Teaching Strategies
Structured Academic Conversations / Pair Work (Speed Dating)
Primary sources will be analyzed with Pair Activities and Structured Academic Conversations (SAC), which prompt pairs of students to look at different sets of primary sources and then share information and develop conclusions or connections between the sources. The SAC has a specific format that involves all students, especially those with confidence or language challenges who are guided through a set of increasingly rigorous steps with the necessary supports. Individual reading is augmented by pair discussion. This allows all students including those identified as ELL the opportunity to practice and clarify their thoughts prior to sharing. A Speed Dating simulation also provides opportunity for collaboration. The last step of both tools is to write a reflection that answers a specific prompt. The pair analysis, sharing, and whole class discussion ensures students arrive at this point well prepared.
S.O.A.P
A S.O.A.P. tool will be used which encourages students to look at source, occasion, audience, and purpose and is a more independent activity structure for primary source analysis. Similar tools could accomplish the same goals such as SOAPstone, APPARTS, TACOS. Teachers can substitute these to avoid time spent learning a new tool. The goal the S.O.A.P. tool is to lead the students from specific main idea questions into more critical thinking questions.
Historical Thinking Skills – Evidence and Historical Significance
Evidence - In their writing students will be expected to make a claim about sources and support that claim with evidence/examples.. This is one area where students practice their historical thinking skills. Developing historians need to be able to analyze a source, make a claim about what that source is saying, and support that claim with evidence.
Historical Significance - Another important historical thinking skill is prioritizing and choosing what to include and exclude. Students need practice opportunities in selecting what is most important and communicating those choices. Activities that support this set of skills include presentations, timelines, or other projects that involve creating output from a set of data that requires students to narrow down and choose the most important items to be included.
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