Sources on the web

There are several websites with different types of primary sources but this is my favourite. Fordham University has published a "collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use". 

It has three main collections: Ancient, Medieval and Modern. In each collection you can find subsidiary sections such as Absolutism, Byzantium, Celtic states, and Egypt, to name a few. What I also like about this website is that categories are cross-referenced. So if you clicked on "Medieval" you will find the category "Renaissance" there as well as in "Modern". 

Subcategories are quite diverse. You will find groups of sources that may talk about Persian religions, Hunter-Gathering societies, Late Ancient Philosophy, Science and Technology in the Middle Ages, Women in the Middle Ages, Everyday life in Modern Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Pop culture. 

It also holds other sourcebooks on topics such as women, Indian, Jewish, African, East Asian, Lesbian/Gay, Science, and Islamic history. Moreover, there is a list of special resources on Byzantium, Medieval times, and saints' lives.

I hope you find it useful!

Pair work? Yes!

Tough topic: the crisis in the Catholic Church in the 14th-16th centuries. On the one hand, it is a topic negleted by the government and reduced to the Protestant Reformation. On the other hand, the school I work for is Catholic so the Head is interested in teaching this topic.

What I planned was to allow students to actually acknowledge the situation of the Catholic Church and then examine the solutions. This led me to put together a text sparkled with questions to check comprehension.

Not an easy topic.

I do no know how, but it suddenly hit me: just before students began to read and answer I told them to get together in pairs and each pair to line up with their desks in two lines: Line 1 and Line 2.

Then, every now and then I said "swap". Each boy from the "inner" line would move. In this way everyone worked with almost everyone.

Questions that may arise:

1) What happens if different students work at different pace? This is not a minor question. Differentiation in the classroom is important. However, this activity is not meant to do it at different pace but to include those that are a little slower into the general class work. Most of the boys that were slower could catch up because they had the opportunity to work with people that could help them and were eager to do so. In general, less able students could work and achieve their aims because they consulted with more able students or had their guidance.

2) A typical problem of pair work is that one may do all the job while the other student plays. In this case, half of the class was moving around so at some point everyone had to be working. Moreover, on that day one boy was absent so there was one moment when one of the swapping boys was left alone. In this case, he had the chance to round up what ever he was writing before having to move.

3) Moving around the classroom is disruptive. It is not. I made this activity in a classroom of 13 years old boys. Boys (and teens in general) need to move around the classroom. This activity was great because they could stay focused on the task while actually moving. (On further reading on this type of activities click here).

In the end, it was quite an enjoyable task, students had a sense of accomplishment and we could do the plenary with everyone raising their hand.

Russia before 1917

I found it odd, ever since I was at school, that historical chunks had a beginning and and end but teachers always made reference to previous processes to explain the topic under study clearly. It bothered me that our topic was "the First World War" but we had to talk about two previous Balkan wars to understand the big picture and even travel back to 1870 to explain French resentment over Germany.

Source

If I ever became a teacher, I promised myself, I would never make that kind of mistakes.

When I had my chance to plan the secondary curriculum at one school, I remembered that promise. Therefore, I designed a quite dense syllabus for Year 9 so that when we got to Year 10 students knew what was communism, revolution, German Empire, Archduke and other concepts which GCSE text books take for granted.

Russia, however, is a different thing.

Dealing with Russia is quite challenging mainly because it is the least relevant place for our (Argentine) history. If Europe is quite abstract or young students, Russia is out of this world. Reading about it can't be fun. Since I wanted my students to really understand the 1917 revolution and its meaning, I made a summary of the introductory pages of Ben Walsh GCSE Modern World History so that students could concentrate on sources. It is not something that I would do a lot because I do not like my talking and students' listening. But it was worth the shot.

Find here the presentation from Prezi.

The toughest week

The first week is one of the toughest weeks in the year. First of all, it is the one we wait the whole summer. We prepare our classrooms, plans and lists; out material, clothes and pencilcase. We usually do not admit how anxious we are this week. Yes, we teachers are anxious as well. The very idea of meeting a new class, learning their names, their interests and weaknesses scares us a little bit because we, as normal human beings, feel safe with the known. But the first week is the unknown.

Secondly, the first week sets the pace of the rest of the year. It is the first impression, you never get a second chance. More experienced teachers always advice us not to avoid looking strict because there is always time to let lose. I think this is true with groups that you know and new groups. In fact, it is sometimes more difficult to set the pace with known people because they know perfectly well when you are bluffing and when you are not.

Thirdly, the first week is tiresome. It is the first week in a long time you are all day in front of students, at the centre of the stage, in the eye of the hurricane. You have not been given that much attention since four weeks before... even more! And suddenly, you rush from classroom to classroom, from school to school, coming in with a wide grin and a confident attitude.

What do you think are the main features of a first week?

History & Technology

A fellow teacher of mine quit school because she accepted a post as head teacher in another one. She was telling us all about it and she mentioned that the owner of the school barely used e-mail. My friend was OK with it, she did not love it but she was OK I could not believe my ears.

Teaching in the 21st century using barely e-mail? Come on!

I am not a computer freak, but I do use technology. It is agreed that to be literate you have to know how to read, write and use a computer. The national government is giving out netbooks to state-supported schools (students and teachers), this has to give a hint. Technology is important, if you do not like it then do not teach. But do not condemn our children because of lack of acceptance of the future.

History and technology seems like an ironic couple as if the past could not mix with the present. But technology is doing history a great favour. I have seen in museums how they scan pieces of art to understand their making. Technology can also protect documents and can help their widespread.

Here you have an excellent website with ideas, lessons and webminars on how to use technology in the history classroom. Enjoy!