Living History as an Experience.

N

12

Active Learning; Class Activities; Elementary Secondary Education; Experiential Learning; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; History Instruction; Instructional Innovation; Local History; Relevance (Education); Role Playing; School Community Relationship; Student Projects

Local historical investigation can make history more relevant and allow national trends to be understood as they were reflected in local incidents. Research-based historical reenactment is growing in popularity throughout North America but has had limited use in classrooms because of overreliance on textbooks and teacher concerns about curriculum mandates and lack of resources. This paper outlines a step-by-step process for exploring "living history" within the classroom. Through this process, a teacher and class can formulate, plan, research, rehearse, and perform role-playing presentations for class, school, or community that meet and enhance state or provincial mandated curriculum objectives. The steps are: (1) getting comfortable (clarifying the process, reassuring students about unfamiliar activities, identifying local resources); (2) warming up to the idea (assuming small roles based on familiar historical figures, focusing on conversations "in character" that provoke class discussion); (3) teacher role (facilitating student efforts to "shape" the role by creating meaning from the research and performance); (4) researching a period character and his or her lifestyle and context; (5) choosing among a real historical person, a composite character, or an appropriate stock character; (6) completing a character outline sheet to formulate a fully developed character; (7) trying out the characters within the class; and (8) performing for school or community. Includes tips for developing characterizations and a character outline. (Author/SV)

1998

ED414133