Canadian History 30 F HISTORICAL THINKING CONCEPTS HISTORICAL

Canadian History 30 F HISTORICAL THINKING CONCEPTS

HISTORICAL THINKING? ? Learning about any history involves much more than simply memorizing a bunch of dates and names � History seeks to ask “essential questions” about a topic to gain insight as to why it was important and it still may impact us today �

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS � EQ’s tend to lead to more questions rather than clear-cut answers � Are open-ended – they do not have one “correct” response and many even have no correct response. � Cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” or even with a single sentence. � Are thought provoking, requiring you to make choices, decisions, and judgements that can be supported by evidence or research

SET #1 – TRADITIONAL QUESTIONS - When did Canada enter the war? - What happened at the Battle of Vimy Ridge? - What was the conscription crisis? SET #2 – ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - - - To what extent did Canada respond effectively to the First World War? Did participation in the First World War do more harm than good for Canada? Could a conscription crisis ever happen in Canada again? CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING REGARDING WWI

NON ESSENTIAL QUESTION � � When did the Canadian government decide to join NATO? Should Canada continue to belong to NATO? ESSENTIAL QUESTION � � Why did Canada decide to join NATO? To what extent does membership to NATO reduce Canadian sovereignty? PRACTICE IDENTIFYING AND ASKING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS (NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION) PP. 5

*HISTORICAL THINKING CONCEPTS � Responding intelligently to an essential question requires a person to think critically � In order to do this a person needs to interpret and analyze relevant evidence, make reasonable judgements and ignore bias � In order to develop these skills, various historical thinking concepts have been developed, six of which will be used in this class

CONCEPT #1 – ESTABLISH HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (HS) � What makes a topic significant (important) and who deems it to be this way? � Significance is based on judgement, and thus can lead to debate � **Some criteria to consider includes: -the impact that the person/event had at the time, -the people affected then/now, -short and long term consequences and -how/if its presence is still felt in Canada today. � Historical Significance 7 mins

CONCEPT #2 – USING PRIMARY-SOURCE EVIDENCE (E) � Primary source evidence would be any materials from when an event ACTUALLY happened � Materials may include speeches, letters, maps, photos, media broadcasts as well as artifacts such as clothing or tools � Primary sources allow us to go back to the time of an event and understand some of the different values and ideas that existed � Evidence and Interpretation 7 mins

CONCEPT #3 – CONTINUITY AND CHANGE (C&C)* � What remains the same and what changes over time…. . � Continuity and change are interrelatedchange is usually a continuous process rather than an isolated event � Change does not always mean progress � In order to study C&C – must know order of events. � Continuity and Change 6 mins

CONCEPT #4 – ANALYZING CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE (C C) � Every event has a series of causes and consequences (outcomes) and we can use this skill to help is infer significance � Involves roles of individuals and groups in shaping events � Some C&C’s are direct, which are easy to detect, but the indirect ones (usually much more far-reaching/layered) are what historians seek to discover � Humans are the agents of change � Cause and Consequence 6 mins

CONCEPT #5 – TAKING A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (HP) � This is the idea that it is unfair for people to judge past actions by today’s standards � Taking a historical perspective involves putting yourself in the shoes of someone who lived in a different era and trying to see their world � Historical perspective does not mean you need to agree with the perspective but just to understand it � Primary source evidence is used to help a person gain historical perspective � Historical Perspective 6 mins

CONCEPT #6 – ETHICAL DIMENSIONS (ED) � Studying and learning from past actions can help shape the way people think about ethical dilemmas today. � Need to take a historical perspective – suspend judgement to try to understand the perspectives of the historical figures. � Ethical Judgement 7 mins