1 of 47

Helping EFL students to think historically

THE 5 C’S OF HISTORICAL THINKING

Presenter:

Eric Gondree

2 of 47

Overview

Introduction:

    • What are History and Historical Thinking?

Activity 1: Putting pictures in order

The 5 C’s:

    • Change
    • Context
    • Causality
    • Contingency
    • Complexity

Activity 2: Kamehameha jigsaw

3 of 47

What is History?

  • With a partner: Please discuss this question for 30 seconds.

​

​

​

​

​

4 of 47

What is History?

  • “The bodies of knowledge about the past produced by historians, together with everything that is involved in the production, communication of, and teaching about that knowledge.” Marwick (2001)

​

  • Not just what we know, but how we know and communicate it

5 of 47

What is Historical Thinking?

  • “Includes the reading, analysis, and writing necessary to tell historical stories—not just what we know about the past, but how we know about it.” TeachingHistory.org (2021)

​

​

6 of 47

What is Historical Thinking?

  • “Includes the reading, analysis, and writing necessary to tell historical stories—not just what we know about the past, but how we know about it.” TeachingHistory.org (2021)

​

  • “…tool for helping students … learn how to formulate and support arguments based on primary sources, as well as to understand and challenge historical interpretations related in secondary sources.” Thomas & Burke (2017)

​

7 of 47

What is Historical Thinking?

  • “Includes the reading, analysis, and writing necessary to tell historical stories—not just what we know about the past, but how we know about it.” TeachingHistory.org (2021)

​

  • “…tool for helping students … learn how to formulate and support arguments based on primary sources, as well as to understand and challenge historical interpretations related in secondary sources.” Thomas & Burke (2017)

​

  • Canadian Historical Association: “[T]he cognitive process of analyzing and interpreting historical evidence to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct historical narratives.” Gibson (2020)

8 of 47

How does it relate to teaching language? CLIL

  • Content and Language Integrated Learning

​

    • Marsh (1994): “…the learning of content and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language.”

​

    • Eurydice (2006): “all types of provision in which a second language … is used to teach certain subjects in the curriculum.”

​

    • Kiji & Kiji (1993): Content on foreign culture can be a practical means for language instruction

9 of 47

My Social Studies Background:

  • 2007: Social Studies Initial Teaching Certification for NY State (Buffalo State College)
  • 2007 – 2009: Substitute Social Studies teaching in western NY public school districts
  • 2011, 2012, 2018, 2020-22: Taught U.S. Culture/History electives
    • Wrote course-packs for electives
  • Personal interest in history & education; EFL/U.S. History book Journey to America Today (2021)

​

  • Currently work at: Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
  • Chukyo University

10 of 47

Can middle school kids think historically?

  • “…learn how to formulate and support arguments based on primary sources…” Thomas & Burke (2017)

​

11 of 47

Can middle school kids think historically?

  • Toyota Historic Museum in Nisshin, Japan

12 of 47

Can middle school kids think historically?

  • Put pictures in correct order?

13 of 47

Let’s try it out

​

  • Let’s do the activity! 2 minutes.

​

  • Please save your comments for the end of the presentation.

14 of 47

Discussion

​

  • Explain: Why did you make your analysis?

​

  • Explain: What helped you do it?

15 of 47

Discussion

​

  • Explain: Why did you make your analysis?

​

  • Explain: What helped you do it?

​

  • That’s historical thinking!

16 of 47

The 5 C’s of Historical Thinking

  • (Thomas & Burke, 2017)
    • Change
    • Context
    • Causality
    • Contingency
    • Complexity

17 of 47

1. Change

  • Change over time

Includes continuity

​

​

18 of 47

1. Change

  • How has the world changed?
  • How has the world not changed?

​

​

19 of 47

Example Activities: Change

  • Old photographs or newspapers.
    • What has changed?
    • What has stayed similar?

​

20 of 47

Example Activities: Change

  • Old photographs or newspapers.
    • What has changed?
    • What has stayed similar?

​

  • Interviewing grandparents or older neighbors.
    • What do they think?

21 of 47

2. Context

Stories need context to be understandable

Korean War … Cold War

& history of Korea?

​

French Revolution … Background?

22 of 47

Example Activities: Context

  • Historical photos: What’s happening?

23 of 47

Example Activities: Context

  • Historical art: looking for details

24 of 47

Example Activities: Context

  • Royal marriage scene: 15th Century Mexican Mixtec culture (fictional?)

​

    • Codex Zouche-Nuttall c. 1450 CE

​

    • Lord 8 Deer and Lady 13 Serpent
    • On Day 12 Serpent of Year 13 Flint

​

​

    • (Jiménez, et al, n.d.)

25 of 47

Example Activities: Context

​

26 of 47

3. Causality

  • Factors which cause or result from historical changes
    • Some factors may outweigh others

27 of 47

3. Causality

  • Causes of World War I?
    • 1914 Assassination of Archduke

Franz Ferdinand?

28 of 47

3. Causality

  • 7 expansionist powers (Rising Germany vs. established status quo powers)
      • 2 tight military alliances
      • Secret treaties

No partial mobilization

      • Scramble to mobilize

Nationalism

Balkan ‘tinderbox’

      • Ottoman power vacuum
      • Serbian irredentism vs

Austro-Hungarian ambition

29 of 47

3. Causality

  • 7 expansionist powers
      • 2 military alliances
      • Secretive diplomacy
      • Rise of Germany
    • No partial mobilization
      • Race to mobilize in war
    • Balkan ‘tinderbox’
      • Ottoman power vacuum
      • Serbian nationalism vs

Austria-Hungary ambitions

​

    • Franz Ferdinand??

30 of 47

3. Causality

  • 7 expansionist powers
      • 2 military alliances
      • Secretive diplomacy
      • Rise of Germany
    • No partial mobilization
      • Race to mobilize in war
    • Balkan ‘tinderbox’
      • Ottoman power vacuum
      • Serbian nationalism vs

Austria-Hungary ambitions

​

    • Franz Ferdinand??

​

    • It’s not so simple

31 of 47

Example Activities: Causality

  • Debates and role-playing

Give students primary sources to prepare for historical roles

Act-out or argue perspectives

32 of 47

Example Activities: Causality

  • Write a historical diary or letter
    • Someone in the past is making a decision or persuading a friend to make a decision. Why?

33 of 47

4. Contingency

  • Interconnectedness of past events
    • Events depend on previous conditions

34 of 47

4. Contingency

  • Interconnectedness of past events
    • What were past decisions?
    • History might have turned out differently?

​

    • What if?

Cowley (1999)

35 of 47

Example Activities: Contingency

  • Write realistic alternative histories, speculations about future…
  • …evidence & imagination

​

36 of 47

5. Complexity

  • Different people have different perspectives about the past.
    • Difficult decisions were made

37 of 47

Example Activities: Complexity

  • Roleplaying and debates
    • How do countries at the United Nations express different viewpoints?

38 of 47

Example Activities: Complexity

  • Roleplaying: Emergency response
    • How do you deal with a crisis?

39 of 47

How can we do this in an English class?

  • King Kamehameha Statue, Honolulu

40 of 47

How can we do this in an English class?

  • King Kamehameha Statue
    • (There are three)
  • Loewen (1999)

41 of 47

Kamehameha Statue Jigsaw

​

  • Contingency activity! 3 minutes.

​

  • Please save your comments for the end of the presentation.

42 of 47

Discussion

​

  • Explain: Why did you make your analysis?

​

  • Explain: What clues helped you?

43 of 47

In Conclusion…

Questions? Comments?

The 5 C’s:

    • Change
    • Context
    • Causality
    • Contingency
    • Complexity

​

44 of 47

Thank you for joining!

Questions? Comments?

​

This PPT available for download at: http://eric.gondree.com

​

  • Journey to America Today

​

45 of 47

References:

  • Cowley, R. (Ed.). (1999). What if? The World's Foremost Historians Imagine What Might Have Been. NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
  • Eurydice. (2006). Content and language integrated learning at school in Europe.
  • Brussels: Eurydice European Unit.
  • Gibson, L. (2020). What is historical thinking? Canadian Historical Association.
  • Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://cha-shc.ca/teaching/teachers- blog/what-is-historical-thinking-2020-09-07.htm
  • Gondree, E. (2021). Journey to America Today, Nagoya, Japan: PAWS International.
  • Kiji, M. and Kiji, Y. (1993). Using content-based instruction to improve
  • vocabulary retention. The Language Teacher, 17(1), 3-5.

Jiménez, D. M., et al (n.d.). Art of the Americas. Introduction to Art History I. Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://pressbooks.pub/art100/chapter/art-of-the-americas/

46 of 47

References:

Loewen, J. (1999). Lies across America: What our historic sites get wrong. NY: The New Press, 54-57.

Marsh, D. (1994). Bilingual Education & Content and Language Integrated Learning. International Association for Cross-cultural Communication, Language Teaching in the Member States of the European Union. Paris: University of Sorbonne.

  • Marwick, A. (2001). The new nature of history: Knowledge, evidence, language. UK: Red Globe Press.
  • TeachingHistory.org (2022). What is Historical Thinking? National History
  • Education Clearinghouse. https://www.teachinghistory.org/historical- thinking-intro

​

47 of 47

References:

  • Thomas, A. and Burke, F. (2017). What Does It Mean to Think Historically?
  • Perspectives on History. https://www.historians.org/publications-and- directories/perspectives-on-history/january-2007/what-does-it-mean- to-think-historically

​