Why Isn T That In The Textbook

There are many things that could impede historical thinking in a classroom. Textbooks can pose a problem for children because what is written in them does not engage them and will instead look to other sources in order fulfill their curiosity, like Jennifer, did in "Why Isn't That in the Textbook?" She was upset that her textbook remained neutral on the topic of the Puritans, when she had read historical narratives that gave a more in-depth examination of the Puritans and their treatments of the Native Americans (Barton and Levstik, "Why Isn't That in the Textbook? Fiction, Nonfiction, and Historical Thinking"115). In "Learners and Learning" S.G. Grant and Bruce Vansledright describe a fourth-grader named Helen. Helen has just recently

As a result, teachers are left teaching the text only and lecturing in front of the classroom, and, students are expected to know the content. This is known as the behaviorist theory. Sam Wineburg believes that "students would know more about history… if teachers taught content rather than ‘skills'" (Wineburg, "Making Historical Sense" 308). Teachers who do not deviate from the information in the textbook, are often not viewed as a problem, but they may be one. These are known as mimetic teachers. We are aware that textbooks often leave out information, for instance, women are almost erased from history books and men often take center stage in history. Sam Wineburg illustrates this fact in "Picturing the Past" where he organized a study comparing how boys and girls see history. His study focused on three groups of historical figures Hippies, Pilgrims, and Western Settlers. Wineburg showed in his study that "learning and teaching of history assumptions play a key role" in what students learn about history (Wineburg, "Picturing the Past"113). Students were asked to draw pictures of each historical figure, and typically they would depict people matching their gender, however, at the end of the study only six percent of the drawings done by boys depicted females and the thirty-eight percent of drawings done by girls depicted men only. This showed their

Ruby Yessin introduces her first graders to history using pop-up-books the intricate design of each page captures their attention and makes them look for more books depicting the same information. This means that her students read a lot, but with the help of the teacher and their classmates, these children are able to understand the information they read about (Barton and Levstik, "Why Isn't that in the Textbook?" 120). When using fiction or nonfiction books in the classroom, it is essential to make sure these books are appropriate for students. To do this the teacher should look at the (i) author, (ii) facts presented in the book, (iii) book is up-to-date, (iv) story and language is accurate to the time in which it takes place, (v) author make sound interpretations, and, (vi) voices that are missing in the