GENERAL METHODS IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORY
There are many methods used in the teaching of history. A brief
description of the principal ones is given for reference merely, since
their best features are incorporated in a combination of methods, which
is strongly recommended to teachers, and is described fully in
succeeding pages.
1. _Methods based on the arrangement and selection of the matter_:
Chronological, Topical
THE CHRONOLOGICAL METHOD
The matter is chosen according to the "time" order, beginning at the
first of the history, and the events are taught in the order of
occurrence without any marked emphasis on their importance, or without
considering whether a knowledge of the event is useful or interesting to
the class at this stage. Such an arrangement of matter is more suitable
when the formal study of history is begun.
THE TOPICAL METHOD
In studying a certain period of history the events are arranged under
topics or heads; for example, the period of discovery in Canadian
History may be arranged thus--Discoveries, Explorations, Early
Settlements, Indian Wars--and the study of each of these pursued to
completion, contemporary events belonging to other topics being
neglected for a time.
Events having the same underlying purpose, though occurring in different
periods, may be arranged under one topic for review; for example, all
the voyages of discovery to America may be grouped under the topic, "The
Road to Cathay." (See p. 92.) In this way a comprehensive knowledge is
gained. This method gives a full treatment of each topic and may be used
to best advantage in connection with reviews in junior classes and
occasionally as a text-book or library exercise in senior classes.
2. _Methods based on the treatment of historical facts_: Comparative,
Regressive, Concentric
THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
By this method a comparison is made between two events, two biographies,
two reigns, etc., a very useful device when applied in connection with
other methods.
THE REGRESSIVE METHOD
In this method the pupil is expected to begin with the present and work
backward; that is, to begin with institutions as they are to-day and to
work back through the various steps in their progress to their present
state. This method may be followed most profitably in advanced classes.
In junior classes it is sufficient to refer to things as they exist
to-day in order to arouse curiosity regarding the facts of history that
are to be taught; for example, by the use of local material; by a visit
to some place of historical interest to prepare for the story of what
has occurred there in the past. (See p. 112.)
THE CONCENTRIC METHOD
This method, which is much used, deals in ever widening circles with the
same topic or event; for example, a simple story of Champlain's life
and voyages to Canada is told to Form II; the same story is considered
again in Form III, but this time the different voyages are noted, the
results of each investigated, and the whole summarized and memorized;
again, in Form IV, but this time by the topical and comparative methods,
where comparison is made of the purposes and achievements of the
explorer with those of other explorers--Jacques Cartier, La Salle, etc.
In this third discussion a full knowledge of Champlain's work is given.
The excellence of this work lies in its review and repetition. The old
or former knowledge is recalled and used in each succeeding discussion
of the topic. The pupils grow gradually into fuller knowledge.
3. _Methods based on class procedure_: Oral, Text-book
THE ORAL METHOD
This usually takes the form of an oral presentation of the story or
description of the event by the teacher, while the pupils listen and
afterwards reproduce what they have heard. The narration of the story is
accompanied by pictures, sketches, maps, etc., illustrative of persons,
places, and facts mentioned. It may also take the "development" form, in
which a combination of narrative and questioning is employed. (See pp.
66, 92.)
The Lecture method of Colleges and Universities is an advanced oral
method. In this the teacher narrates and describes events, propounds
questions, and discusses and answers them himself, while the pupils
listen and during the lecture, or afterwards, make notes of what has
been heard.
THE TEXT-BOOK METHOD
By this method the teacher assigns a lesson in the book and, after the
pupils have an opportunity to study it, he asks questions concerning the
facts learned. The exclusive use of this method results ordinarily in
dull, lifeless teaching, and with junior pupils will prevent their
enjoying, or receiving much benefit from, the study of history. There
are two reasons for the too general use of it--first, it is an easy
method for the teacher, and secondly, it is easy for the pupils to
memorize facts for the sole purpose of passing examinations. While this
criticism is true when an exclusive use is made of the text-book, the
same cannot be said when the text-book is used as an auxiliary to the
teacher. Following the oral presentation of the story, reference may be
made to the book for another version or for a fuller account and, in
Form IV, topics may be assigned and the pupils directed to consult the
text-book for the necessary information. (See pp. 26, 28.)
The text-book should be one that does not show an abrupt change from the
story told by the teacher. It should not be merely a short outline of
the important facts in history, written separately and then pieced
together in chronological order, but should be written in a readable
form by one who is able to distinguish the important and necessary from
the unimportant and burdensome. It should have short summaries at the
ends of chapters or stories of events, so that a grasp of what has been
read may be easily obtained. It should also have many pictures,
illustrations, and maps, to take the place of the teacher's explanations
in the earlier stage. (On the use of the text-book, see p. 29.)
A COMBINATION OF THESE METHODS
General Description.--As each of the above methods has its strong and
its weak points, we should attempt to combine the strong points into one
method, varied to keep pace with the mental development of the pupil,
and thus secure the best results. The general outline of such a
combination may be given as follows: The "oral story" is to be used in
the junior classes, with "development" problems presented where helpful;
in Form III the pupils should be introduced to the text-book (The
History Reader for Form III), besides being taught by the oral method;
in Form IV, the oral method is still to be the chief means used by the
teacher, who will now, however, pay more attention to the arrangement of
the matter (for example, in topical outlines), to accustom the pupils to
grasp more thoroughly the relations of cause and effect in history. The
topics of history will also be taken up more exhaustively than in the
junior classes, and the pupils must have more practice in acquiring
knowledge from the text-books.
DETAILS OF METHOD
FORMS I, II
In Forms I and II, the pupils are accustomed to the oral reproduction of
stories told by the teacher. In these should be included a good many
historical stories, such as those suggested in the Course of Study in
History for these Forms; they will serve the usual purposes of oral
reproduction work for composition and literature, and will be, besides,
a good foundation for the study of history in the higher forms. (For
objects of the Story stage, see p. 16.)
The oral presentation of a story or description of an event requires a
certain degree of skill on the part of a teacher--skill in
story-telling, in grasping the important parts of the story or
description, in knowing what details to omit as well as what to narrate,
in explaining the story in a way that will make it real to the pupils,
in preparing pictures and sketches to illustrate the different parts,
and in questioning so that the minds of the pupils will be active as
well as receptive. The care and time necessary to secure this skill will
be well repaid by the interest aroused in history, by the appreciation
of the thoughts thus presented, and by the lasting impressions conveyed.
Simple, clear language should be employed, not necessarily small words,
but words whose meaning is made clear by the context or illustration.
(For material for these Forms, see Bibliography, C, p. 132.)
When the whole story is told, revision may be made by having the pupils
reproduce it after suitable questioning, either immediately or at some
future time. Exercises in reproduction may also be given, for either
seat work or class work, in constructive or art work; for example, after
the story of the North American Indians, the pupils may be asked to
construct a wigwam, a canoe, a bow and arrow, or to make pictures of
Indians, of their houses, of their dress, etc.
Further exercise in composition may also be given by having the pupils
write the story. To each pupil may be assigned a special part; for
example, the story of Moses may be divided thus: (1) As a babe; (2) His
adoption by the Princess; (3) His life at the palace; (4) His flight to
Midian; (5) The Burning Bush, etc. The whole story is then reproduced by
having these parts read aloud in a reading lesson.
FORM III
The value of the oral work done in Forms I and II will be realized by
the teacher when the real study of history is begun in Forms III and
IV. The pupils have a liking for the stories of history and have a
knowledge of some of the leading actors and of the chief events in
history that calls for more complete satisfaction.
There are several methods of using the History Reader which is the basis
of the work in Form III. Perhaps the best method is to continue to make
oral teaching the chief feature, and to add to that the use by the
pupils, in various ways, of the History Reader.
For example, the teacher will tell the story of Jacques Cartier,
following in the main the narrative as given in the History Reader. It
is well, however, not to follow it too closely in order that, when the
pupils come to read the story in the book for themselves, they will find
it an interesting combination of the familiar and the new. For that
reason, it will be necessary for the teacher to have prepared the story
from a somewhat different narrative in some other book at her command.
In the telling of the story, problems may be asked, if thought advisable
(see p. 33); a few headings may be placed on the black-board for
subsequent reproduction, oral or written, by the pupils; all
difficulties of pronunciation, especially of proper names, should be
attended to, orally and on the black-board; the places mentioned should
be found on the map; pictures and sketches should be used; and in fact,
every possible means taken to make the narrative more real to the class.
(See p. 34.)
When the oral teaching is finished, the pupils may have the books to
read at their desks, and they often ask permission to take them home.
They may sometimes be required to read aloud from the History Reader for
supplementary practice in oral reading. Reproduction by the pupils,
either immediately or in a subsequent lesson, should follow. Teachers,
however, are advised not to insist on too much written reproduction, as
that might very easily arouse a dislike for both history and written
composition. Procedure as outlined above has had most gratifying results
in the way of creating a liking for, and an intelligent interest in, the
study of history.
Other methods have also had good results. The teacher may, instead of
telling the story, read aloud from the Reader to pave the way for the
reading of the story by the pupils themselves. Difficulties, either in
language or in meaning, may be taken up as in a literature lesson. The
pupils will at first find the reading somewhat difficult, but the
interest generated by the teacher's reading or oral narrative will carry
them through that stage till they acquire a love for reading history,
and have enlarged their vocabulary till reading is no longer a
burdensome task.
A taste of the more serious study of history may be given by asking the
pupils a few not very difficult questions that they can answer only by
combining facts contained in several stories. For example, in the
chapters selected for Form III, Junior Grade, the answer can be found to
a question about the explorers of Canada, the order of their visits, and
a comparison of their work; to another question about the expansion of
Canada from the little part of Quebec first visited to the whole of
British North America.
It is unnecessary, perhaps, to add that the emphasis in Form III history
should be still very largely on biography, so as to influence the
forming of moral ideals by concrete examples.
FORM IV
Although the pupils have now had some experience in the use of the
History Reader, yet that is no reason why oral teaching should be
discarded in Form IV history, any more than in arithmetic or geography.
It is scarcely a high estimate to have of history, to think that pupils
of this age can grasp even the simpler lines of development in history
without guidance from the teacher. Hence it is necessary for the
attainment of good results, that many of the lessons should be taught
orally before the pupils are asked to study their books. The aim of the
teaching should be not merely the acquisition of facts, but the welding
of them together in a sequence of cause and effect, and the pupils at
this stage can scarcely be expected to do that for themselves.
In preparing for a lesson in Form IV history, the teacher should analyse
the incidents of the period to be studied, should see how certain causes
have led to certain results, and should be sure enough of the facts to
have little recourse to the text-book while teaching. It does not look
like fair play to expect a class to answer questions that the teacher
cannot answer without consulting the text. On the other hand, it is
refreshing to see the interest aroused in a class by a teacher who
thinks enough of the subject to be able to teach it without constant
reference to the text-book. Therefore, let the oral method be here again
the chief dependence of the teacher. In such a lesson, for example, as
that on the Intercolonial Railway (see p. 82) no book is needed--only
the map and the black-board.
TRAINING IN USE OF TEXT-BOOK
However, as the pupils must learn, for their own profit in after years,
how to read history without a guiding hand, they need training in the
use of the text-book. The chief line on which such training may proceed
is to have the pupils search out the answers to definite questions. Any
one who has searched for material on a certain topic will appreciate
the good results that have come in the way of added knowledge and
increased interest. The topics at first should be quite simple,
gradually increasing in breadth. A few suggestions for such work are
given below; they may be called examination questions to be answered
with the help of the text-book:
1. Name, and tell something about, four of the explorers of Canada
before 1759.
2. Name several other explorers of the New World.
3. Which explorer did the most for Canada, Champlain or La Salle?
4. In what wars did the French fight against the Iroquois? With
what result?
5. What explorers of North America were trying to find a way to
China and India? (This investigation by the class may precede the
lesson on the "Road to Cathay." See p. 92.)
6. On what did English kings base their claim to be the overlords
of Scotland? Trace the dispute down to the Union of the Crowns in
1603.
7. Find out how the slave trade was treated by the English.
8. Make a list of the early newspapers in Canada. Did they have
much influence on public opinion?
9. Compare the struggles for the control of taxation in Canada and
in the Thirteen Colonies of America. Explain why these were settled
differently in the two cases.
With questions such as these for investigation, no pupil will be likely
to secure the full facts; each may state in the next lesson what he has
found, and the work of each will be supplemented by that of the others.
With succeeding investigations it may be expected that the pupils will
be more eager to get at all the facts in the text-book. At any rate they
are learning how to gather material from books--a very valuable
training, no matter how simple the topic is.
When, in the ordinary course of work, lessons from the text-book are
assigned, the teacher should indicate the important points, should
suggest certain matters for discussion, and should note certain
questions to be answered, indicating precisely where the information may
be obtained. In the recitation period following, the topic should be
fully discussed, the pupils giving the information they have secured
from the text-book, and the teacher supplementing this from his
knowledge gained through wider reading. During the discussion an outline
should be made on the board, largely by the suggestions of the pupils,
and kept in their note-books for reference and review. (See p. 100,
Lesson on the Feudal System.)
DRILL AND REVIEW
As has been already stated (p. 15), the Story stage is useful chiefly
for the purpose of arousing interest and developing the historical
sense; no drill or review is necessary other than the oral, and, in Form
II, sometimes the written, reproduction of the stories. The oral
reproduction can be obtained in Form I by using the stories as topics in
language lessons.
In the Information stage, where we are concerned more with the acquiring
of facts, and in the Reflective stage, where we wish to relate facts to
each other according to cause and effect, drills and reviews are
necessary. During the lesson, a summary is placed on the black-board by
the teacher or pupil, as indicated above. It is used as a guide in oral
reproduction and may also be copied in special note-books and used for
reference when preparing for review lessons. The teacher may look over
these note-books occasionally.
There is great difference of opinion on the value of note-taking by
pupils, but it may be said of such notes as those mentioned above that
they have the advantage of being largely the pupil's own work,
especially when the pupils are asked to suggest the headings; they are a
record of what has been decided in the class to be important points;
they are arranged in the order in which the subject has been treated in
the lesson, and are in every way superior to the small note-books in
history that are sometimes used as aids or helps. For the proper
teaching of history, the latter are hindrances rather than helps,
because they rob the pupil of the profit gained by doing the work for
himself. Notes obtained from books or dictated by the teacher are
harmful to the right spirit of study, and create a distaste for the
subject.
Special review lessons should be taken when a series of lessons on one
topic, or on a series of connected topics, has been finished. At the
close of each lesson, the facts learned are fixed more firmly in the
mind by the usual drill; but there must be further organization of the
several lessons by a proper review, so that history will not be a number
of unconnected events, but will be seen as an orderly development. This
may be accomplished: (1) by questioning the class from a point of view
different from that taken in the first lessons, (2) by oral or written
expansion of a topical outline, (3) by illustrations with maps or
drawings, (4) by tracing the sequence of events backwards, (5) by
submitting some new situation that will recall the old knowledge in a
different way. It must be remembered that it is not a mere repetition
that we seek, but a _re-view_ of the facts, a new view that will prove
the power of the pupils to use the knowledge they have gained. Thus the
lesson on the St. Lawrence River (p. 112) is a good review of the facts
of history suggested by the places mentioned; the lesson on the Road to
Cathay (p. 92) may be considered a review of the chief explorers of
North America. Such a review aims at seeing new relations, at connecting
new knowledge and old, at "giving freshness and vividness to knowledge
that may be somewhat faded, at throwing a number of discrete facts into
a bird's-eye view."
THE USE OF PROBLEMS IN TEACHING HISTORY
The development, or problem, method is intended to get the pupils to do
some independent thinking, instead of merely absorbing knowledge from
the teacher. The plan is simply to set clearly before the pupils the
conditions existing at a certain moment in the story so that they may
see for themselves the difficulties that the people in the story had to
overcome. The question for the class is: "What would you do in the
circumstances?"
Let us take an example from the life of Ulysses. Ulysses had heard of
the Sirens, who sang so beautifully that any one in a passing ship who
heard them was impelled to throw himself overboard, with a frantic
desire to swim to their island. Naturally the swimmers were all drowned
in the attempt. Ulysses desired to hear for himself the wonderful
singing, and to experience, perhaps, its terrible effect; but he
certainly did not want to run any risk of drowning. Now, how did he
accomplish his desire, without paying the penalty?
Again, in the story of Madeleine de Verchères, the narrative may proceed
to the point where Madeleine has succeeded in securing the gates. She
finds herself in a weak fort with few to help her, and outside a
numerous band of Indians, who are kept at bay for a whole week, without
even attempting their usual night attacks. How did she do it?
In the case of the U.E. Loyalists, the teacher may narrate the story to
the point where the Loyalists, after the treaty was signed, saw that
they must remove to Canada. The class must know where the Loyalist
centres in the New England States were. Now, what routes would they be
likely to take in going to Canada? With the map before them, the class
can usually tell the next part of the story themselves.
Even if the pupil is not able to give the correct answer to the problem
submitted, he is nevertheless having an opportunity to exercise his
judgment, he can see wherein his judgment differs from that of the
persons concerned, his interest in their actions is increased, and the
whole story will be more deeply impressed on his memory.
HOW TO MAKE HISTORY REAL
The chief difficulty in teaching history is to give a meaning to the
language of history. Much of the language is merely empty words. The
Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves mean just about as much to pupils
as _x_ does in algebra, and even when they give a definition or
description of these terms, it usually amounts to saying that _x_ equals
_y_; the definition is just as vague as the original terms. The problem
is to give the language more meaning, to ensure that the words give
mental pictures and ideas; in short, to turn the abstract into concrete
facts.
Children can make their own only such knowledge as their experience
helps them to interpret. Their interests are in the present, and the
past appeals to them just so far as they can see in it their own
activities, thoughts, and feelings. The great aim of the teacher, then,
should be to help pupils to translate the facts of history into terms of
their own experiences; unless that is done, they are really not learning
anything. Some of the ways in which this may be attempted are outlined
below.
1. In the junior classes where the children are intensely interested in
stories, the stress should be put on giving them _interesting personal
details_ about the famous people in history, details that they can
understand with their limited experiences of life, and that will appeal
to their emotions. These stories should be told to the pupils with such
vividness and animation that they will struggle with Columbus against a
mutinous crew, will help the early explorers to blaze their way through
the dense forests, will toil with the pioneers in making homes for
themselves in Canada, and will suffer with the missionaries in their
hardships and perils.
For these pupils the oral method is the only one to use, for there is
nothing that appeals to children more quickly and with more reality than
what they _hear_ from the teacher. The oral method should find a large
place in the teaching of history in all the Forms. It may be added that
the teachers who use this method will find history become a more real
and interesting study to themselves.
2. What the pupils hear should be reinforced by giving them something to
_see_. Whatever pictures are obtainable (see pp. 45, 127) should be used
freely at all stages, for the visual images of children are a powerful
aid to their understanding; it is for this reason that books for
children are now so fully illustrated, and the same principle should be
applied to the teaching of history.
As soon as the children are ready for it, reference should be made to
maps to illustrate historical facts. (See p. 127.) They should see on
the map the course that Columbus took across the unknown sea;
Champlain's explorations become real when they are traced on the map and
the children have a concrete picture to carry away with them. In fact
the subjects of geography, art, and constructive work, treated under the
head of correlated subjects, are used in history with the aim of making
it real through the eye. (See pp. 40, 44, 45.)
3. A greater difficulty presents itself when we have to deal, in the
higher Forms, with topics like the Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves,
and it is a difficulty that will test to the full the resourcefulness
of the teacher. How can the preceding conditions and the terms of the
Magna Charta be brought home to a class? How can children be brought to
appreciate the difficulties connected with the question of Clergy
Reserves? A few words about the latter may suggest a means.
Two aspects of the Clergy Reserves question stand out prominently, the
religious and the economic. The religious aspect will be the most
difficult for Ontario children, for they have no immediate knowledge of
what a State Church is--the point on which the religious dispute turned;
nor do they know enough about the government of the religious bodies to
which they belong to make the matter clear to them. A full understanding
must come later. The best point of approach seems to be to give the
class some idea of the number of settlers belonging to the churches of
England and of Scotland, which claimed the right to the lands reserved,
and compare with this the number of all other Protestant bodies that
claimed to share in them; for this difference in numbers was one of the
chief causes of bitterness. An arithmetical appeal is concrete. There
was also the economic aspect. The Clergy Reserves were one seventh of
the land in each township. Another seventh was withheld from free
settlement as Crown Lands. Now in some townships there were about 50,000
acres. Let the class find out how many acres were thus kept from
settlement. Tell them that this land was not all in one block, but
distributed through the township. They can now be asked to consider how
this would interfere with close settlement and therefore with the
establishment of schools, churches, post-offices, mills, and stores. A
diagram of a township would be of great help. These two points will help
them to see why an early and fair settlement of the vexed question was
desired. Wherever possible, present problems for them to solve by their
own experiences.
4. The reading to the class of accounts of events written by people
living at the time will give an atmosphere of reality and human interest
to the events. For example, a story of early pioneer days told by a
pioneer gives a personal element (see _Pioneer Days_, Kennedy); a letter
by Mary Queen of Scots, to Elizabeth (see p. 143), will make both of
these queens real living people, not mere names in history. (See
_Studies in the Teaching of History_, Keatinge, p. 97, also selections
from _The Sources of English History_, Colby, p. 163.) Not much of this
may be possible, but more use might easily be made of such materials,
especially with the early history of Ontario.
5. The use of local history and of current events will be treated
elsewhere. (See pp. 49, 51.)
6. When possible, let the pupils form their idea of an historical person
from his actions and words just as we form our estimate of each other,
instead of having them memorize mere summaries of his character before
they know his actions.
7. Genealogical and chronological tables, written on the black-board and
discussed with the class, will be of service in understanding certain
periods, such as the Wars of the Roses, and in helping to form the
time-sense of pupils. (See Chronological Chart, p. 128.)
8. Chief dependence must be placed, however, on increasing the pupil's
knowledge of present-day conditions in agriculture, commerce,
transportation, manufactures, in fact, in all social, economic, and
political conditions, in order to enable him by comparison to realize
earlier methods and ways of living. The pupil who understands best how
we do things to-day can understand best the state of affairs when people
had to depend on primitive methods, and can realize how they would
strive to make things better.
ON MEMORIZING HISTORY
History is usually called a "memory" subject, and is accordingly often
taught as a mere memorizing of facts, names, and dates. The following
statement of the chief principles of memorizing will, it is hoped, put
mere verbal repetition in its proper place. Interest is the chief
condition for teaching history in the public schools, in order that the
pupils may acquire a liking for the subject that will tempt them to
pursue their reading in after years; without that interest, the small
amount of historical fact they can accumulate in their school-days will
be of little real value to them when they become full-fledged citizens.
In fact, through this emphasis on interest instead of verbal repetition,
the pupils are likely to obtain a better knowledge of history and, at
the same time, will have a chance to develop, in no slight degree, their
powers of judgment.
1. Memory depends on attention; we must observe attentively what we wish
to remember. In history, attention may be secured by making the lessons
interesting through the skill of the teacher in presenting the matter
vividly to the pupils; also by using means to make history real instead
of having it a mere mass of meaningless words. (See p. 34.)
2. Facts that we wish to remember should be grouped, or studied in
relation to other facts with which they are vitally connected. The facts
of history should be presented to the class in their relation of cause
and effect, or associated with some larger centre of interest; in other
words, pupils must understand, in some degree, what they are asked to
remember. (See pp. 92, 97.)
3. If we increase the number of connections for facts, we are more
likely to remember them. It is largely for this reason that history
should be taught with correlated subjects, such as geography,
literature, science (inventions), etc. For example, the story of the
Spanish Armada is remembered better if we have read _Westward Ho!_ and
the story of the Renaissance is made clearer and is therefore remembered
better, if we connect with it the inventions of printing, gunpowder, and
the mariner's compass. (See p. 121.)
4. Repetition is necessary to memory. Facts or groups of facts must be
repeated to be remembered. This is the purpose of the drills which are
necessary to good teaching, but are only a part of it. Reviews are not
to be considered merely as repetitions, but should be treated more as
aids to better understanding. (See p. 31.)