1. Historical Thinking in Student & Professional Resources
Rachel Collishaw: Teacher/Author
Historical Thinking AGM, 2014
Goals:
To Share how Big Six has transformed my classroom
Sneak peek at Nelson’s new student resource for the Ontario market uses the Historical Thinking concepts

2. I first Peter’s work when I took my honours specialist in 2006
I first Peter’s work when I took my honours specialist in I was blown away by how Peter had so precisely articulated my unease with the way I saw history being taught and the way I wanted to teach. I thought, THIS is how I want to teach my classes.
I first went to the OHASSTA conference because Peter was speaking and I wanted to hear more.
What Peter Seixas and Tom Morton have done in The Big Six is exactly what I needed to have to share my excitement with my colleagues. The academic grounding and practical tools make this book one of the things that has moved our practice as history educators at my school to a more meaningful place. It’s one of the best professional resources I have ever used, for real.
While the student activities in the book that are classroom-ready, it’s not curriculum specific and they can be used nationally. One of the features I love is the guideposts for assessment of the historical thinking concepts. Each concept is broken down into components that can be used and assessed in the classroom. It’s also helpful that there is a DVD included with all BLMs and images that makes it easy to use with my classes.

3. Thinking about… Historical Significance Continuity & Change
Cause and Consequence
The first part of each chapter is Thinking About the concept. Peter has selected 6 contemporary Canadian history works and shows us how that historian has used a particular concept.
What I love about this feature is that it gives me as a teacher, academic access to history books that I wouldn’t necessarily have a lot of time to read. It gives teachers a real model (exemplar!) of what students are working towards in their thinking and gives their work purpose.
I love history and spend a lot of my personal time reading history books, but many history teachers might not have read any, even in University - only 4 credits to get qualification, could have been all texts/lectures/readings, not full books. Many have little history background.
Gives professionals an important grounding in the actual expectations of the discipline and makes history accessible to them and their students.
The Ethical Dimension
Historical Perspectives
Evidence

4. Working With… Primary Source Evidence Introducing the Concept
I left a Trace Activity
How well do the traces you leave behind represent your life?
The working with part of each chapter provides students with a variety of practical ways to have students work with HTCs.
There are activities to introduce the concept, content-delivery lessons, and assessment tools
This is the activity to introduce Primary Source Evidence – Students record all the traces they have left behind in a 24 hour period and try to understand how well those traces actually represent them

5. Working With… Primary Source Evidence Teaching the Guideposts
Corroborating Evidence
I would not want to have the impression left that Vimy was our greatest battlefield
– General Arthur Currie, 1921
Each activity in the book is designed to help students practice one of the components of the concept or a guidepost. I really love the activity for corroborating evidence which provides a selection of sources on Vimy and asks students to consider differing interpretations and come to their own conclusions.
This one has a BLM that is ready to go with the sources on it already selected for balance and coverage of the question.

6. Working With… Historical Perspectives My students’ work
I’m going to show you just two of the activities and templates for assessment in the B6. The Bio-Poem is an extremely accessible way for students to get into Historical Perspectives supported by credible evidence. The exemplar is clear the BLM is very student friendly and my students have been able to produce some phenomenal and even award winning work just using this template.
Exemplar from Big Six

7. Working With Continuity & Change Timeline with Attitude from Big Six
This Timeline with Attitude activity is great for thinking through the concept of Continuity and Change. I have had students use it as process piece and as you can see here, as a ready-made tool for assessment.
Also – Ethical Dimension
Spotting Ethical Positions – Hiroshima activity
Controversy in the Museum – Bomber Command exhibit
My students’ work on Justice/Injustice

8. Historical Thinking Concepts in the Classroom
Sneak Peek Inside!
Resource for Ontario Grade 10 Applied History
Historical Thinking infused throughout
I’m now excited to be working with Peter and a fantastic team at Nelson on a student resource that brings historical thinking directly to the classroom and will make it accessible for lots and lots of teachers.
Historical Thinking is not not an after-thought in this student resource, but rather a way to understand the content. Students are given numerous opportunities to work with the concepts through learning the content
I’m going to give you a sneak peek at 2 explicit ways that we are embedding HTCs into this resource.