​WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF History EDUCATION?

HISTORICAL THINKING REQUIRES understanding and evaluating change and continuity over time, and making appropriate use of historical evidence in answering questions and developing arguments about the past. It involves going beyond simply asking, “What happened when?” to evaluating why and how events occurred and developments unfolded. It involves locating and assessing historical sources of many different types to understand the contexts of given historical eras and the perspectives of different individuals and groups within geographic units that range from the local to the global. Historical thinking is a process of chronological reasoning, which means wrestling with issues of causality, connections, significance, and context with the goal of developing credible explanations of historical events and developments based on reasoned interpretation of evidence.
Historical inquiry involves acquiring knowledge about significant events, developments, individuals, groups, documents, places, and ideas to support investigations about the past. Acquiring relevant knowledge requires assembling information from a wide variety of sources in an integrative process. Students might begin with key events or individuals introduced by the teacher or identified by educational leaders at the state level, and then investigate them further. Or they might take a source from a seemingly insignificant individual and make connections between that person and larger events, or trace the person’s contributions to a major development. Scholars, teachers, and students form an understanding of what is and what is not significant from the emergence of new sources, from current events, from their locale, and from asking questions about changes that affected large numbers of people in the past or had enduring consequences. Developing historical knowledge in connection with historical investigations not only helps students remember the content better because it has meaning, but also allows students to become better thinkers. --C3 TEACHERS

Units of Study in US History

Early America

Native American tribes in North and South America were diverse in culture and thrived throughout the various regions. 
Compelling Question: Is there a common indigenous experience?​

Colonial America

Invading English settlers arrive in the Americas and begin to establish colonies, expelling native Americans further westward through war and treaties, and establish a deeply rooted system of race-based slavery.
Compelling Question: How should English colonization be remembered?​

American Revolution

Tensions with Britain rise after the French and Indian war, Parliament's proclamation of 1763, increasing taxes imposed upon the colonists. The colonies are divided on what to do.
Compelling Question: Was the American Revolution revolutionary?

Early US Republic

The early United States enters into a period of "Good Feelings" quickly followed by sectional fracturing over slavery, manufacturing, interests, and culture. 
Compelling Question: Are sectional divides inevitable?​

War and reconstruction

The Civil War wrecks havoc on the United States and liberates millions. 
​Compelling Question: What caused the Civil War?​

industry and imperialism

The American economy transforms and the American military expands.
Compelling Question: Is the US an imperial nation?

Democracy and war

The United States entered into two world wars and its position in the world was forever changed.
Compelling Question: What does it mean to fight for democracy at home and abroad?

US on a global stage

In the post war world, the United States is more interconnected around the world than ever before, yet at home it is gripped by civil and economic challenges.
​Compelling Question: What should be the US position in the world?​

modern us

In the modern era, post the Cold War, the US has become an economic and military powerhouse, rivaled only by China. Many of the same divisions remain.
Compelling Question: What is the proper pace of change?