faisait partie la plus belle rivière de diamants que Cady avait enlevée
de son écrin le jour précédant le vol n'avaient pas été dérobés, le
chiffonnier seul ayant été visité et vidé.
Mais, pour Victor Renaudin, il restait une énigme dont évidemment
Cady seule avait la clef, et qu'il ne renonçait pas à déchiffrer.
Mme Darquet leva son face-à-main: depuis que sa vue baissait
légèrement, elle se prétendait myope.
—Tiens, mais, on dirait Lénine.
Cady s'était dressée, réprimant une hilarité.
—Maman, je vois mes cousines Serveroy avec Mme Garnier!... Vous
me permettez d'aller les chercher?
Et, avant d'avoir reçu la réponse, elle bondissait entre les chaises et
faisait irruption dans l'allée bordée de massifs et de statues où
évoluaient les deux jeunes filles, serrées de près par l'athlétique
Russe.
C'était cette vision qui avait excité le rire de Cady.
Elle se réjouit plus encore de la mine déconfite du diplomate,
lorsque, brusquement arrêté, il reconnut la fille de son ami Darquet,
et la vit embrasser celles qu'il poursuivait.
—Venez prendre une tasse de thé au buffet! s'écria Cady très haut,
maman vous invite.
Marie-Annette jeta, surprise:
—Comment, ma tante est là, avec toi?
Cady fit une volte-face inopinée qui la mit nez à nez avec Lénine.
—Oh! c'est vous? s'exclama-t-elle, feignant l'étonnement. Venez
aussi, maman sera enchantée.
Marie-Annette lui écrasa le bras, chuchotant dans son oreille, très
excitée:
—Ma chère, ce gros nous file depuis une demi-heure!
Cady, imperturbable, les yeux pétillants, fit les présentations.
—M. Alexis Lénine, de l'ambassade de Russie... Mes cousines
Serveroy, Alice et Marie-Annette, que vous ne connaissez pas, je
crois?
Elle et le diplomate se dévisageaient, étouffant une envie de rire,
tant à cause de l'aventure actuelle que par suite de leurs
ressouvenirs personnels.
Lénine fit une grimace et porta la main à son cou, dont la cicatrice
invisible sous les vêtements n'était pourtant pas complètement
fermée.
Cady ne baissa pas les yeux, un contentement et un défi dans son
regard hardi.
Tous deux secrètement avaient devant les yeux le tableau de la nuit
de leur singulière rencontre... Le cabinet de toilette de la demi-
mondaine... l'élan furieux de l'homme à moitié ivre... la blessure, le
sang répandu...
Lénine frôla la fillette, les yeux luisants.
—Petit serpent! petit serpent!
—Comment, vous suivez les petites filles à présent? Ça ne vous
réussit guère pourtant!
Il grogna quelque chose d'inintelligible, et, la quittant, il s'avança
avec empressement pour répondre au geste de bienvenue de Mme
Darquet.
—Charmé de la bonne occasion de vous serrer la main, madame!
Darquet n'est pas ici?
—A la Chambre, monsieur Lénine! Séance importante, aujourd'hui.
La discussion sur le budget de la marine.
Et tout en faisant place au nouvel arrivant, elle saluait ses nièces
d'un sourire distrait.
Mme Garnier, un peu gênée, crut devoir expliquer:
—J'ai amené ces demoiselles qui avaient grand désir de voir le
portrait de Cady.
—Bien, bien. A propos, madame Garnier, vous serez bientôt
déchargée de votre service supplémentaire auprès de Cady. Nous
avons enfin découvert une personne tout à fait bien.
L'institutrice s'intéressa:
—Une jeune fille?
—Non, non! Une femme de mon âge. Une de mes anciennes amies,
très distinguée, veuve d'un officier, restée sans fortune. Et je me
décide à lui confier également Jeanne. Oh! ces Anglaises et ces
Allemandes!
Elle acheva sa phrase d'un geste excédé. Mme Garnier dissimula un
sourire, au rappel de la dernière déconvenue de Mme Darquet, dont
la bonne allemande destinée à Baby, pourvue de tant de références,
avait accouché prématurément, trois jours après son arrivée de
Saxe.
Tandis que Lénine et Renaudin causaient, les jeunes filles
bavardaient à voix basse, avec de légers rires étouffés et cinglants
qui chatouillaient le Russe.
Pas très jolie, la petite Marie-Annette, mais si nerveuse, si vibrante,
si étrange jusque dans les crispations morbides de son visage, qui se
terminaient par une détente que l'on eût dite voluptueuse...
Et cette Cady!...
L'épaisse silhouette du sénateur Le Moël se dressa tout à coup
devant la table où fumait le thé.
—Ah! ah! je vous trouve enfin! s'écria-t-il avec animation. Noémi,
vous ne savez donc pas ce qui se passe?...
Mme Darquet lui sourit gracieusement.
—Mais non. Asseyez-vous donc, cher ami.
Le vieillard se laissa tomber entre Renaudin et sa pseudo-belle-fille.
—Alors, vous ne savez rien? jubila-t-il. Eh bien, je suis heureux d'être
le premier à vous apprendre que Cyprien sera probablement ministre
demain!...
Noémi tressaillit tout entière; une pâleur l'envahit; ses yeux
s'illuminèrent; elle eut une seconde d'éclat éblouissant, ses beaux
traits tendus par un triomphe qui n'était pas dépourvu d'angoisse.
—Vous dites?
—Le ministère vient de tomber. Oh! comme toujours, quand on s'y
attendait le moins... Sur une question à côté... une ineptie!... Mais
Cyprien a eu le mot juste, et tous les honneurs de la séance sont
pour lui!...
Renversée sur sa chaise, comme ivre, Noémi prononça, la voix
altérée:
—Président du conseil, alors?
Le Moël secoua la tête.
—Non, non, il ne veut pas... Martin-Menier ou Lucien Daveaux,
probablement.
Elle hocha la tête, remuant mille pensées profondes.
—Il a raison. Donc, il prendra le Commerce?
—Je le suppose.
Lénine dit très haut, joyeusement:
—Tous mes compliments, madame!
Victor Renaudin s'inclina, vraiment ému.
—Je suis bien heureux pour M. Darquet.
Pour l'entourage du député, c'était l'avènement suprême de tous; la
presque certitude de la réalisation de tous les souhaits, de toutes les
ambitions.
Mme Darquet prit spontanément la main du jeune magistrat et la
serra avec force.
—Merci!
Quinze ans plus tôt, ce garçon actif, d'une ambition mesurée et
persévérante que, sur certains points, elle sentait de sa trempe, eût
tout obtenu d'elle, aux heures de fièvre et d'émotion.
Elle se leva.
—Adieu, mes amis... je rentre, nous avons à causer, Cyprien et moi.
Le Moël attendri et radieux jeta un billet de cent francs sur la table,
repoussant du geste le jeune magistrat, qui s'apprêtait à payer.
—Du tout, c'est moi qui règle! Garçon, ici, vivement!... Noémi,
attendez-moi, j'ai mon auto, je vous mettrai chez vous. Moi aussi, j'ai
à parler à votre mari.
Marie-Annette et Alice jetaient des regards d'envie à leur cousine.
—Que tu as de la veine!
La fillette fit un geste d'indifférence.
—La belle jambe que ça me fera? Pour moi, c'est trop tôt... Quand je
serai à l'âge de sortir et de me marier, il y aura beau temps que le
ministère sera dans le seau!
Quand elles sortirent, avenue d'Antin, Mme Darquet montait déjà
dans la limousine du sénateur, distribuant des sourires et des
poignées de main à une vingtaine d'amis soudain surgis.
L'auto s'ébranla.
—Alors, elle me plaque? fit Cady amèrement.
Renaudin, qui la suivait, dit avec douceur:
—Ta mère a un peu perdu la tête, cela se comprend... Mais, je suis
là, moi.
Mme Garnier s'approchait empressée:
—Nous allons mettre Mlle Darquet chez elle.
Cady la repoussa du geste, sèchement.
—Pas la peine, Renaudin me reconduit.
Sans écouter les représentations timides de l'institutrice, sans dire
adieu à ses cousines, elle s'accrocha au bras du jeune homme et le
poussa.
—Va, va vite!... Qu'on soit débarrassé d'eux tous!...
Et tandis qu'ils remontaient vers l'avenue des Champs-Elysées, elle
déclara, pensive:
—Ecoute, que je te dise... Avec ces histoires de ministère...
d'institutrice qui est une vraie femme du monde, je crois que c'est
fini de rire pour moi... Ça ne sera plus Cady... Je vas devenir Mlle
Hélène Darquet.
Renaudin pressa contre lui le bras fragile de la fillette, avec un rien
d'émotion dont il n'aurait su dire la cause.
—Pour moi, murmura-t-il, malgré le temps, malgré les circonstances,
tu seras toujours Cady.
Elle sourit mélancoliquement.
—La petite Cady!...
Il appuya avec tendresse:
—Ma petite Cady.
CORBEIL.—IMPRIMERIE CRÉTÉ.
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LA PETITE CADY
***

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