I’m so excited to announce that ESC Region 13 is making history labs available for FREE in the product store. After a book study, professional development, and several hours of editing the work of several ESC social studies specialists and designers at the service center has culminated in the creation of these history labs. It was always our goal to make these widely available. At this time a history lab about the Auxiliary Personnel is in the store. Keep watching- next week a lab about the US-Mexican War should be in the store and others are scheduled to follow.
What is a history lab?
Most students and teachers are familiar with the practice of labs in science courses, in which students conduct an experiment to test a hypothesis. This practice models how scientists research. So how can students model the practices of historians? With a history lab.
How do historians research? Historians ask questions that frame a problem for research. Historians gather and ask questions of a variety of sources. Historians develop, defend, and revise interpretations based on evidence.
A history lab is an inquiry based instructional approach which models the work of historians. During a history lab students:
- investigate a compelling focus question with possible multiple answers
- utilize literacy skills to interpret a variety of sources
- develop, present, and defend interpretations with evidence
Based on the work of Bruce Lesh, author of Why Won’t You Just Tell Us the Answer? Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12, history labs are conducted by deploying the following sequence; 1) initiate the investigation, 2) build background knowledge, 3) introduce the central/focus question, 4) conduct the investigation by examining sources, 5) report interpretations to the class, 6) debrief student investigations, and 7) assess student comprehension of content and historical thinking. History labs are intended to take one to two class periods.
When students engage in a process that mirrors the work of the adults in a particular craft, it is rigorous. History labs facilitate students conducting such rigorous work and learning content. Additionally, history labs are engaging and intellectually challenging.
I hope you will do a little experimenting and try out some history labs with your students. Want to find out more about history labs? Check out University of Maryland Baltimore County.