Education Commons^™

Learning To Teach Argumentative Historical Writing By Analyzing Student Work, Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, Mark Felton, Roderick Carey, Kelly Worland, Laura Yee

Faculty Publications

History education researchers have called for an emphasis on historical thinking in K-12 classrooms, for its authenticity in representing the discipline, for its potential to cultivate the critical thinking necessary to an informed citizenry, and for its relationship to advanced adolescent reading and writing skills (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Moje, 2008; Wineburg, 2001). Yet, such an emphasis requires that teachers understand the discipline and its structure, as well as the ways of thinking, reading, and writing that are its foundation. Although many regard history as the study of fixed information (VanSledright, 2008), teaching historical thinking emphasizes constructing arguments about the …