Explanation of the historical thinking concept of change and continuity and ways to teach it, notably through enhanced timelines

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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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Human Timeline
• Begin with events, then add dates, people and time
periods. Ask them how they will represent periods or
events that stretch over time such as residential
schools.
• Use cards, posters or tabards with visual images.
• Finally, stick the whole thing on the wall (with blu-
tack, so you can take it down and get them to do it
again in a few weeks – "Oh look kids, the cleaners
have taken down our timeline – we need to put it up
again.”)
(adapted from Ian Dawson, Thinking History)

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• If you have one big timeline, have students stand
in a slight crescent so everyone can see everyone
else. A straight line doesn’t work for visibility.
• Try two timelines face to face so students can
compare.
• If you don’t have enough students in your class
use chairs or stuffed toys to make up the
numbers or to increase the length of the line if
you venture back into time BCE.

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Options: focus on..
• chronological conventions such as BCE and CE or
dates and centuries. e. g., 1867 is in the 19th
century.
• key elements of change and continuity, e.g.,
turning points, progress and decline,
periodization
• "big pictures" such as themes and narratives and
all the complexities involved, e.g., the story of
work, democracy, the Canadian national identity,
human rights, etc. Emphasize interpretation and
diversity. Return to and revise regularly.

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Make 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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Dodgy Questions Game

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Your Tasks (but for the first and last task, in whatever
order suits you):
• Choose a historical thinking concept and a unit of
study (new or old).
• Establish the big ideas, learning goals, and
success criteria for the task/unit.
• Create an essential question/inquiry question.
• Decide on how students will demonstrate their
learning.
• Plan an introduction to the concept.
• Outline subsequent activities.
• Develop an assessment plan.
• Report on your progress.