Series Reading Like a Historian: Reading Like a Historian: Historians in Training

Reading Like a Historian: Historians in Training

Lesson Objective: Encourage students to learn the skills of historians
Grades 9-12 / History / Skills
1 MIN

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

  1. How does labeling students as "historians in training" affect students?
  2. What are the differences between Ms. Ziegler's class and "traditional" history classes?
  3. How does the way you talk about your students affect the work they do?

9 Comments

  • Private message to Betsy Cronin
I love that this teacher addresses her students as historians! The title gives them purpose beyond “student” and also carries with it the code of conducting themselves as responsible researchers of the past.
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  • Private message to gwen purvis
As teachers, we address our students every day as 'something'. Addressing them as historians puts the kids in that context and changes the way they think. I feel this is good training for the real world, and that it builds power for the kids to fall back on.
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  • Private message to Kevin Guzman
Addressing her students as historians does empower them to think beyond. Her students are working like historians, they are reading and sourcing documents. It's great grant students a level of profession in high school.
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  • Private message to AJ Guevara
Elementary students on our campus may not be familiar of what historian is.
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  • Private message to john whitaker
As a historian myself, I love how she addresses her students in this same manner empowering them with a title. I agree with her as well that being a "historian" is only a vehicle for learning critical skills that can be utilized in any discipline. Skills such as analyzing text, discovering evidence and making arguments are skills that should not just be seen as valuable tools for the historian, but tools that can help the individual achieve a level of cognitive reasoning that is useful no matter what field it is applied to.
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Transcripts

  • Reading Like A Historian: Strategy – Historians In Training
    Program Transcript

    Ziegler:
    And so, I’m thinking, as a historian, “Hmm, does

    Reading Like A Historian: Strategy – Historians In Training
    Program Transcript

    Ziegler:
    And so, I’m thinking, as a historian, “Hmm, does that mean that they’re going to pass this because this is what the American people want?...

    Valerie Ziegler (Interview):
    At the beginning of the school year, I tell my students that this is going to be a very non-traditional history class, and then I tell them that they are going to be ‘historians in training.’ And someone realized that the acronym for that would be HIT-man or HIT-woman. And so, as historians in training, I tell them that they’re doing the work that historians do and that they’re doing the very same thing: investigating things they’re reading about, and they’re trying to answer historical questions.

    Ziegler:
    Based on your prior knowledge, as historians, what do you know about MLK?

    Student:
    He doesn’t like violence.

    Ziegler:
    He doesn’t like violence. Great. What else do we know about him?

    Valerie Ziegler (Interview):
    And there’s something about thinking of yourself in that way that makes it not just a classroom that I learn something and forget it, that these are skills. And so, in having them think about themselves as historians, I address them as historians.

    Ziegler:
    Alright, historians, when you’re ready, you may take all of your things with you…

    Valerie Ziegler (Interview):
    And it adds that sort of mystique to their—to their profession, as well.

    #####

School Details

Lincoln (Abraham) High School
2162 24th Avenue
San Francisco CA 94116
Population: 2070

Data Provided By:

greatschools

Teachers

teachers
Valerie Ziegler