Literacy Development

Literacy Development

Introduction

The three articles elucidated in this discussion are Literacy Development by Newman & Warach (2008), Historical Thinking in Action by Wineburg (2010), and Historical Thinking Assessments by Breakstone & Smith (2013). The teaching methods shared and associated uses of primary sources will be analyzed and critically evaluated. These instructional approaches and ideas will be expounded and synthesized with examples to illustrate how teachers can be better informed in using primary sources to gather students’ thinking about the intended learning outcomes in the context of using the same historical thinking skills that historians use when they engage with historical text (Library of Congress, 2017).

Review of Literacy Development and Historical Thinking Skills

In developing students’ interdisciplinary approach to reading, writing, and understanding primary sources the content concepts and processes must excite students’ further questioning leading to critical and higher-order thinking. The teacher made the topic interesting by using primary sources as literacy is fundamental to primary source-based instruction. It has been argued that literacy and primary sources aid teachers in personalizing learning, and position students among the people and events they are studying (Newman & Warach, 2008).

Positioning students as part of the historical context encourages students to develop their abstract thinking, tolerate complexity, adapt to new situations, and avoid taking the first answer that comes to mind. As students do not think historically as a historian, developing their ability to journal facts, milestones, and periods where the event has taken place, is critical to their successful critical reflection (Wineburg, 2010).

To have students consider the source of the documents like who wrote it, when, why, and for what purpose? and to think about the context in which documents were created, we need to corroborate across multiple documents and look for points of similarity and disagreement. Formative assessment in gathering how students are thinking about similarities and discourses is fundamental in charting students’ progress in learning with primary sources (Breakstone & Smith, 2013).

Literacy Development

In developing literacy with my students, I gave an assignment for them to read and write an essay on Singapore’s success as an entrepot trade by allowing them an opportunity to discover primary sources like a journalist. The activities directing my students to become literate in gathering all artifacts on the historical development of Singapore as an entrepot trade has culminated in students’ judgment and interpretation. This has helped me personalize my students’ learning and help them see people, events, and historical happenings in Singapore’s international trade (Newman & Warach, 2008).

Historical Thinking in Action

In one of my lesson plans, I instruct my students to read an article on Singapore: Its Growth as an Entrepot Port, 1819-1941 (Wong, 1978). This activity to engage students with historical documents as part of an inquiry-based investigation for them to give the reason why Singapore became an entrepot trade during the British occupation from 1819 to 1941 has led to the construction of critical thinking skills. Facilitating and encouraging my students to brainstorm the artifacts of historical context, piecing together major happening, events, and people that distinguish the era or period in which the artifacts were created. Getting students to present all their differentiated findings and share them with the whole class demonstrates historical thinking in action (Wineburg, 2010).

Historical Thinking Assessments

Creating assessments that focus on historical thinking skills to be used for formative purposes is part of developing a curriculum for historical thinking assessments. In discussing the success of Singapore as an entrepot trade, the historical thinking assessment is to get my students to investigate Singapore’s history and gather the primary sources of the development of trade in Singapore through developing multiple-choice questions in terms of quizzes during the lesson and document-based questions where students must complete their own assessment after the lesson activity. Students are also instructed to review their peers’ findings and debate a probable reason for their answers (Newman & Warach, 2008).

In the formative assessment for this lesson plan on Singapore’s success as an entrepot trade, my students were instructed to present their findings as a small group project. Putting students central to this project made them take ownership of their learning. The member in each group plays their role and take the opportunity to voice out what they need and how they have obtained all relevant requirements to meet the learning outcome (OpheaCanada, 2016).

Conclusion

Many students will focus on the content of the documents rather than noticing the dates of what has happened and the reason behind the event. Students are given materials like past videos that narrate how Singapore developed an entrepot trade hub from 1819 to 1941. Showing student other photographs of past Singapore enable them to visualize how Singapore has developed from a swarm land to a cosmopolitan city-state.

Essentially, a picture is worth a thousand words. If students did not have these pictures and videos, how could they know anything about what happened between 1819 and 1941?

In addition, we see students who have very different types of responses as some saw the difficulties of how the island struggled for survival while other students cannot empathize with the past historical happenings. This has given the teacher a greater understanding of how students’ cognitive and affective perspectives have been developed in the class (LibraryofCongress, 2017).

References

Breakstone, J., & Smith, M. (2013). Using Library of Congress primary sources for assessment. The TPS Journal, 6(1), 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/about-this-program/teaching-with-primary-sources-partner-program/documents/assessing-historical-thinking.pdf

LibraryofCongress. (2017, May 17). Beyond the Bubble: A New Generation of Historical Thinking Assessments. Retrieved from [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/yZn4e3FFvmE

Newman, M., & Warach, R. (2008). Primary sources and literacy. TPS Quarterly Library of Congress, 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/about-this-program/teaching-with-primary-sources-partner-program/documents/literacy-integration.pdf

OpheaCanada. (2016, February 26). Student-centered, Skill-based Learning. Retrieved from [YouTube]: https://youtu.be/iGTC6IWviOw

Wineburg, S. (2010). Thinking like a historian. TPS Quarterly, 3(1). Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/about-this-program/teaching-with-primary-sources-partner-program/documents/historical_thinking.pdf

Wong, L. K. (1978). Singapore: Its Growth as an Entrepot Port, 1819-1941. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 50-84. Retrieved from file:///F:/UoPeople%20-%20MED/EDUC%205270/EDUC%205270%20UNIT%205/Readings%20materials/Singapore%20Its%20Growth%20as%20an%20Entrepot%20Port,%201819-1941.pdf

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