History in the Present Tense: Engaging Students Through Inquiry and Action

by Douglas Selwyn

In this practical guidebook, Douglas Selwyn and Jan Maher propose a different way of teaching historystart from today and keep asking questions. As students investigate possible answers, they make connections across miles and centuries. Along the way, they experience that essential insight of the social Point of view has everything to do with how one perceives the world. To this end, each chapter explores projects connecting students' concerns with core content and concepts in history, geography, civics, and economics. Lessons center on the economics of ordinary objects, understanding current events in historical context, creating readers theater, photodocumentaries and more. While students dig deeply into issues of personal relevance, they also master the content and skills mandated in state and national standards. Students learn about historyand about themselves.

Genres: Teaching

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2003

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of really great lessons and activities designed to engage students more fully with history. I really liked the lessons that simply looked at the process of history since I've always been interested in historiography. I can't wait to add some of what I learned in this book to my curriculum.