Histories are stories of the past

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Histories are the stories we tell about the past.
(Introduction to The Big Six)

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Behind the Curtain: Historical
Thinking
Tom Morton (GuyLafleur64 - www.slideshare.net)
Shawnigan Lake, May 30, 2014

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www.heritagefairs.ca
The Fourfold Challenge to Teaching
History: Purpose
I think that it is in the
curriculum because
people need to learn
about it.
If you want to do
something to do with
history it is important
but if you don’t I
don’t know.
I don’t know or care.
I don’t know, but it helps you on
quiz shows and pub quizzes.
They don’t tell us why.
Because it gives you an idea about
human nature, the same as
citzenship, and provides a basis for
understanding the way the world is
today.

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The Fourfold Challenge: Connection
• Canadians and Their Pasts, a telephone survey of
3,419 adult residents of Canada found that family
history was seen by Canadians as by far the most
important aspect of the past and "'autobiographical
memory,' a personal version of history is a first step
in the development of a 'usable past.'” Yet beyond the
primary grades it is not a feature of provincial
curriculum.
• Student understanding is often “piecemeal and
confused”, unconnected to the big ideas in history or a
larger narrative.

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Fourfold Challenge: knowledge

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Fourfold Challenge: Engagement

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What would make history meaningful,
coherent, and engaging?
• Students understand the purpose of a topic, project, or
learning goal through exploration of concepts of historical
significance and cause and consequence.
• Students connect personal and local history to larger
narratives and see the connections amongst events over
time — the “big picture” of change and continuity.
• Students develop curiosity about the past and through
the concept of evidence follow that curiosity.
• Students study people of the past and questions of fairness
that they care about.

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Six Concepts of Historical Thinking:
To think historically, students need
to be able to:
• Establish historical significance
• Use primary source evidence
• Identify continuity and change
• Analyze cause and consequence
• Take historical perspectives, and
• Understand the ethical
dimension of historical
interpretations.

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References:

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Introduction to the Concept of Evidence
and Inquiry: I Left a Trace
1. Jot down everything that
you have done in the last 24
hours.
(that would be appropriate for
discussion.)

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2. Make a list of traces that might
have been left from your life during
the past 24 hours.
3. Check ✓ those that were likely
to have been preserved.

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1. How well could a biographer 50 years from now
write the story of your 24 hours based on the
traces you left? How much of what happened
would be left out? What aspects of the story
might the biographer miss?
2. Where else could he or she turn for evidence?
3. How could readers of the biography know if it
was an accurate account?
4. What does this exercise tell us about the
challenges historians face when writing histories?

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“the past as a series of events is utterly
gone . . . some remnants remain like litter
from a picnic, but these material remains
never speak for themselves. In fact they are
inert traces until someone asks a question
that turns them into evidence.”
- Joyce Appleby, “The Power of History”

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Working with traces from the past can both develop
the concept of evidence and build curiosity for a
more in depth inquiry such as a Heritage Fair project.

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Context and Inquiry Questions:
In 1710, the British brought three
Mohawks and one Mahican to
England to meet Queen Anne,
introducing them as “kings” of the
Iroquois confederacy. During their
visit, the Queen asked artist John
Verelst to paint their portraits. This
is his portrait of the Mohawk Tee
Yee Neen Ho Ga Row, also known
as Hendrick.
Why would they bring them to
England?
Why would the Queen want Verelst
to paint their portraits?

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Further Context:
Those who brought Hendrick to
England said that he was the
“Emperor” of the Iroquois
Confederacy, even though they knew
he was only a minor chief.
The Iroquois were traditional allies
with the English in conflicts against
the French in North America.
Why would they be brought to
England?
Why would the Queen want Verelst to
paint their portraits?

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Though naturally curious, curiosity is fragile
When you solve a problem, your brain may reward itself with
a small dose of dopamine, a naturally occurring chemical
important to the brain’s pleasure system...
Notably, we get the pleasure in solving the problem. We do
not find it pleasurable to work on a problem with no sense
that we make progress on it. Then too, we don’t get great
pleasure in simply knowing the answer. (Daniel Willingham)

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Working with evidence involves
• Making inferences
• Using context
• Sourcing
• Developing questions for further inquiry
• Corroborating/cross-checking

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Experts do those things, but only because their mental toolbox
enables them to do so. The only path to expertise as far as
anyone know involves long, focused practice.
(Daniel Willingham)

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Visual Analysis: Inferencing
What can we infer from this trace of the past about
the historical context, the photographic situation,
and the situation of Blacks in Victoria at this time?
Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps. Photographer: UNDETERMINED
Date: [186-] Photo C-06124 courtesy BC Archives

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Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps, also known at the time as Sir James Douglas' Coloured Regiment.
Photographer: UNDETERMINED Date: [186-] Photo C-06124 courtesy BC Archives

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Context
• The Fraser River and Cariboo Gold Rushes (1858 – 1862)
attracted tens of thousands of mostly American miners. They
soon came into conflict with First Nations.
• Governor James Douglas invited free Blacks living in San
Francisco to settle in Victoria and several hundred did so.
They soon began farming and opening various businesses.
• Governor Douglas created the colony of British Columbia
joining Vancouver Island and the mainland.
• In 1859 a dispute between Britain and the United States
over possession of the San Juan Islands (in what is now the
Salish Sea) led to the Pig War.

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Question Generation 1 – Question
Formation Technique (AKA: Brainstorming)
• Ask as many questions as you can.
• Do not stop to discuss, judge, or answer the
questions.
• Write down every question exactly as it is stated.
• Change any statement into a question.
(Rothstein and Santana, Make Just One Change)

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Question Generation 2: Brainstorming
with Prompts
1. Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about
the topic or source. Use these question-starters
to help you think of interesting questions:
– Why…?
– How is this connected to…?
– What happened as a result of…?
– What kind of a change was...?
– How should we remember...?
– What does this suggest to us about…?

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2. Review the brainstormed list and star the
questions that seem most interesting and
important. Then, select one or two starred
questions and be ready to present these to the
class.
3. Reflect: How do you know you have a good
question? Would it make a good Heritage Fairs
project? What possible answer do you have to
your question? Where could you go to learn more
and test your answer?

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Criteria for Good Inquiry Questions
• They are worth answering (lead to deeper
understanding of history; authentic)
• They are broadly engaging (for teacher inquiries)
• Students care about them – they see the purpose
in answering them
• They can be answered, though the answer may
be contested or difficult (and this may need
teacher support if this is the case)

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Ways to Support Students to Generate
Questions:
• Look at models, e.g., www.bcheritagefairs.ca
portfolio
• Supply prompts
• Use engaging sources to build curiosity
• Brainstorm questions
• Give or create criteria for powerful questions
• Make a Wonder Wall of Questions
• Plan for peer and teacher feedback
• Practise with small inquiries
• Have students choose one question; you choose
another

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Turn these into good inquiry questions:
1. Battle for North America (Seven Years War to War of 1812)
2. The American Revolution to the War of 1812: “Canadians
burn down the White House”
3. Reform and Rebellion; Life in the Victorian Era: “It’s a hard
knock life”
4. Confederation: “Canada drinks its way into existence”
5. Opening the West: “Louis Riel has left the building”
6. British Columbia: “A bunch of Brits and Scots make a
Province”
7. Canada to World War I: “From Far and Wide we Stand on
Guard for Thee”

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No Frills Steps in an Inquiry:
• Kindle curiosity – « some perplexity, confusion,
or doubt » (John Dewey)
• Establish some knowledge base
• Develop questions
• Pose first hypothesis and reflect on certainty
• Explore further evidence
• Refine hypothesis and so on as time and interest
permit

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Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps, also known at the time as Sir James Douglas' Coloured Regiment.
Photographer: UNDETERMINED Date: [186-] Photo C-06124 courtesy BC Archives
Why was this photograph of the Pioneer Rifles taken?

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Reflection on Certainty: Clothesline
www.thinkinghistory.co.uk -
© Ian Dawson 2009
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How certain are you about
your answer/hypothesis?
UNCERTAIN?
CERTAIN?

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How certain are you about your
hypothesis?
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What words do
students need to use?
Maybe
Not sure
Possibly
Perhaps
Most likelyWhat phrases?
This source suggests…
This photo confirms the idea that…
I chose these two pictures to show…

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Corroboration with further evidence:
Sophia Cracroft, niece and travelling companion of Lady Jane Franklin, who
was visiting Victoria in 1861, wrote in a letter:
"At 5 o'clock the Bishop came to be present at the visits of the
coloured people who had asked my Aunt to see them… The
first was Mr. Gibbs, a most respectable merchant who is rising
fast. His manner is exceedingly good, & his way of speaking
quite refined. He is not quite black, but his hair is I believe
short & crisp. Three other men arrived after him … (T)hey
were the Captain & other officers of a Coloured Rifle Corps, &
the Captain proceeded to speak very feelingly of the
prejudices existing here even, against their colour.

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He said they knew it was because of the strong American
element which entered into the community, which however
they hoped one day to see overpowered by the English one: -
that they had come here hoping to find that true freedom
which could be enjoyed only under English privileges...
… They naturally detest America, & this Rifle corps has been
formed by them really with the view of resisting American
aggression, such as this San Juan alarm, still pending.
As he went out, the Captain said 'Depend upon it, Madam, if
Uncle Sam goes too far, we shall be able to give a good
account of ourselves.'"
(cited in Crawford Killian, Go Do Some Great Thing: the Black Pioneers of
British Columbia. (1978) Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 78.)

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• Does this new context support your
understanding, challenge it, or expand it?
• What other questions do you have about the
photographic situation, the Victoria Pioneer
Rifles, or the position of Blacks in Victoria at this
time?

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Guideposts to Understanding Evidence
• History is intepretation based on inferences made
from primary sources. Primary sources can be
accounts, but they can also be traces, relics, or
records.
• Asking good questions about a source can turn it
into evidence.
• Sourcing often begins before a source is read, with
questions about who created it and when it was
created. It involves inferring from the source the
author’s or creator’s purpose, values, and
worldview, either conscious or unconscious.

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• A source should be analyzed in relation to the
context of its historical setting: the conditions and
worldviews prevalent at the time in question.
• Inferences made from a source can never stand
alone. They should always be corroborated—
checked against other sources (primary and
secondary).

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Change and Continuity
“Come on, Bart. History can be fun. It’s like an
amusement park except instead of rides, you get
to memorize dates.”
—Marge Simpson in “Margical History Tour,” an episode of The
Simpsons that aired on December 22, 2004

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Making History Meaningful
by Building Connections:
Exploring Continuity and
Change through Enhanced
Timelines

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Guideposts to Understanding Continuity and
Change
1. Continuity and change are interwoven: both can exist
together. Chronologies—the sequencing of events—can be
a good starting point.
2. Change is a process, with varying paces and patterns.
Turning points are moments when the process of change
shifts in direction or pace.
3. Progress and decline are broad evaluations of change
over time. Depending on the impacts of change, progress
for one people may be decline for another.
4. Periodization helps us organize our thinking about
continuity and change. It is a process of interpretation, by
which we decide which events or developments constitute
a period of history.

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Inquiry Questions for Continuity and Change
• Has (the situation of minorities, relations with the U.S.,
school, family life, etc) really changed in the last 150 years?
• In this time of radical change from 1858 to 1863 what more
or less stayed the same?
• What kind of a change was the Gold Rush?
• What kind of a turning point was 1858?
• When did British Columbia become British?

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Concept: Historical Significance
The problem: We can’t remember or learn or
cover everything that ever happened. How do we
decide what is important to learn about the past?
“Historical significance”: the principles behind the
selection of what and who should be remembered,
researched, taught and learned about the past.

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Question Stems for Historical
Significance (aka: so-what or who-
cares questions:
• What was so special about X?
• Why should everyone remember X?
• Does X deserve to be famous?
• Why was X forgotten?

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Should the Victoria Pioneer Rifles be in our
textbooks? On what grounds?

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Working with historical significance:
Diamond Ranking
Most
Least

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Who were the most historically
significant during British Columbia’s
Gold Rushes?
• James Douglas
• Amelia Douglas
• Matthew Begbie
• Chief Spintlum
• Royal Engineers
• Victoria Pioneer
Rifles
• Hurdy Gurdy Girls
• Billy Barker

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Guideposts to Understanding Historical
Significance
1. An event, person, or development has historical significance
if it resulted in change. That is, it had deep consequences,
for many people, over a long period of time.
2. An event, person, or development has historical significance
if it is revealing. That is, it sheds light on enduring or
emerging issues in history or contemporary life.
3. Historical significance is constructed. That is, events,
people, and developments meet the criteria for historical
significance only when they are shown to occupy a
meaningful place in a narrative.
4. Historical significance varies over time and from group
to group.

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Other Historical Thinking Concepts:
• Cause and Consequence
• Historical Perspective-Taking
• Ethical Dimension

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Your Tasks (in whatever order suits you):
• Choose a historical thinking concept and a unit of
study.
• Establish some goals/learning intentions/enduring
understandings.
• Create an essential question/inquiry question.
• Decide on an appropriate performance task.
• Plan an introduction to the concept.
• Outline subsequent activities.
• Develop an assessment plan.
• Report on your progress.

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Reflection
What is one thing – big or small – covered so far that you might
use in the next month?
What are your thoughts on curiosity, connections, purpose, or
engagement?
What is one question that you would like to ask?

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A Human Timeline
• Prepare posters or tabards and props.
• Distribute one poster per student.
• Option: have two timelines facing each other to
compare.
• Possible avenues to explore: significance,
periodisation, turning points, narratives, other?
• Where do you place topics that carry over an
extended period of time?
• Repeat at regular intervals.

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Assessment Resources
beyondthebubble.stanford.edu www.begbiecontestsociety.org

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Teaching Resources: www.bcheritagefairs.ca

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Inferences vs
Face Value (Gold Rush)
Face value: The obvious
reading of the source
Inferences: Reading deeper.
What does it suggest?
This suggests that there may be
a problem with erosion as
shown by the slide of dirt and
rock.
The work is being done by men
by hand. This might suggest that
conditions are challenging. Food
and equipment may be in short
supply. It also suggests that
there are few women.
The narrow width and sides
suggest that this could be used to
carry water. Water could be used
in gold mining to separate gold
from dirt and gravel. The water
and dirt would destroy salmon
spawning beds in the river below.
William’s Creek,
Cariboo, ca. 1868
These men are holding tools.
This is a narrow band or
path.
Trees were cut down.

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Historical Thinking Project
The website features news,
descriptions of the key
aspects of each of the six
concepts, graphic
organizers, sample tasks
and a searchable database
of over 75 lesson plans.
http://historicalthinking.ca/

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Videos on Concepts: TC2 Take 2 videos:
Thinking about history
http://tc2.ca/teaching-resources/online-resource-
collections/special-collections/thinking-about-history.php

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TC2 Primary Source Collection
http://sourcedocs.tc2.ca/history-docs/about-history-
docs.html
History Docs is a searchable
collection of carefully selected
sets of primary and secondary
source documents about
peoples, places, things and
events in Canadian history.

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« The Role of Purpose in History Teaching »
(Barton and Levstik. Teaching History for the
Common Good.)
• Unless they have a clear sense of purpose,
teachers’ primary actions continue to be coverage
of the curriculum and control of students, no
matter how much they know about history,
teaching, or the intersection of the two.
• To engage students in activities that involve
interpreting evidence (and multiple perspectives),
teachers must have a purpose that can only be
accomplished by such activities.

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• There are two obvious candidates for this honour.
The first has dominated scholarship on history
education over the past two decades: Students
should learn about the past in ways consistent
with the academic discipline of history.
• (T)he other candidate for the purpose of history
education has far greater potential to inspire
conviction…: Students should learn history to
contribute to a participatory, pluralistic
democracy.

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A modest proposal for an agenda item for your
next department/school meeting: a rationale
for teaching history, e.g.:
• Historical significance and Ethical Dimension to
establish purpose for students
• Continuity and Change and Cause and Consequence to
see connections
• Evidence to develop curiosity about the past and, as
students’ ability to lead an inquiry grows, to practise
judgement based on evidence
• Historical Perspective-taking for engagement and to
expand the understanding of what it means to be human
• Ethical Dimension to acknowledge our debt to the past
and debate questions of social justice

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Reflection
• Two stars and a wish
• Next steps
• Suggestions

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