This study investigates how 19 third-grade students developed their understandings of enslavement during a six-week social studies inquiry. Using Teaching Tolerance's key concepts as my analytic framework, I analyzed the students' pre- and post-concept maps and classwork to understand their learning. The findings show that students conceptualized…

Although primary source accounts provide students with direct access to the experiences of historical participants, they can reinforce the dominant culture historical narrative if misrepresented by teachers, curriculum publishers, or scholars. The author demonstrates the importance of adhering to guidelines presented by critical Indigenous…

In this study, the effects of a disciplinary reading and writing curriculum intervention with professional development are shared. We share our instructional approach and provide writing outcomes for struggling adolescent readers who read at or below basic proficiency levels, as well as writing outcomes for proficient and advanced readers.…

The United States government has invested nearly one billion dollars in funding to professional historians and history educators across the country since 2000 to strengthen the teaching of American history in elementary and secondary schools, yet we know little about how these programs impact student learning. Using data from one such Teaching…

This qualitative case study examined the place that historical empathy, as both a subjective and an objective endeavor, occupied in one teacher's instruction and her students' response. Data--collected over five months--include 29 hours of classroom observations in an Advanced Placement European History course, instructional artifacts, and…

History teachers are faced with numerous literacy-related decisions about the types of texts they use and how students are taught to learn with texts. Teachers' decisions about texts and instruction reflect their knowledge of historical inquiry processes and attitudes about the purpose of history instruction, specifically whether instruction on…

This study reports the impact of consistently using a Socratic Seminar to interpret historical documents written by women on 9th grade students' historical empathy. Over the course of one semester in a year-long world history course, the class examined three documents written by women living in the complex time period being studied and discussed…

This article examines the educational ideas of Fred Morrow Fling (1860-1934). A practitioner of "scientific history," Fling believed that the principal goal of history education was to teach the historical method through the analysis of primary sources. Unlike his contemporaries, who saw sources as useful for adding interest to lessons, Fling…

Notes that there have been no studies of student teachers' learning how to use primary sources to teach history. Generates general characteristics of the task based on discussions among historians and philosophers. Uses these to frame an investigation of difficulties encountered by student teachers while learning to use primary sources. (DSK)

Investigates the approach to citizenship education within the Seattle (Washington) Public Schools when Japanese American citizenship status was being questioned. Addresses the World War II era experiences of Japanese American students, focusing on two primary source documents: (1) a 1930's curriculum guide; and (2) a collection of classroom…

Examines the socialization of student teachers in secondary history classrooms, specifically, responses to a history-intensive social studies methods course, and their subsequent use of document-based instruction. Supports previous research regarding student teachers' active participation in their socialization process, and provides insights into…

Examines fourth and fifth graders' ideas about historical evidence through a year-long qualitative study of two classrooms. Discusses the results, focusing on understanding the reliability of sources, evaluating evidence and reconciling conflicting accounts, and using evidence to reach conclusions. Addresses the implications for instruction. (CMK)

A limited body of research examines the extent to which social studies teachers are actually utilizing primary sources that are accessible in traditional classroom-based formats versus web-based formats. This paper initiates an exploration of this gap in the literature by reporting on the result of a survey of secondary social studies teachers,…

Investigates teachers' interpretation and evaluation of historical documents and the teachers' construction of historical truth. Discovers teachers use a variety of approaches, including comparing historical sources, searching for accuracy, and attempting to discern a narrative or story. Discusses implications of this and poses questions for…

Through surveys, interviews, observations, and field notes, I examined the beliefs and practices of six high school world history teachers regarding the use of digital primary sources and the potential added value of formal training in technology as a tool for instruction. Access to equipment (namely computer projectors and school computing…