1. In
Search
of
America’s
Past
Bruce
VanSledright

2. Are
we
smarter
than
a
5th
grade
class?
l I
will
ask
a
serious
of
multiple
choice
questions
that
are
related
to
the
5th
grade
core
l Each
student
will
stand
in
the
section
of
the
room
that
correlates
with
the
answer
they
feel
is
correct
l Before
we
can
move
on
to
the
next
question,
everybody
has
to
agree
on
the
same
answer
l We
have
five
minutes

3. th
grade
math
5
l What
is
35X10?
l A.
350
l B.
35
l C.
355
l D.
35.5

4. The
correct
answer
is:
l A.
350

5. th
grade
Science
5
l Ice
is
in
what
state
of
matter?
l A.
Liquid
l B.
Solid
l C.
Gas
l D.
Plasma

6. The
correct
answer
is:
l B.
Solid

7. th
Grade
History
5
l What
was
the
cause
of
the
Civil
War
l A.
Slavery
l B.
States
rights
versus
federal
rights
l C.
Laws
unfavorable
to
the
South
l D.
The
election
of
Abraham
Lincoln

8. What
is
wrong
with
that
question?

9. Overview
l We
assume
that
Elementary
students
can’t
engage
in
critical
thinking
skills
l We
teach
heritage
instead
of
history
l Bruce
VanSledright
taught
a
class
of
23
5th
grade
students
how
to
“be
historians.”
Click
here
to
learn
more
about
VanSledright.
l Utilized
primary
and
secondary
documents
to
help
students
learn
about
historical
events

10. Application
l Set
up
a
“who
done
it.”
Tell
students
about
a
historical
mystery
and
give
them
documents
to
analyze
to
figure
out
what
happened.
l Have
each
group
of
students
make
a
newspaper
article
based
off
of
accounts
given
by
one
side.
One
student
is
the
writer,
and
the
other
is
the
illustrator.
l Make
students
support
a
side
that
they
personally
don’t
agree
with.

11. Strengths
l Student
dialogue
l Outside
research
l Author
admits
his
short
comings
l Appendix
l Published
students
work
on
a
website

12. Weaknesses
l Research
methods
l Forms
of
assessment
l I
wanted
more
of
the
in-­‐class
dialogue
l What
about
younger
elementary
aged
students?
l I
can’t
find
the
class
website

13. What
did
Ms.
Proctor
have
to
say?
l “Not
enough
content
had
been
covered
and
that
the
class
was
now
behind
where
they
should
be
in
the
district’s
social
studies
curriculum.”
l However,
“My
students
will
never
forget
what
they
have
learned;
they’ll
never
forget
what
they
were
taught
about
analyzing
and
exploring
history.
The
approach
that
he
used
helped
my
students
learn
American
history
in
a
new
way,
one
that
will
stick
with
them.
I’ve
never
seen
them
this
excited
about
studying
the
past.
Usually
they
forget
this
stuff
right
away.
But
not
what
they
learned
here…
I
can
easily
live
with
that.
Who
couldn’t?”