Historical thinking

It's day two of the Best Practices conference. I love this sort of stuff - the conference isn't that big but that just means a lot more conversation and working together. So we all are walking away smarter. This morning's session is focused on training elementary kids to think like a historian. Lyndsay and Amy…

Looking for ways to teach critical thinking skills in social studies? These low-prep activities help get students thinking critically about history.

One social studies question I get quite often at the start of the year is:"Where do I begin?"I believe that before we dive into our first unit, it's important that our students understand what history is and why it matters. If our students don't understand the importance of history, they won't feel the need to engage. I'm excited to share with you a history introductory lesson that provides an opportunity for students to analyze and corroborate evidence of YOUR story!Here's how this lesson…

The words that are included on this poster are key skills that students work on developing in their history classes. For students to become more familiar with them, this poster works as a resource for students and teachers to use for students to become more comforatble with the concepts, and grow in their ability to do them.

An education blog focusing on High School Social Studies.

Teach primary source document analysis like a pro in your history class with this easy-to-use, yet rigorous strategy specifically made for historical documents! Check out the step-by-step details of the effective HIPPOS strategy and grab your very own free download to use in class tomorrow! This primary source strategy is perfect for your middle or high school history classroom. #ushistory #socialstudies #primarysources

The past is everything that ever happened to anyone, anywhere. There is too much history to remember all of it. And new “history” is being created every day. We put considerable effort into learning and remembering that which is historically significant, but have you considered how are those choices made? People who do not think...

These handouts are designed to help students hone their historical thinking skills more specifically. Each handout requires that they source the document and then the questions asked help them to critically analyze the document with one of their historical thinking skills.

"The Big Map of Who Lived When" plots the lifespans of historical figures — from Eminem all the way back to Genghis Khan.