Past societies are not fixed, there are changes which have occurred spanning centuries. Changes in the past can be identified by looking at DEVELOPMENTS between two periods. Change and continuity are INTERWOVEN and both can be present together in history. CHRONOLOGIES can be used to show change and continuity working together over time. Change is a process which varies over time. Change can be described as a FLOW in terms of its PACE and EXTENT and can be said to TRENDS and have specific TURNING POINTS. Change and continuity are not a single process. There are many FLOWS of change and continuity operating at the same time. Not all FLOWS go in the same direction. Lacking Understanding Emergent Developing Mastered Mastered Signpost 1 Identifying Change Seeing the past as homogenous and unchanging. Failing to perceive that changes happen over time. Y7 Y8/9/10+ Understanding that changes can been seen as differences between two periods of time ie. What has changed between two points in history, or conversely, what has stayed the same. Signpost 2 Interweaving Continuity and Change Failing to appreciate that continuity and change can happen simultaneously. Y7 Y8/9 Y10+ Continuity and change are shown to be INTERWOVEN. Some things change whilst others remain stable. Signpost 3 Process of Change Seeing all changes as individual events with short term impacts. Y8 Y9 Y10+ Understanding that historical change and can be described as a flow over a longer period of time in terms of pace, extent, trends or specific turning points and that these flows might have greater importance than the changes individually. Signpost 4 Complexity of Change Believing that change is a single process which ebbs and flows over time. Y9 Y10+ Understanding that the past is formed of multiple of development and that each has its own flow but that these do not always go in the same direction as the larger river of history. Historical Evidence: Model based on: , and Without evidence, there is of course no history to speak of, only speculation. This was one of the most tricky aspects to create a model for as working with evidence is such a complex process. I have tried to take some of the complexity of Wineburg’s thinking on the issue whiulst also looking at the practicalities of the classroom. When working with sources the danger is that we
content of the sources. Signpost 2 Cross Referencing Claims the past are often shaky or unwarranted as they are based on single pieces of evidence. Y7 Y8/9 Y10+ Understanding that history is a complex web and should be constructed from a wide array of complimentary and contradictory sources. Commenting of the certainty of inferences drawn from multiple sources. Signpost 3 Utility of Evidence Seeing evidence as inherently useful or otherwise only on what it says. Y8 Y9 Y10+ Understanding that all evidence can have multiple uses and that its utility depends on the questions which are being asked. Evidence does not have a fixed value of utility, it varies according to the enquiry. Signpost 4 Evaluating Evidence The provenance of evidence is not questioned. Y8 Y9 Y10+ Understanding that a source will reflect the of its author. Explaining the impact of author, audience, purpose on a source. Signpost 5 Evidence in Context Understanding historical evidence and inferences from evidence through a modern mindset. Judgments are made without reference to context. Y8 Y9 Y10+ Historical evidence should be understood on its own terms and be recognized as an area of complexity and confusion. Interpreting historical evidence in historical terms rather than understanding it through a modern mindset. Sources cannot be understood quickly and easily – they require work. Context has an enormous impact on the meaning of a source.
Historical Interpretations: based on Understanding historical interpretations means asking students to step back and appreciate the processes of the discipline of History itself. In many cases, this is a skill we do not expect of students until they are much older as the contextual knowledge required is so great. It is also important to note that historical interpretations here refer to conscious reflections on the past, deliberate attempts to make sense of past events, and should not be confused with sources or personal views. Historical interpretations are everywhere. Every piece of historical writing is an interpretation of some sort. The past is not fixed but CONSTRUCTED through interpretations. It is possible to draw INFERENCES from interpretations of the past, just like with historical sources. INFERENCES will reveal the MESSAGE of a particular interpretation. The APPROACH of an author must always be considered. This means considering their VIEWPOINT, PURPOSE, AUDIENCE and EVIDENCE chosen to build their interpretation. Historical interpretations must be understood on their own terms. This means thinking about the CONTEXT in which they were created and what conditions and views existed at the time. Lacking Understanding Emergent Developing Mastered Mastered Signpost 1 Identifying Interpretation The past is seen as knowable and therefore interpretations of the past are all just different ways of relating the same events. Y7 Y8 Y9/10+ Interpretations are understood to be particular viewpoints and constructions of the past. Signpost 2 Inferences from Interpretations Inferences are not drawn from interpretations. Information may be extracted from an interpretation. Y7/8 Y9 Y10+ The messages and main points of an interpretation are identified. This is done through reference to the interpretation itself. Signpost 3 Evaluating Interpretations Accounts of the past are either used uncritically or are seen as accurate versions of the past containing mistakes – either deliberate (bias) or accidental. Y8 Y9/10+ An interpretation is seen as the product of a particular author. The APPROACH of the author is identified and an understanding is shown of the viewpoint of the author, their purpose, their intended audience and the evidence they have chosen to use. Signpost 4 Interpretations in Context Interpretations are seen as views on the past but are not understood in Y9/10+ Understanding that the context of an historical interpretation is often more important than the
the context of their own time. period it is talking about. Interpretations can reveal a lot about the context in which they were created and could be put to this purpose. Historical Perspectives: Model based on and One of the most crucial aspects of understanding history is trying to see the past on its own Too often students place modern values on top of the past and therefore fail to understand why people acted in the way they did. When speaking to students about the Holocaust, Primo Levi once noted that he increasingly faced the question: why did you not escape or rebel? These students are viewing History through their own modern lens of understanding rather than trying to engage with the strange world of the past. As Richard White notes: ‘Any good history begins in strangeness…the past should not be a familiar echo of the present…’ . History exposes our inability to understand people in the past on their own terms. In order to do it well we need to try and understand the mentalities of those in the past. History helps us to practice understanding peoples we cannot hope to understand – this is a crucial lesson today . There are major differences between modern WORLD-VIEWS and those of people in the past, this means their beliefs, values and motivations. We must avoid PRESENTISM. The perspectives of HISTORICAL ACTORS are best understood by thinking about the CONTEXT in which people lived and the WORLD-VIEWS that influenced them. Looking at the perspective of an HISTORICAL ACTOR means drawing INFERENCES about how people thought and felt in the past. It does not mean using modern WORLD-VIEWS to imagine the past. A variety of HISTORICAL ACTORS have very different (DIVERSE) experiences of the events in which they are involved. Understanding DIVERSITY is key to understanding history. Lacking Understanding Emergent Developing Mastered Mastered Signpost 1 Appreciating World-Views There is an assumption that the beliefs, values and motivations of people in the past were the same as those of people today. Presentism abounds. Y7/8 Y9/10+ An understanding of the differences between the of people in the past and the present day. Understanding that caution is needed when trying to understand Historical Actors through shared human experiences eg. Death, fear, love or hunger. Signpost 2 A lack of historical empathy with Y8 Y9 Y10+ Understanding that the perspectives of
up historical arguments made. These are both ACCURATE and RELEVANT. Signpost 2 Interweaving Continuity and Change Failing to structure work in a formal way. Questions tend to be answered in a single paragraph with no real structure. Alternatively questions are answered with a series of short responses. Y7 Y8/9 Y10+ A structure is evidence in writing. Paragraphs clearly address the question. Conclusions come to a judgment about the question and weigh up the arguments. Introductions are focused on the question and provide some background (context). Signpost 3 Process of Change Failing to link the answer to the question set. This might include covering topic knowledge but not addressing the specific point of the question. Y7 Y8/9 Y10+ Work is analytical and based on key factors. Evidence is used to back up points clearly and there are very clear links back to the question. Links are made between multiple pieces of evidence as well as between factors. Clear links are made back to the question in each paragraph. Argument flows and is cogent.