Determining Historical Significance

Teaching American History In Miami-Dade County

November 3, 2012

Fran Macko, Ph.D.fmacko@aihe.info

Framing the Session

• What historical events, people, themes and issues are important to remember?

• How do historians determine historical significance?

• What strategies can history teachers use to help their students understand and reflect historical significance?

Historical Significance and Effective Reading of History

• Lack of prior knowledge• Unfamiliar text structure

or schema• Difficulty identifying

important material from less important material

• Academic vocabulary and abstract concepts (“isms”)

• Level of analysis and synthesis

• Role of visuals, such as maps, graphs and charts, as sources of information

What is Historical Significance?

• The concept of historical significance is a variable, not a fixed one.

• Historians select and emphasize certain facts and information and de-emphasize others based on their purpose.

• What factors determine what historical information is more important to remember?

• What criteria do you think historians use to determine historical significance?

• Turn and talk with a colleague.

What are the criteria for determining historical significance?

• Contemporary significance– How important was it to

the people of the time?

• Profundity– How deeply were

people affected?

• Quantity– How many people were

affected?

• Durability– How long lasting were

the effects?

• Relevance– How does it help us

understand current issues and events?

How does understanding historical significance support learning?

• Central to the critical reading and analysis of history is an understanding of historical significance.

• Understanding historical significance:– Supports students in making informed choices about

what information is more important.– supports students in making connections across texts.– supports students in moving beyond the memorization

of facts and dates to a deeper understanding of content.– supports students in thinking critically about content.– supporst students in reworking, applying, and extending

their understanding of history.

What are some strategies for teaching historical significance?

• Popular strategies for understanding historical significance are:– Fact Pyramid– SPAWN– Timelines– RAFT

What is RAFT?

• RAFT is a writing strategy that:– gives students the opportunity to project themselves

into unique roles and look at content from unique perspectives.

– can be used for assessment, class presentations, portfolio projects or as a response to content.

– provides a focus for writing.

• RAFT requires students to think critically about their reading or viewing in order to take on a new role, match the audience to the role, create a format that would fit that role, and cover specific topics from the content.

What are the steps in the RAFT strategy?

• Introduce the RAFT strategy, explaining what each letter stands for:– R – Role (role of the writer)– A – Audience (to whom or

what the RAFT is being written)

– F – Form (the form the writing will take, as in letter, song, etc.)

– T – Topic (the subject focus

of the writing)

• Scaffold the strategy by beginning with a prescribed RAFT to model the process.

• Use a specific text or image to model the strategy.

• Why are prompts critical in using RAFT as a strategy in history?

• Determine the number of historical facts to be included in the written product.

• Emphasize that the RAFT strategy allows for creativity, but must accurately reflect the content just learned.

• As students become more proficient in the strategy, have them develop their own list of possible roles and audiences, formats and topics.

• This allows students to demonstrate their understanding of historical significance and multiple perspectives and synthesize their learning through writing.

What types of sources can be used as prompts for RAFT?

• RAFT is a flexible strategy that can be used with a variety of sources.

• These sources can be used as prompts for RAFT writing.

• Primary Sources• Non-Fiction• Fiction• Interviews• Artifacts• Videos• Periodicals• Poetry• Music• Art

The RAFT Graphic Organizer

RAFTR A

F T

R= Role What role (s) will you assume as writer?

A= Audience Who or what will be the audience for writing?

F= Format What format will the writing take?

T= Topic Define the topic, determine questions to be answered and point to be made.

Modeling the Strategy

Modeling the Strategy: Middle SchoolUsing an Image as a Prompt

Prescribed RAFT Assignment

RAFT

RReporter

APeople who read the newspaper

FInterview

TThe New National Government

• Working with a partner generate a list of interview questions that would match the role, audience, and content of the RAFT assignment.

• What factors would influence the questions a reporter would ask of the people in the image?

• How does the choice of questions reflect historical significance?

• What sources would students use to generate the answers?

Modeling the Strategy: High SchoolUsing an Image as a Prompt

Prescribed RAFT Assignment

RAFT

RReporter

APeople who read the newspaper

FInterview

TLife on the Front Lines

• Working with a partner generate a list of interview questions that would match the role, audience, and content of the RAFT assignment.

• What factors would influence the questions a reporter would ask of the people in the image?

• How does the choice of questions reflect historical significance?

• What sources would students use to generate the answers?

Modeling the Strategy: Middle SchoolUsing Text as a Prompt

• Read “George Washington on the Constitutional Convention”.

• Working with a partner, brainstorm possible roles, audiences, formats and topics for the text.

• Select one of the following texts:– Excerpt from the Hello

Girls.– Excerpt from Emmett J.

Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War.

• Working with a partner, brainstorm possible roles, audiences, formats and topics for the text.

Modeling the Strategy: High SchoolUsing Text as a Prompt

Other Images for RAFTMiddle School

Other Images for RAFTHigh School

Other Texts for RAFT

• What are some additional texts that you might use for RAFT?

• Turn and talk with a colleague.

Adapting RAFT to Your Classroom

• How might you use RAFT in your social studies classroom?

• What adaptations to the strategy would you make?

• Turn and talk with a colleague.

Extension and Differentiation

• The student selects the role and audience and the teacher selects the format and topic.

• Students write the RAFT in small groups.

• Students write from the perspective of an historical character.

• RAFT is used a pre-writing activity before a small group or class discussion or as a “do now”.

• What other extensions or differentiations can you think of?