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Ashton Hoff
Middle and Secondary Schooling
November 28, 2008
Prior Knowledge Interview: What students know and the
shocking realities about what they don’t…
When teaching students it is vital to understand their prior knowledge and past
experiences; if they were all experts in a particular topic than it would be superfluous to
spend two weeks teaching it. However students are rarely conscious during school
hours, let alone experts in any one particular topic. It is with this mindset that I
interviewed two high school students to assess what they knew about certain aspects of
social studies. The students were randomly given ten sets of pictures and asked to place
them in chronological order. As they determined where each picture went they explained
their reasons and what they knew about each picture. This was then followed up with an
interview about various topics in social studies. The transcripts for both interviews can
be found at the end of this essay. Both students are fifteen year old, high school boys,
currently enrolled in World History II (in other words from the year 1500 A.D. up to the
present day). In addition to these similarities both are extremely active—student A plays
football, baseball, and is an active hunter while student B plays soccer, swimming, and is
active in boy scouts striving to become an eagle scout. Both are extremely interested in
history as a subject; however their interests centers on different topics—student A enjoys
learning about the Civil War, while student B enjoys World War II and more modern
history. After interviewing both students I came up with three broad discoveries or
conclusions. First, the answers given were oftentimes generic or predictable, with both
students demonstrating a hesitance to share unique and individual response. Second,
although both students expressed a high interest in history as a subject neither one knew
much about the role of historians or their methods. In other words, they had a limited
understanding of historiography and what it means to actually do history rather than read
about it. The final discovery I made throughout this process was that both students had
trouble analyzing the pictures and really seeing history come alive. It was as if neither
student could truly empathize with the plight of past generations. In the next few sections
I will further explore these conclusions and examine the instructional implications of
each. After examining each conclusion, I will provide a few suggestions and examples
of instructional strategies that I believe could help both students in their historical studies.
One of the first things you can see throughout both transcripts is that both of these
boys have grown up in an environment where students are encouraged, if not required, to
regurgitate the same answers. Student A stated almost all pro-American statements.
Every question about the most significant men in history and the most significant
documents in history has an answer was always ringing with patriotism. The only
woman he could think of was Sacagawea, another American hero! Student B took a
different approach, by answering with things he had recently learned in his current
history class. His documents included things from his recent unit on the enlightenment,
such as the Social Contract and the Leviathan. He also included Catherine the Great,
Mary Wollstonecraft, and Peter the Great in some of his answers—again all things he
learned about in his world history class.
In many ways these results should have been less than surprising many people
have noticed this trend and written about its impact. History classrooms across America
have stifled individual thinking and not allowed students any opportunity to think
rationally, critically, or in general at all. Instead they are subjected to mindless,
monotonous vocabulary lessons that they resist learning at all costs (Loewen, 2007;
Korbin, 1996). I saw this from both of my interviewees as they struggled with saying
what they really thought. It was as if their humble opinion wasn’t good enough because
it didn’t come out of a book. Student A, at one point, mentioned that he wanted to put
Lincoln’s assassination or West Virginia becoming a state as one of his most significant
events but dismissed this idea. I assume he felt these were both ‘wrong’ answers; the
creation of West Virginia isn’t significant enough in the minds of most people and
Lincoln’s assassination is so tragic that putting it as a significant event tarnishes this
American martyr. Student B showed a similar reluctance to say what he was thinking
when he commented that he felt bad saying the dropping of the atomic bomb was a
significant event. All of these answers given by both students are legitimate, significant
historical events that many historians have been writing about for years. So then why do
students show this reluctance to speak their minds? The answer is that students never see
this side of history. The side where there is debate amongst historians and ambiguity in
sources. Instead all these students read about (if they read it at all) is the generic,
predictable histories they find in their textbooks.
Although many people have written about this phenomenon sweeping history
classrooms, the question really becomes what teachers can do about it to improve the
situation. There are two main ways we can help our students to overcome this mindless
learning of history. First, I think both of these students would benefit from analyzing a
variety of primary sources, which many authors have advocated using in historical
studies (Loewen 2007; Korbin, 1996). By examining a variety of primary sources
student A could see a truer perspective of Lincoln and how he has been immortalized in
our minds only after his death. In fact, by giving them a variety of letters, diary entries,
and government documents, students could construct a picture where they see that many
in the North felt Lincoln was a at times a dictator stifling the rights of citizens for the war
effort. I think primary sources would go a long way in correcting some of the problems
associated with these students’ answers but it can’t validate the students’ answers and
make them feel as if there opinion matters. With this in mind, I advocate including a few
Structured Academic Controversies. This method allows students to see a variety of
opinions and the way historians look at these topics. They can see the ambiguities
associated with a certain topic, and hopefully begin to understand that no topic has a right
answer. They can feel confident in their ideas and opinions because in reality, no one
really knows for sure. For an example of a Structured Academic Controversy that might
benefit students see Handout 1. By seeing a variety of opinions, encouraging critical
thinking, and examining primary sources, perhaps students would develop their own
thoughts instead of regurgitating the same answers because they think that is what they
are supposed to say.
Another aspect of these interviews that can be observed, is that students have no
idea what is the objective of history is, or what historians do. Both interviewees had a
limited understanding of any historiography despite the fact that both have a high interest
in history, as you can notice by the numerous films and television programs they had
viewed about history. Student A had no idea what a primary or a secondary source was,
while student B had a better grasp on that particular question but still struggled with
explaining the concept. In addition, both students had no clue as to what historians do;
they see history as more of a hobby not a valuable skill. An interesting question would
have been is history important, or is it as important as your other subjects? I think both
of these answers would have demonstrated that students have a hard time identifying the
skills required to be a historian or the valuable lessons they are learning. Obviously this
lack of understanding about historiography has led many students to see it as boring or
not useful to their daily lives, and in a way they are right. If history is taught as fact after
fact, “memorize this and that” then it is useless. However, if the skills that are used in
history are developed and refined than it can be wonderfully useful because it fosters
critical reading, writing, and thinking.
Although it is easy to point out that without teaching students about
historiography, they are doomed to spend an eternity viewing history as irrelevant and
impractical, the question becomes what to do about it? How can teachers fix this
problem of lack of student engagement, cover all the necessary material, and touch on
some historiography? The solution to this is to teach history as mystery. This technique
allows students to construct their own knowledge and has been shown to increase student
engagement. Educators have used this technique in their classrooms and had tremendous
success (Gerwin & Zevin, 2003). After all it is fun to play detective, to gather evidence
and come to a conclusion based on these things. By examining this process even closer a
remedy can also be found for the problems associated with historiography. This
technique and process is how actual historians go about solving historical problems and
writing all their books. This is history as historians do it on a daily basis. When students
are placed in this role and have to examine each piece of evidence think of the
sophisticated skills they will be using. First they have to know the difference between a
primary and secondary source, which they will learn as they examine the difference
between a diary entry and a book about that diary entry. When they begin to evaluate this
part of the mystery and say to themselves ‘hmm, which is more credible: the actual diary
entry or this book’, then they have just begun to examine bias. They are critical thinking
when they try to solve the mystery and they are developing their own opinions using
critical reading and writing, because these mysteries have no wrong or right answers. As
long as students can support their conclusions with evidence, then they are well on their
way to doing history rather than just reading it passively (Gerwin & Zevin, 2003).
Consider for a moment the picture of Tiananmen Square student uprising. This is
a mystery that creators dream of, because so much work is already done for you by the
government of China. A mystery could be created based around the question what
happened at Tiananmen Square to a particular student. I don’t think it would be hard to
find a Chinese student who is still missing or whose whereabouts are unknown. It would
be even better to find a student leader, who was still missing. The exact number of
students who died or were imprisoned are unknown, the Red Cross and the Chinese
government both claim radically different numbers. In addition, much of what happened
to many of the Chinese students is clouded in mystery. What happened to them? Where
did they go? By giving students newspaper articles of Chinese students who claim to
have spent years in prison, the conflicting numbers, the fear and distress of the Chinese
students days before the end of the Tiananmen Square massacre, teachers can watch as
their students try to reconcile these ambiguities and develop what they believe really
happened. They are playing the part of historians and dealing with the frustrations of
inadequate sources.
One of the best parts of this interview process was examining the variety of
responses to the pictures. I was particularly interested in the process that took place when
students encounter a picture they didn’t know right away. Both students A and B make
excellent grades in history, so I assumed both would examine the picture. In fact, I was
shocked by how quickly they gave up when they encountered something they didn’t
know, or an aspect of the picture that didn’t fit into their schema. This happened on
numerous occasions but what shocked me even more is the lack of empathy they felt for
the people in these pictures. It seemed hard for them to truly analyze the picture deeply
enough to step into the shoes of another and really see history come to live. Student A
gave only one word answers when asked what life would have been like for the
individuals in the picture. His answers were thinks like crappy, crappier, better than that
last picture, etc. They lacked any thought or empathy for the people in the picture. At
first I thought this was because the interview was long and maybe the student was tired
until I saw student B make similar mistakes. Student B gave very detailed answers about
what life would have been like for the individuals in the picture but he kept coming back
to this idea of the middle class. No matter what was happening in the picture he always
talked about the middle class, which makes sense because he is from a middle class
family (in fact both students are). However the shocking thing for me was that he hailed
the middle class as the epicenter of where people would want to be without truly
examining the picture to see the plight of the people. Some further analysis took place as
new questions were asked and the interview continued, but this astounded me. I thought
empathizing with people would be the easy part because students think about how they
would feel. So what is the consequence of students who can’t examine a picture enough
to step into history? The same lack luster history that students have always learned.
Numerous authors have written about the impact of emotion of the study of history, citing
it as a source of engagement for students and a way to make students see history as a
relevant, powerful subject worth their time (Loewen, 2007; Bower & Lobdell & Owens,
2005).
How can we make student care? What methods can we do to engage them and
make them see history come alive? These are questions that have haunted history
teachers for years and the best strategies that I have observed are those advocated in
History Alive!. It sounds cliché but it is even there in the name, history works to come
alive for students as they move through a variety of strategies to help them. There are
two methods I think could help students to empathize with others and really analyze
pictures. First, a technique known as visual discovery, where each student takes a role in
the picture, acts it out, and the class is able to ask question of the brave actors to engage
the entire classroom. The teacher uses powerful images and asks questions to guide
students to the discovery. By interacting with the image they are able to apply what they
have learned in a new and different way. This technique allows the students to critically
view the images and brings to life the compelling images. A sample of this technique can
be seen in Handout 2 (Bower & Lobdell & Owens, 2005).
In addition to visual discovery another History Alive! Technique that can be
useful when trying to get students to emotionally connect, is experiential exercises. This
technique centers around teachers creating short memorable experiences that take
students back in a simulation of what actually happened allowing students the
opportunity to express their feelings. Both of my interviewees as well as all students
would benefit from such a technique, because it allows history to be more than the facts
they memorize from a worksheet. For example, consider student B’s habit of referring
back to the middle class and not really empathizing with the lower classes. Consider his
answer for the women working during WWI which he thought was a picture for the
Industrial Revolution—true he mentions long hours and low pay, but he ends on a
positive when mentioning that motor vehicles came out of this time period. While
interviewing him I got the impression he had no idea about the true nature of long hours
and low pay, but was simply regurgitating these as factoids rather than examining what
that would feel like. What if he participated in an experiential where he had to massively
reproduce a simple drawing on an assembly line with his peers, with loud noises in the
background, a student who was kneeled down as if a child, another student falling asleep
on the line from the long hours, another student not able to speak English. What if the
assembly line dealt with such problems as one of the ‘workers’ being fired and the rest of
the team having to pick up the slack—all the while the constant loud noises and yelling of
a teacher in their ear? Do you think they would be better equipped to empathize with the
plight of workers during the Industrial Revolution? Many teachers have used these short
exercises with enormous success because they allow students to experience history rather
than try to regurgitate facts on a test (Bower & Lobdell & Owens, 2005).
The problems of these two students are in no way special or unique to their
particular circumstances. Neither one lives in the same neighborhood, goes to the same
school, or even lives in the same state! They are both experiencing common problems
associated with many social studies classrooms across the country. They are taught the
same generic, cookie cutter version of history, never given the opportunity to develop any
of the skills of a historian or basic understanding of historiography, and potentially worst
of all they don’t see history come to life and empathize with past generations. There is
one common result of all of these conclusions—history is viewed as a boring topic that
no one has any desire or interest to learn about because it fails to challenge the mind as
history should. Although this is a depressing notion when a person thinks about the
states of teaching history, it can also be hopeful. It is hopeful in the sense that there are
ways to fix these oversights of others. By encouraging students to see a variety of
historical opinions, using primary sources, teaching history as historians actually go
about creating it, using visual discovery and experientials to make history emotional and
truly move students, educators can repair the damage and make history worthwhile for
students. It is important to remember that teachers always have it in their power to make
a change, and these techniques are some of the ways I plan on doing just that.
References
Bower, B., Lodell, J., & Owens, S. (2005). Bringing learning alive! The tci approach for
middle and high school social studies. United States: Teachers' Curriculum
Institute.
Gerwin, D., & Zevin, J. (2003). Teaching U.S. history as mystery. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Kobrin, D. (1996). Beyond the textbook: teaching history using documents and primary
sources. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Loewen, J. (2007). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook
got wrong. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Pictures Taken From
Eyeballing tiananmen square massacre. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Eyeballing
Tiananmen Square Massacre Web site: http://cryptome.cn/tk/tiananmen-kill.htm
Leighextence. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Leroy a Paris Web site:
http://www.extence.co.uk/983leroybronze.html
(2007, August). The louverture project. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from An Overview
of the Haitian Revolution Web site:
http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=An_Overview_of_the_Haitian_R
evolution
Virginia Historical Society. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Contact and Conflict Web
site: http://www.vahistorical.org/sva2003/abduction.htm
Robert clive. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from History and Politics Web site:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/Clive.html
Warsaw-life.com. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from The Ghetto Fights! Web site:
http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-ghetto-uprising
Schnews of the world. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Independent Sources in
Palestine Web site: http://www.schnews.org.uk/sotw/palestine.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ (this is where the Industrial Revolution picture came
from)
(May, 2008). On this day in history: First world's fair, 1851. Retrieved December 1,
2008, from The Modern Historian Web site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/hfront2_02.shtml
Death in snow, 1905. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from 1st-Art-Gallery-Own A
Masterpiece Web site: http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Vladimir-EgorovicMakovsky/Death-In-Snow,-1905.html
Appendix A
The Photos
What Photo Is?
The Kidnapping of
Pocahontas, 1612
British in India, 1757
Enlightenment Salon,
late 18th century
Picture
Haitian Revolution,
1801
Crystal Palace, London,
1851
Russian Revolution—
Bloody Sunday, 1905
Women during World
War I, 1914
Nazi Germany, 1930s
Tiananmen Square,
1989
Intifada—Gaza Strip,
2000
Appendix B
Student Transcripts
Prior Knowledge—Student A Transcript
Placed Pocahontas picture first then Gaza Strip Picture last
Why?
That is how I’ve always learned it in school….Pilgrims came before Tanks
What do you know about the pictures?
This one is the Pilgrims and the Indians
This one is a Tank
Placed Third Picture—Crystal Palace in the middle
Why?
Doesn’t look as recent as the other two, people are dressed differently
What do you know about the picture?
Nothing
Placed Fourth Picture—Enlightenment placed in between the Pocahontas and
Crystal Palace
Why?
It looks older than the Pilgrims but not as recent as this one
What do you know about the picture?
It is the signing of the Declaration of Independence because they look like George
Washington
Placed Fifth Picture—British in India placed in between Enlightenment and Crystal
Palace
Why?
British taking over Africa or India because of the British flag and the
elephant….oh and the turbans so probably India
What do you know about the picture?
Nothing
Placed Sixth Picture—Tiananmen Square Massacre placed in between Tanks and
Crystal Palace
Why?
That is in China, I know because that is Mao something…Mao Zedong
What do you know about the picture?
It happened in the 1990s , in China that is it
Placed Seventh Picture—Haitian Revolution placed in between British India and
the Crystal Palace
Why?
I guessed
What do you know about this picture?
Some country trying to take over Africa
Placed Eight Picture—WWI Women placed in between the Crystal Palace and
Tiananmen Square
Why?
I know that is the Industrial Revolution! Because of the factories and machines
and because that happened in the 1800s
What do you know about the picture?
Well I already said it was the Industrial Revolution
Placed Ninth Picture—Kristalnacht placed in between the WWI women and Mao
Zedong
Why?
That is one of the World Wars, can see the soldiers with the guns
What do you know about the picture?
Hitler was killing the Jews it was one of the World Wars…..World War I, I think if
I am correct
Placed Tenth Picture—Russian Revolution placed in between the Crystal Palace
and the WWI women
Why?
I guessed
What do you know about the picture?
I know nothing about it
Final Order
Real Order
1. Pocahontas
1. Pocahontas
2. Enlightenment
2. British India
3. British India
3. Enlightenment
4. Haitian Revolution
4. Haitian Revolution
5. Crystal Palace
5. Crystal Palace
6. Russia Revolution
6. Russian Revolution
7. WWI women
7. WWI women
8. Kristalnacht
8. Kristalnacht
9. Tiananmen Square
9. Tiananmen Square
10. Intifada
10. Intifada
Did you think this was easy or hard to do? What things made it easy or hard?
It was easy, pictures knew most of them the hard thing was to put them in order because
they didn’t’ have any dates on them
Which pictures do you think are the most interesting? Why?
This one of the Declaration of Independence because it is American History
How do you think your life would have been different if you had been alive at this
time?
Pointed to Russian Revolution picture: I don’t know because, I don’t know what it is…it
looks like a plague
1. Pocahontas
awful
2. Enlightenment
Better than the first
3. British India
About the same
4. Haitian Revolution
About the same
5. Crystal Palace
Better than the first because the British not taking over and they have fancier
clothes
6. Russian Revolution
Bad because there is a dead guy right there
7. WWI women
Pretty good
8. Kristalnacht
Bad for them kind of people still bad though
9. Tiananmen Square
Good that was in the 1970s
10. Intifada
Looks good
History
1. Among your school subjects where would you rank history in terms of your
interest over the years (top, middle, bottom)? Why?
Middle because I like math better but I like it better than science because science
is hard
2. What is history?
History is the past….um….and the culture of past civilizations
3. Why do we study history?
To learn about the past and understand the future
4. What do historians do?
Teach us about history and to study history…..that is like asking a chemist what
they do…duh….chemistry (laughter)
5. What is a primary source?
…..(several moments) a very good, important, source
What is a secondary source?
Um the second source (in a questioning voice)??
6. What do they think are three most historically significant events in history?
Why?
I might not be able to say a couple…..
a. Signing of the Declaration of Independence…that was in 1776
Why? Because America was created
b. The Alamo
Why? Because we got Texas
I’m not allowed to say Lincoln’s assassination or West Virginia becoming a state
c. Ending of the American Revolutionary War
Why? We became our own country away from Great Britain
7. Who are the three most historically significant people in history? Why?
a. Stonewall Jackson
Why? One of the best generals in America but was shot by his own
men….which sucks
b. Lee
Why? For same reasons as above…he should have been on the 50 dollar
bill
c. Washington
Why? Because of the youtube song (laughter) and he is the first President
and head in the Revolutionary War
8. Who are the three most historically significant women in history? Why?
a. Sacagawea
Why? Explored the Western side of the United States
I don’t know any others…
9. What are the three most historically significant documents in history? Why?
a. Declaration of Independence
Why? Declares our independence from Great Britain
b. Constitution
Why? Because it is our government or basis of it at least
c. Bill of Rights
Why? Rights of American citizen
10. Imagine that you could meet and talk with someone from the past. Who
would it be? What questions would you ask them? Why? Because you can’t
actually do that how could you find out the answers to your questions?
I would meet with Washington….ask him how he felt about being elected
President back then, because it is important to me. I could go to the internet or
Mr. Hodges,….(pause) or books
11. Have you ever seen a film or TV show, outside of school, on a historical
topic? If so, what was it? Did you wonder if it was historically accurate?
Did you do anything to check on its accuracy?
Yes, I’ve seen We Were Soldiers, Alamo, Private Ryan, Gods and Generals, Black
Hawk Down, the Patriot…..a lot of them; Yes I asked Mr. Hodges (teacher last
year) if it was accurate
12. Do you ever discuss things that happened before 1975 with your friends? If
so, what topics?
No not really
Government
1. Among your school subjects, where would you rank government and civics in
terms of your interest over the years (top, middle, bottoms)? Why?
Bottom….that class looks hard, I haven’t taken it yet
2. Why do we study government and civics?
Learn about government and America….the American government
3. What is democracy? What other types of government are there?
Our democracy….well that is like the Electoral College, power spread throughout
people…like in Greece
There are monarchy, dictatorship, there is communism, is tyranny same
thing….there are a couple others I can’t think of them now
4. What are the main features of the American political system? (probe for
branches of government, functions of government, etc.)
Executive, Legislature, Judicial…and states are governed the same way….don’t
know anything else I haven’t taken that class yet
5. What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our country?
Like the Bill of Rights (freedom of Speech)…I don’t know about
responsibilities….uh oh to follow government laws
6. What role does the government play in your everyday life?
I don’t know…blank, confused stare
Content Questions
1. When did the American Civil War take place? Who was involved? What
were the causes? Why is this event significant? What were the effects of the
war?
1861-1865…Americans, North and South wait no reverse that South and North,
or Confederation and Union…Causes: slavery, money, manufacturing plants,
President Abraham Lincoln (South didn’t want him)…West Virginia created
ended slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln was
shot…Effects: South couldn’t vote, all blacks stayed in the South because too poor
to move North into the cities, but some of them still did
2. When did World War I take place? What were the causes? Who was
involved in this war? What were the names of the opposing sides? Where
was this war fought? When did the United States become involved? Why?
What were some of the effects of the War?
1911…Causes: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hitler killing the Jews…Germany,
and pretty much everybody; it is a World War….Axis and Allies…fought in
Europe, Asia, and Africa maybe...it was on a game I can’t remember….1912
when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor…Effects: the Depression
3. When did World War II take place? What were the causes? Who was
involved in this war? What were the names of the opposing sides? Where
was this war fought? When did the United State become involved? Why?
What were some of the effects of the War?
Um….I don’t know, I think that was the one with Japan….Causes: Japan
again…involved Japan, Germany, and everybody....I don’t know Pearl
Harbor…Effects: umm don’t know
4. When was the Great Depression? What were the causes? How did the
Depression impact the lives of the people? Whom did the Great Depression
affect? Where did the Great Depression occur? How long did the
Depression last? In what ways did people and the government try to
overcome the problems of the Depression?
In the 1920s (questioning??) Causes: World War I, Stock Market Crash….people lost
their jobs and money, felt like everything expensive….affected American
families…occurred in America….I don’t know how long it lasted….I don’t know
Prior Knowledge—Student B Transcript
Placed Pocahontas picture first then Gaza Strip Picture last
Why?
Because this is the Mayflower, I know because of the Indians, New World all that
stuff, and the tank because the tank and road are modern
What do you know about the pictures?
This is the Mayflower and this is a man stopping a tank
Placed Third Picture—Kristalnacht in the middle
Why?
The soldiers helmets are German, the boy has a polish cap and I have seen this
picture before
What do you know about the picture?
Polish children in the Nazi’s Hitler, either rounding up prisoners for a
concentration camp or Americans liberating the concentration camp
Placed Fourth Picture—Crystal Palace placed in between Pocahontas and
Kristalnacht
Why?
Well can’t really see it that much….I wish the pictures were better! But the
clothing makes it look like a lavish lifestyle
What do you know about the picture?
I think it is the lavish lifestyle of American businessmen, it is so lavish it might be
at Versailles or something like that
Placed Fifth Picture—British in India placed between Pocahontas and the Crystal
Palace
Why?
I know it is the British taking over India because of the elephants, the Indians and
the flag….it looks like the Imperialistic Era
What do you know about the picture?
Well they conquered India later and had America first, the British went in and
took over India
Placed Sixth Picture—Haitian Revolution placed in between Crystal Palace and
Kristalnacht
Why?
This is in South….oh no….what is the name of that war; You see the musketeers
so they are British and the soldiers with puff ball hats
What do you know about the picture?
Britain taking over Africa and they are fighting in the desert, Zulu War or
something I saw it in a movie
Placed Seventh Picture—Tiananmen Square placed at the very end of the timeline
after Gaza Strip
Why?
North Korean or Chinese dictatorship…..I can see the dictator’s picture in the
background
What do you know about this picture?
More modern and it is the people all under this one man
Placed Eight Picture—WWI women placed in between Haitain Revolution and
Kristalnacht
Why?
Oh that is the Industrial Revolution I know because I see gears/ machines and
what not and women in the workshop and that was during or right before World
War II
What do you know about the picture?
Women didn’t have any rights till men were at war so that is the only reason they
would be working
Placed Ninth Picture—Enlightenment placed between British India and Crystal
Palace
Why?
That is the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, Continental
Congress, because the way they are dressed looked like Revolutionary times
(relooks at picture)….oh I do see a woman though, so I don’t know
What do you know about the picture?
I don’t know much about this one…They are discussing something so that is why I
think it is something for the American Revolution…not really sure
Placed Tenth Picture—Russian Revolution placed in between the Haitian
Revolution and the WWI women
Why?
It looks like Soviet flags, there are dead people showing…this was pre WWII
around the time of the Great Depression…yeah they just show all the red flag
What do you know about the picture?
This is the Russian Revolution, communist regime so the whole country was in
turmoil
Final Order
Real Order
11. Pocahontas
1. Pocahontas
12. British India
2. British India
13. Enlightenment
3. Enlightenment
14. Crystal Palace
4. Haitian Revolution
15. Haitian Revolution
5. Crystal Palace
16. Russia Revolution
6. Russian Revolution
17. WWI women
7. WWI women
18. Kristalnacht
8. Kristalnacht
19. Intifada
9. Tiananmen Square
20. Tiananmen Square
10. Intifada
Did you think this was easy or hard to do? What things made it easy or hard?
Most of it was pretty easy, but some of these pictures might be flipped up….bigger
pictures would have made it better. It was easier because of the clothing styles you can
see in the pictures. It was hard some of them I didn’t recognize because they aren’t
known to me.
Which pictures do you think are the most interesting? Why?
I like the Haitian Revolution, the Nazi one, the Tank, and Tiananmen Square. I like
Haitian Revolution because it is a battle scene and really captures the moments. The
Nazi one I like because I enjoy World War II and I understand it. The Tank is another
powerful image that I think really captures the moment because it is a man standing up to
a tank. I like the Tiananmen Square picture because it is of a dictator, it is the modern
world and it looks like a bunch of people under the one man’s picture. I also think the
statue is pretty cool.
How do you think your life would have been different if you had been alive at this
time?
Pointed to Russian Revolution picture: a lot crapper; It happened just before the Great
Depression and post World War I so it was really hard times, In Russia you could either
have been killed because you were on the wrong side or you could be dealing with a
dictator under a communist regime
11. Pocahontas
Happened in the early 1600s and this is the first landings…they made
settlements and you can see what they are wearing….lots of people were
fighting over America. There was a transfer of goods between America and
Europe—disease and all that. There were many wars in Europe. This is
before the glorious revolution and English Revoltuion. They were funded by
King James…um not sure about that one though…people were searching for
gold/wealth.
There was a very little middle class; they wealthy were really wealthy and the
poor had barely enough to get by….they had a short life, a lot of them got sick
and died on the ships, and of course all those wars in Europe
12. Enlightenment
I really don’t know much about this one…something dealing with the
American Revolution but not sure. It is in the mid to late 1700s and they are
discussing things because of their wigs and outfits
Life varied a lot because there wasn’t a lot of middle class. Upper class on
plantations….in France it was something like 97% on 6% of the land (not a
hundred percent on that one)…very compacted for the lower classes
13. British India
Mid 1700s during Imperialism they conquered India later than America. It
was important you get as much land as possible….they had absolute
monarchy back home who can get the best trade routes—lots of competition in
Europe
People in this picture were the same as in the last picture—disease people
were dying, Indians resented them…not at first but later…England became a
powerful nation.
14. Haitian Revolution
Africa was fighting England so this was mid to late 1800s…um life would be
better because the middle class was beginning to develop in France/England
pretty much all over and nation’s were getting wealthier
15. Crystal Palace
This happened during Industrial Revolution, they have top hats and suits so
they are like Carnegie or Rockefeller, monopolies that kind of stuff. They are
shopping in this elegant building…I guess it was mid 1800s
Life for factory workers they worked long hours for minimum pay, so not too
great but business owners were wealthy because they gained from the factory
worker’s problems
Actually I’d like to flip some of these around….switch the Industrial
Revolution that came before the Russian Revolution…I’m really torn about
these two
16. Russian Revolution
Middle of World War I to the end of World War I, it is bad because a lot of
people had died in the Napoleonic and World War I. Then the communist
were taking over and the whole country was in turmoil
17. WWI women working
This is either the Industrial Revolution or women working in World War II
Life would have been pretty bad while the men were at war because Germany
was taking over the world I imagine it was pretty scary
If this is the industrial Revolution there were long hours, low pay…but motor
vehicles were coming off the assembly lines—they had just been invented oh
wait is that right. America….and well I guess the whole world….was
industrializing
18. Kristalnacht
Germany had a tight grip on Europe/ bad people, well in Hitler’s opinion,
were being sent to concentration camps where they worked until they
died….happened in the 1940s and early 40s. Germany almost takes over
Russia
Life was scary because you never knew when Hitler will send in the SS to
round up your family and they had the final say
19. Tiananmen Square
I think this was in the 1990s this might even be Tiananmen Square…it looks
like a bunch of oriental people under the dictators picture
Life is really not great because there is no power under dictatorships
20. Intifada
Actually this might be the Persian Gulf because there is a desert in the
background…it is much more modern because tanks
Life was getting better because it is towards the end of the Cold War so
Russia was capitulating, a nuclear war was less eminent
History
13. Among your school subjects where would you rank history in terms of your
interest over the years (top, middle, bottom)? Why?
It is the most interesting but unless I want to teach I can’t really use it so I see it
as more of a hobby. I like it because you learn about the mistakes people have
made….it isn’t necessarily a mockery of people’s stupidity but kind of…. I really
don’t know why but I have always been interested especially in World War II and
post-WWII.
14. What is history?
History is the summing up…no…the telling of the recorded past of mankind
15. Why do we study history?
So we don’t make the same mistakes…you have to know how we got to where we
are
16. What do historians do?
Learn more about the past, look up important documents and try to decipher it
and stuff like that
17. What is a primary source?
oh God I remember learning about this….I can’t remember so I will just say the
first thing that comes to mind….it is the main source where you get all your
ideas…like the Declaration of Independence but I don’t really know
What is a secondary source?
Like a reading, or a paper, it is something someone writes about the Declaration
of Independence
18. What do they think are three most historically significant events in history?
Why?
a. Glorious Revolution
Why? Because it is a period of time when absolute monarchs were
invisible and one of the most powerful monarch was overthrown without
bloodshed
b. Atomic Bomb being dropped…I feel terrible saying that
Why? It was a new age of warfare, new weaponry and way to fight and it
ended World War II
c. Fall of the Berlin Wall
Why? It was the end of the Cold War, and marks the end of the USSR, the
end of communism…well it is still sort of in China…but not a dominant
form of government
19. Who are the three most historically significant people in history? Why?
a. Peter the Great
Why? Develop Russia into a national power….they had been around but
like a second hand country and he advanced them built a navy and got
them on the map
Which one came up with democracy….
b. Einstein
Why? One thing is that he helped develop atomic warfare and that was a
big change in history
c. FDR
Why? He was president through some of the worst times in American
history…he was through the Great Depression and he basically wrapped
up World War II…only President to serve 4 terms well about three and a
half
20. Who are the three most historically significant women in history? Why?
Oh crap….the one philosopher….drawing a blank
a. Lady that preached women’s rights, the philosphes…(Mary
Wollstonecraft is who he is talking about)
Why? She was the first one to thing of women’s rights
b. Catherine the Great
Why? She modernized Russia and takes away all the feudal ties
(Long pause)
c. Queen Elizabeth I
Why? She was a good one because she was a different kind of Queen and
everyone liked her
21. What are the three most historically significant documents in history? Why?
Would documents include the Leviathan and all them….I wish I could group them
all together
a. Leviathan
Why? The first major document about government and preached that
people are naturally wicked and must give up rights to be governed (I’m
paraphrasing here)
b. Social Contract
Why? Document that stated people give up there free will for
protection…you give up your rights to have better protection
c. English Bill of Rights
Why? It was the first limitation place don King’s didn’t do anything
because king’s didn’t follow it but it was a turning point
22. Imagine that you could meet and talk with someone from the past. Who
would it be? What questions would you ask them? Why? Because you can’t
actually do that how could you find out the answers to your questions?
Eisenhower…I really don’t have any questions…well how did he achieve defeat
over Nazi Germany? Because that is a pretty massive feat….I could look it up
online or listen to my history teacher (that really isn’t supposed to be a suck up
answer)
23. Have you ever seen a film or TV show, outside of school, on a historical
topic? If so, what was it? Did you wonder if it was historically accurate?
Did you do anything to check on its accuracy?
Saving Private Ryan, Letters of Iwo Jima, Windtalkers, Cold Hill….that civil war
one, Flags of our Fathers, Patton, Band of Brothers
Didn’t really check on accuracy because some you can tell…like when one
American takes down a thousand Japanese troops like in Windtalkers you know
that isn’t true or when the good guys die that is more accurate, like Band of
Brothers where one guy dies every episode
I didn’t’ do anything to check except I did read Band of Brothers…it was a good
book
24. Do you ever discuss things that happened before 1975 with your friends? If
so, what topics?
We talked about Catherine the Great and the horse
Cholera—I had to do a disease because of a project and we talked about it
because I learned you shit 15 gallons a day!
Government
7. Among your school subjects, where would you rank government and civics in
terms of your interest over the years (top, middle, bottoms)? Why?
Bottom because all that is boring and I don’t’ care about what people believe
in….politics is boring because my dad gets all anal and I hear about it all the
time
8. Why do we study government and civics?
Learn more about ideas and other forms of government
9. What is democracy? What other types of government are there?
People rule the government and there is complete freedom, gets power from the
people
Monarchy
Dictator
Communism
Fascism
Theocracy (is that a form?)
Would a feudalistic be a form??
10. What are the main features of the American political system? (probe for
branches of government, functions of government, etc.)
Capitalistic, democracy, three branches of government—legislative, judicial,
executive….legislative makes laws, judicial is the courts, executive is the
president…constitution, Bill of Rights
Has to have the people’s consent and laws must get pass all three branches
11. What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our country?
You want me to read off the Bill of Rights!!
Petition, bear arms, gather/assemble, religion, press, speech, right to life, liberty
and pursuit of happiness, right to vote….those are the only ones I can think of
now
Responsibilities are to vote and rise up against the government if it doesn’t carry
out its duties
12. What role does the government play in your everyday life?
It doesn’t run my life and that is how it should be
There are taxes but that doesn’t impact me, welfare, retirement all those
programs, has to occasionally bail out companies but it doesn’t do too much and
that is how it should be
Content Questions
5. When did the American Civil War take place? Who was involved? What
were the causes? Why is this event significant? What were the effects of the
war?
1860s, Union and Confederates—America…it was caused by slavery, territory,
taxes on imports, the Industrial North and the farmland South, it changed the
shape of America and ended all those disputes, it was the bloodiest war in US
History….south was industrialized during Reconstruction because they rebuilt it
6. When did World War I take place? What were the causes? Who was
involved in this war? What were the names of the opposing sides? Where
was this war fought? When did the United States become involved? Why?
What were some of the effects of the War?
1914-1918, Causes: alliances across Europe and the assassination of Francis
Ferdinand…everybody involved France, Germany, England, US towards the end,
Italy, Serbia (little Bulgarian countries), Ottomans, Asia—don’t hear about it
much but they fought there, Austria-Hungary….Central Powers vs. Allies….US
involved with the sinking of the Luisitana and an intercepted Mexican message
and several other little things got involved in 1916-1917…Effects: everyone
bullied up on Germany, Austria-Hungary broke up, the Great Depression resulted
because everyone’s economy wasn’t as hot as they thought
7. When did World War II take place? What were the causes? Who was
involved in this war? What were the names of the opposing sides? Where
was this war fought? When did the United State become involved? Why?
What were some of the effects of the War?
1939-1945, Causes: Hitler rose to power because of the Great Depression, he
invaded Poland and when France got mad he invaded them, Fascism had
developed in Europe and Japan took over small countries invaded them and made
them colonies, invaded Philippines and bombed Pearl Harbor, and Hitler invaded
Russia…Germany, Italy, France, the whole world involved but it was more global
than World War I, also in Africa Italy was there but they sucked, Japan
involved….Axis vs. Allies…US involved after 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl
Harbor…Effects: US and USSR rose as superpowers, the new atomic age and the
start of the Cold War, Germany was divided into two countries…technically four
but 3 democratic and 1 communist
8. When was the Great Depression? What were the causes? How did the
Depression impact the lives of the people? Whom did the Great Depression
affect? Where did the Great Depression occur? How long did the
Depression last? In what ways did people and the government try to
overcome the problems of the Depression?
Right after…well no…the mid 1920s-1930s countries came out at differ
times…Causes: inflation, people blamed Germany after WWI and made them pay,
poor because Germany printed more money causing inflation…people were
ridiculously poor, people turned to those who promised aid, the rise of Hitler and
Mussolini, those were the two big ones and the Japanese government…whoever
promised a way out….development of benefits for American citizens…the entire
world was impacted everyone was poor, occurred in the entire world….about 10
to 15 years maybe not that long but a long time, it was a Depression…..created a
lot of community service type programs, I learned about them in the 6th
grade…FDR tried things even if some were illegal, developed Social Security and
healthcare which are still around although in trouble today but that is another
story…
Consider how Student B in his interview said he felt bad about saying the
Atomic Bomb was a significant event but what if he examined the
controversy that still exits amongst philosophers, historians, and those who
study international law…..would it make him feel better about his answer to
know that he was in good company?
Handout1
First give students two articles…one that explains the benefits of dropping the atomic
bomb and the second that asserts it wasn’t beneficial then have them feel out this handout
Was the dropping of the Atomic Bomb a necessary evil?
Yay/Yes-Identify some key points to support your arguments (be ready to share
them with your group)
Questions: Listen to the opposing Point of View as they present and develop some
clarifying questions to ask.
After having students go through both points of view, ask them to develop
their own consensus….this allows them to explore their own opinions and
those of their group members, hopefully this will help students see that
everyone has an opinion and as long as it is supported it is viable!
Was the dropping of the Atomic Bomb a necessary evil?
Group Response: What did you agree on? What do you disagree on?
Individual Response: What do you personally think?
If you look at the interview of Student A, he had real trouble with this
picture. He had never seen it before, had no idea what it was, so he guessed
on its position and said he knew no further details…..Consider know how
this exercise and similar Visual Discoveries, would have helped him look for
clues in the picture!
Handout 2
Project this image for all students to see….examine it as a class, read some first hand
accounts of Bloody Sunday. Ask student volunteers to play the following parts and the rest
of the class to think up questions to ask…
• Father Gapon (The man in the center with the chest wound)
• Dead man on the side
• Five or Six Students to be the huddled masses
• Woman with the child on the right