1. Teaching American History
Opposing Viewpoints
Teaching American History
In Miami-Dade County
November 2, 2012
Fran Macko, Ph.D.

2. Framing the Session
What skills do the Common Core State Standards require students to master?
How will the CCSS impact assessment?
What strategies can teachers use to support in mastering the CCSS?

3. What are the Common Core Content Standards for History?
Embedded in the CCSS for Literary in grades 6-12 are standards for literacy in history/ social studies.
These standards:
are based on teachers using their content area expertise to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language in their content area.
are not meant to replace content standards but rather to supplement them. States may incorporate these standards into their standards for those subjects or adopt them as content area literacy standards.
focus on the reading, comprehension and analysis of increasingly complex informational text.

4. The standards are divided into three broad categories:
Key Ideas and Details
Craft and Structure
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Each category is further divided into three specific skills.

5. Read the CCSS standards for the grade you teach and make a list of the skills that students will need to master to meet each of the standards for that grade.
Form groups of middle and high school and discuss your list.
Create a master list of skills for your grade level.

6. What skills are consistent across the grade levels?
How do the skills build in sophistication across the grades?
Where do the skills for literacy and history intersect?
How might we organize these skills to simplify the process?

7. The Common Core Learning Framework
Contextualization
Establishing time, scope and Sequence
Understanding the big picture
Establishing the values and beliefs of the time
Craft and Structure
Identifying and defining key terms
Determining the main idea
Identifying the author’s bias or point of view
Key Ideas and Details
Assessing the reliability of the information
Evaluation of argument and reasoning
Comparing ideas within and across texts
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Analysis of multiple sources and perspectives
Understanding multiple perspectives
Assessing different interpretations over time

8. How will the Common Core impact assessment?
Common Core Assessments are currently in development.
They will most likely ask students to:
read, comprehend and analyze a pair or set of documents
the documents may include fiction as well as informational text
compare and contrast documents and/ or identify common thematic threads
synthesize information and apply it to a writing task

9. Building Student Understanding of Point of View
Understanding point of view is a critical skill of reading and thinking like an historian.
Every document, image and text is a reflection of its author’s worldview and beliefs.
Bias and author reliability need to be factored into the reading and analysis of any historical source.

10. What is the Opposing Viewpoints Strategy?
The Opposing Viewpoints strategy supports students in many of the Common Core skills:
comparing how individuals interpret the same event
distinguishing fact from opinion
analyzing information within an historical viewpoint
constructing historical arguments
writing coherent and well supported essays
The strategy uses a graphic organizer.

11. What are the steps in the process?
Develop the essay question that asks students to compare two interpretations of an event, or select one interpretation and support it.
Select the sources for the activity.
Ask:
What point of view do the resources I use reflect?
Are there other important viewpoints that are essential to a deeper understanding of the event or concept?
What resources will provide other points of view?

12. What are the steps in teaching the strategy?
Build or access prior knowledge of the event.
What do we know about this event?
Who were the decision makers at the time?
What was their viewpoint on the issue?
Use the textbook interpretation of the event as a starting point.

13. Introduce the first source and establish the historical context.
What do we know about the author of the source?
What is the significance of the date of the source?
What is the historical context of the source?
Have students read/view and discuss the source in small groups.

14. Have students complete the graphic organizer with:
What are the key points or arguments presented in the source?
Summarize the viewpoint expressed in the source in a few sentences.
Write a thesis statement that reflects the viewpoint of the author.
Have students cite specific text to support their answers where possible.

15. Repeat the process with the second source.
Debrief the activity with the class.
Guiding questions include:
What did we know about this concept, issue or event? (our prior knowledge)
What do we now know? (as a result of the analysis of the documents)
How did our analysis of different viewpoints deepen our understanding?
How do the author and date of a source affect viewpoint?
Have students apply their analysis to the writing task.

16. Modeling the Strategy

17. Grade 8-The Essential Question
Beginning the new nation: What were the major issues and challenges surrounding the ratification of the Constitution?

18. Grade 11-The Essential Question
World Wars- What were the major political, social and economic causes and effects of World War I and World War II?

19. Modeling the Strategy-Middle School Ratifying the Constitution
Working with a partner, make a list of 5 major issues and challenges that surrounded the ratification of the Constitution.
Use document #1 as a reference.

20. Modeling the Strategy: Viewpoint #1
Read “Anti Federalist #84.
Discuss the text and complete the graphic organizer.
Discuss your answers with your group.

21. Modeling the Strategy: Viewpoint #2
Read “Federalist #84.
Discuss the text and complete the graphic organizer.
Discuss your answers with your group.

22. Modeling the Strategy- High School Post War Arms Reduction
Working in a group of 3, make a list of 5-7 facts about the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Use document #1 as a reference.

23. Modeling the Strategy: Viewpoint #1
Read the excerpt from Lyndon Baines Johnson “Remarks on the Signing of Nonproliferation Treaty (July 1, 1968).
Discuss the text and complete the graphic organizer.
Discuss your answers with your group.

24. Select one of the following documents:
India and NPT
France and NPT
Australia and NPT
Read your text and complete the graphic organizer.
Discuss and compare your answers with your group.

25. Debrief and Discussion
Debrief the activity with your group.
Guiding questions include:
What did we know about the topic?
What do we now know?
How did our analysis of different viewpoints deepen our understanding?
How do the author and date of a source affect viewpoint?

26. Factors to Consider in Selecting Sources
The selection of sources for Opposing Viewpoints depends upon a number of factors:
The content introduced
The grade level
The need to differentiate based on student strengths and areas of weakness
However, each source should provide a different point of view on the topic or event.

27. Adapting Opposing Viewpoints to Your Classroom
How might you use Opposing Viewpoints in your social studies classroom?
What adaptations would you make to the strategy?
What other document pairs could you use to teach the topic?
How might you modify or lift text for students?
Turn and talk with a partner.

28. Next Steps for Opposing Viewpoints
Once students have analyzed different points of view on a topic, event or individual, they can:
Debate a particular viewpoint or interpretation.
Write a position paper in which they construct an historical argument.
Research other perspectives on the topic and add to the graphic organizer.
Select a point of view and role play, write a journal entry or letter from that perspective.
Research the author and date of the source and discuss how historical context affects viewpoint.
What other next steps can you think of? Turn and talk with a colleague.