Doing History: Investigating With Children in Elementary and Middle Schools

"Doing History is a rich resource for creating an active, engaging, and analytical social studies education"---Carey Jewett, University of Delaware

"This book has wonderful information and is applicable to students today."---Ashley Lucas, Towson University

Now in its fourth edition, this popular text offers a unique perspective on teaching and learning history in the elementary and middle grades. Through case studies of teachers and students in diverse classrooms and from diverse backgrounds, it shows children engaging in authentic historical investigations, often in the context of an integrated social studies curriculum.

The authors begin with the assumption that children can engage in valid forms of historical inquiry---collecting and analyzing data, examining the perspectives of people in the past, considering multiple interpretations, and creating evidence-based historical accounts. Vignettes in each chapter show communities of teachers and students doing history in environments rich in literature, art, writing, discussion, and debate.

The grounding of this book in contemporary sociocultural theory and research makes it particularly useful as a social studies methods text. In each chapter, the authors explain how the teaching demonstrated in the vignettes reflects basic principles of contemporary learning theory; thus they not only provide specific examples of successful activities, but place them in a theoretical context that allows teachers to adapt and apply them in a wide variety of settings.

Linda S. Levstik is Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Kentucky.
Keith C. Barton is Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Adjunct Professor of History at Indiana University.