Beacon Unit Plan Library

Historical Tool Time

Richard Johnson
Beacon Learning Center (Bay District Schools)

Description

This is an introductory unit focusing on the skills necessary for the study of history. The unit begins with a lesson that focuses on time, chronology, and the creation and interpretation of timelines. The unit continues with activities that promote student understanding and identification of the historical and geographical themes that are important to understanding history. The culmination of the unit comes with students identifying these themes within a historical document.

Questions

Why do I do what I do?

Duration

The planned duration of this activity is 8 days.

Unit Matrix and Standards

Click here to view the curriculum matrix which illustrates the unit's instructional design and lists standards addressed in the unit.

Attached Files

PowerPoint: What is Time     File Extension:  ppt

PowerPoint: Historical Themes Presentation     File Extension:  ppt

Unit Plan Overview     File Extension:  pdf

Diagnostic 1: Timeline Pretest     File Extension:  pdf

Diagnostic 2: Themes Pretest     File Extension:  pdf

Summative 1: Unit Test     File Extension:  pdf

Lesson Plans

My Time: Understanding Timelines
Students practice using timelines and create their own personal timelines. This lesson is the first lesson in an introductory unit entitled Historical Tool Time that covers basic historical concepts and themes.

Themes and Patterns of History
Students learn about reoccurring historical and geographical themes important to the study of history. They work together in groups of three to identify these themes by interpreting historical passages through critical reading.

Web Links

This Student Web Lesson gives middle and high school students a chance to refine and to extend their abilities to construct, to read, to analyze, and to draw conclusions from timelines.
Seeing Time

This Web resource provides information on the geographical and historical themes.
Geographical and Historical Themes