Ben McNamara Feb. 13, 2007
Chapter 15: Articulating the Silences: Teachers’ and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Historical Significance by Linda S. Levstik
Within the chapter written by Linda Levstik, there is a great discussion on the silences within history. Many teachers and students tend to see history in a specific light with ignorance towards some dissenting points of view. This chapter looks to articulate those points and allow students to see history in varying lights. The following are ideas for which history teachers can use for their students to understand the varying points within a historical context.
1. Opinion-Editorial Pieces: Write a persuasive piece of writing about a group of people who have been ignored throughout history. This piece is to be written during the specific time period of the ignorance. The students do not need to necessarily act as a part of the group, but must articulate their point of view about the group which they are summarizing. This will allow for their minds to open to other points of view in a given time.
2. Role Plays: A group of two to three students are given an important event in history and must act out a secondary actor. As example, let’s say the event is World War One. The students must act out a role play as though they are the Russian soldiers who have retreated back to their country. They could also create a role play based on the German’s reasoning for attack. This would allow for a more in depth view of the war and would give a variance to the curriculum.
3. Journals on ancestry: Take for example a Canadian history class. At the beginning of the year, each student is given a specific ancestry which they must constantly update in a journal. They may be given an ancestry of First Nation, French Immigrants, British Discoverers, or any number of other possibilities. Throughout the semester, students are to respond in their journals as to how they feel about this specific ancestry throughout the course of the class. At the end of the class, they can share what they have written as well as throughout the term. This will allow students to see how their peers and community members feel about history and certain historical events.
4. A New Charter of Rights: Students are given the Canadian Charter of Rights from 1982. In groups, they analyze which are the most important parts and which are the least important. Then, each group takes up a different ethnicity and creates new sections to the charter which would be important to that group. These groups would vary among ethnicities, socio-economic levels, and gender groups. In the end, the class would come together to evaluate and create a new Charter based on the findings of the various groups.
5. Visual Chart of Important Issues: Students are to draw up a visual chart based on an important historical event. They are to draw parallels between that event and current events on a visual chart. They would be asked to compare what has changed and contrast the similarities of the situations. This would show students that while we have made progress in our society, there are still many problems that need to be addressed. One of the specific events which could be compared in Canadian history would be that of the two solitudes. The students could compare and contrast the difficulties of Quebecois within Canada then of English Canadians within Quebec.
6. Protest Songs/Poems: Allow students to create their own poems or songs based on a group who has been harmed in society. Students will have to write the song or poem to convey their point of view and why the status quo is improper. This would allow students to voice their creative side as a group who does not usually get a large amount of publication. Students would have to do research on the culture and norms of these groups to incorporate them into their pieces.