Doing History

Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle Schools

Linda S. Levstik, Keith C. Barton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781032016948
• eBook ISBN: 9781000634884
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Now in its sixth edition, Doing History offers a unique perspective on teaching and learning history in the elementary and middle grades. Through case studies of teachers and students in diverse classrooms and from diverse backgrounds, it shows children engaging in authentic historical investigations, often in the context of an integrated social studies curriculum.

The book is grounded in the view that children can engage in valid forms of historical inquiry—asking questions, collecting and analyzing evidence, examining the varied perspectives and experiences of people in the past, and creating evidence-based historical accounts and interpretations. Grounded in contemporary sociocultural theory and research, the text features vignettes in each chapter showing communities of teachers and students doing history in environments rich in literature, art, writing, and discussion. The authors explain how these classrooms reflect contemporary principles of teaching and learning, and thus, the descriptions not only provide specific examples of successful activities but also place them in a context that allows teachers to adapt and apply them in a wide range of settings.

Doing History emphasizes diversity in two ways: Readers encounter students from a variety of backgrounds and see how their diverse experiences can form the foundation for learning, and they also see examples of how teachers can engage students with diverse experiences and perspectives in the past, including those that led to conflict and oppression. The book also discusses principles for working with English learners and newcomers, and it provides guidance in using multiple forms of assessment to evaluate the specifically historical aspects of children's learning.

Updates to this edition include updated historical and instructional examples to ensure currency, new suggestions for children's literature to support good teaching, expanded attention to teaching about oppressed groups in history, and greater attention to when historical perspective taking is and is not appropriate.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Endorsements
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Author Biographies
• Chapter 1 Past, Present, and Future: The Sociocultural Context for Studying History
• Chapter 2 It’s Not Just a Mishap: The Theory behind Historical Inquiry
• Chapter 3 There Aren’t a Lot of “For Sure” Facts: Building Communities of Historical Inquiry
• Chapter 4 To Find Out Things We Didn’t Know About Ourselves: Personal Histories
• Chapter 5 Tell Me About Yourself: Linking Children to the Past through Family Histories
• Chapter 6 “I Think Columbus Went to Hell!”: Connections and Controversies in World History
• Chapter 7 Camel Dies, Lose Three Turns: Scaffolding Inquiry into World History
• Chapter 8 Rats in the Hospital: Creating a History Museum
• Chapter 9 I Have No Experience with This!: Historical Inquiry in an Integrated Social Studies Setting
• Chapter 10 Why Isn’t That in the Textbook?: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Historical Thinking
• Chapter 11 Oh, Good! We Get to Have…a Reasoned Discussion: Putting Conflict in Context
• Chapter 12 In My Opinion, It Could Happen Again: How Attitudes and Beliefs Have Changed over Time
• Chapter 13 Nosotros La Gente: Honesty and Diversity in U.S. History
• Chapter 14 The Arts Make Us All Part of Humankind: Cognitive Pluralism in History Teaching and Learning
• References
• Index