You love looking at literature through a historical lens! David McCullough histories, Ken Burns documentaries, and maps (yeah, real maps, not MapQuest) are your jam! You love visiting museums, and you usually have a fact or two to share with the curator about that ancient artifact on display. So, pull out your magnifying glass and grab your lesson plan artifacts.
Let’s create a meaningful and fun lesson based on the historical themes, time period, and culture of the story you’re reading in class. Historians believe that the text is always influenced by history. So, think of the story you’re teaching and use a lens that looks at history, culture, or society of the time. You might think about the historical significance of the plot, or the time period the book was written in.
Using a historical lens for lesson planning is a great way to spark your creativity (and save you time!). Plus, your students will love becoming historians themselves! Let’s look at some historical lens activities to have your students try a new lens for learning:
- a panelist for a panel discussion about the topic to report their findings
- a guest on a news report to report about a historical event
- an illustrator to design the cover of their new historical book
For more information on how to use this lens in the classroom, click here.
