There are a number of challenges when teaching students history using historical narrative. For one, the genre encompasses a wide range of sub-genres that are often conflicting and lack continuity from text to text (Marchand-Martella & Martella, 2010). As previously mentioned, historical narratives may take the form of biographies, autobiographies, historical fiction, or historical accounts taken from eyewitnesses. As a result, this leads to a second problem – because of this wide range of sub-genres, students often lack knowledge of text structure that would assist them in negotiating the text (NICHD, 2000). This lack of knowledge of text structure may result from the contention that students are provided fewer opportunities to engage in analysis of narrative texts as most school texts are expository in nature (Saenz & Fuchs, 2002). This creates an environment where narrative historical texts are not used to their full advantage and where students are ill-equipped to work through them.
Several historians and history educators have also identified another challenge for grade school students as they encounter historical narratives, particularly biographies and autobiographies, in their history classrooms (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Brophy & VanSledright, 1997; McDiarmid, 1994). When historical narrative of individual motivation and achievement is presented as the primary window into the past, students have shown the tendency to see the actions of the one or two people being studied as single-handedly changing the lives of massive numbers of others. As a result, students do not see as clearly the collective actions and the role of societal institutions in the shaping of history.
What would be an indicator to you that your students were not seeing the extraordinary individuals they were studying in a broader context of history? What might you do to assure they were seeing the whole picture and not biased by the influence of this one person?
Several historians and history educators have also identified another challenge for grade school students as they encounter historical narratives, particularly biographies and autobiographies, in their history classrooms (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Brophy & VanSledright, 1997; McDiarmid, 1994). When historical narrative of individual motivation and achievement is presented as the primary window into the past, students have shown the tendency to see the actions of the one or two people being studied as single-handedly changing the lives of massive numbers of others. As a result, students do not see as clearly the collective actions and the role of societal institutions in the shaping of history.
What would be an indicator to you that your students were not seeing the extraordinary individuals they were studying in a broader context of history? What might you do to assure they were seeing the whole picture and not biased by the influence of this one person?