My Historic Journey
I was born in the wrong time period! I often lamented these words to myself as a child growing up. The stories my father told me about famous people and events transported me back to other times and places that were much more exciting than my own. Many times I would find myself dusting off the old, dusty World Book Encyclopedias to discover more about such figures as Daniel Boone, Queen Elizabeth I, and Billy the Kid. I had this burning desire to know more about these people and to imagine what it would have been like to be them. What would it have been like to have lived during their times or to walk in their shoes? How would my life be different? Would I be the same person? These questions are what led to my love affair with history so it was only natural that the romance novels I read as a teenager were based in history and a whole lot more exciting than my high school history teacher. I remember vividly my daily routine in high school World History class. It involved bringing to class our heavy history textbook and a 5 subject notebook. Our lesson each day consisted of Mr. Hamm reading in his monotone voice an entire chapter aloud to the class from his desk. After which we would create an outline of the entire chapter for the remainder of class with the assurance that writing a good outline insured we understood the content. Never do I remember a time of working with my fellow classmates, creating projects, or heaven forbid asking questions, which insured that Mr.Hamm would reread the entire chapter for the enjoyment of all. This was the extent of what I remember about my public school days in the realm of history. Exciting right? Hard to believe I was ever interested in history with that experience.
I was born in the wrong time period! I often lamented these words to myself as a child growing up. The stories my father told me about famous people and events transported me back to other times and places that were much more exciting than my own. Many times I would find myself dusting off the old, dusty World Book Encyclopedias to discover more about such figures as Daniel Boone, Queen Elizabeth I, and Billy the Kid. I had this burning desire to know more about these people and to imagine what it would have been like to be them. What would it have been like to have lived during their times or to walk in their shoes? How would my life be different? Would I be the same person? These questions are what led to my love affair with history so it was only natural that the romance novels I read as a teenager were based in history and a whole lot more exciting than my high school history teacher. I remember vividly my daily routine in high school World History class. It involved bringing to class our heavy history textbook and a 5 subject notebook. Our lesson each day consisted of Mr. Hamm reading in his monotone voice an entire chapter aloud to the class from his desk. After which we would create an outline of the entire chapter for the remainder of class with the assurance that writing a good outline insured we understood the content. Never do I remember a time of working with my fellow classmates, creating projects, or heaven forbid asking questions, which insured that Mr.Hamm would reread the entire chapter for the enjoyment of all. This was the extent of what I remember about my public school days in the realm of history. Exciting right? Hard to believe I was ever interested in history with that experience.
Education was greatly valued in my family. Being the first to go to college in my family was a huge honor and responsibility. I, for the first time, had new experiences in my history classes. I was surrounded by people who were asking those same questions I remember as a child. After the initial shock wore off, I found myself swept up in critical thinking, discussions, and debates on topics from women's suffrage to segregation. Most shocking was the fact that I wasn't learning from a textbook, I was reading the actual writings of those people I had long wondered about. I was excited to finally be able to experience a greater love of history and a deeper understanding. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a teacher and share this love of history with others. I also set out to prove to students that history couldn't just be learned from a textbook, that true historic learning comes from the primary sources (letters, diaries, photographs, and interviews) that allow you to step back to another place and time.
This is my 17th year as a middle school Social Studies teacher. I spend 14 years teaching 6th grade World Geography but had the opportunity to teach my passion, U.S. history, three years ago with a move to 8th grade. While it has been a big adjustment to move from 6th to 8th grade, I find the challenge exhilarating and a great learning experience. Through this time, I have struggled with engaging my students to be interested in the subject however I have learned that teaching my students to be critical thinkers is the key to unlocking the past! This endeavor to transport students to another time and engage in historical thinking required a plan of action and a change in thinking. My plan was two parts: developing tools (interactive notebooks) to improve student engagement and implementing critical thinking (inquiry based learning) into my classroom. The following pages elude to how I implemented the tools and skills into my classroom during the 2016-2017 school year.