The True Meaning of History

One of the main components of Social Studies is History. History can be defined and interpreted in many ways. It is the study of the human past that is described in the written documents that are left behind. Historians rely on evidence to construct and interpret accounts of the past.

History can also be defined as the chronological study that interprets and gives meaning to events and applies systematic methods to discover the truth in the storyline of history.

Some of the main questions that we ask of our students about the past includes:

• the cause and effects of events

• the change and continuity

• turning points

• using the past for future references

• through the eyes of those from the past

Students act as historians when discovering through lessons and activities. As the role of a historian, students research the evidence of the past. An effective example of an activity where students act as historians is when using artifact bags.

 Artifacts are defined as objects that you find when exploring. This includes primary sources such as documents, letters, journal articles, posters, photographs, paintings, etc. These primary sources are placed into bags and students have to analyze the evidence in order to figure out what they have to do with a specific event or person in history.

When students are exploring through artifact bags. It is important that students handle the artifacts delicately since they are primary evidence from the past. If a student comes across a language that they do not understand, encourage the students to use google translator to translate the language in order to interpret what is written on the artifact.

Dr. Smirnova has shown us her own artifact bag which was based on her own life. The bag included her diploma, a Russian box with an American flag pin inside of it, and a photograph. These artifacts represent personal things that have occurred in her life. We acted as historians in order to discover that these objects connected to her. We analyzed the evidence, researched, and translated the Russian language. We also discovered the 5 W's (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?) in order to come to a conclusion and see how all of these objects connected to her. This is a great activity to do in the classroom to engage your students in history, especially when they are learning about primary sources. I will definitely be using this artifact bag activity in my future classroom!