- Written Document Analysis
-A written document analysis asks students to read over a primary source and think critically about it. Students do not just share summaries of what they read, but must answer questions about the document that requires students to consider its origin, time period, influences, and consequences.
- 3-2-1 Charts
-A 3-2-1 Chart asks students to read over a primary source and consider 3 things they found out from reading it, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 thing they have a question about. These are a great way to facilitate discussion among students, often times without any encouragement from the instructor.
- Debates
-Debates are where single students or groups of students discuss various topics, with each side arguing for a particular viewpoint. Debates can be useful to help students better understand the different sides of historical events, and learn why certain decisions may or may not have been made. It can also help students understand other people's beliefs better, particularly when debating for a viewpoint that they may not agree with themselves. Examples include debating political viewpoints, or whether decisions made during wars were the right ones.
-First Person Writing is where students write a letter, journal entry, or story from the point of view of a historical figure. Placing themselves in another person's shoes allows students to better understand what happened, and how it affected that particular person. An example would be students writing a letter home from the perspective of a soldier living in the trenches during World War 1.
-The idea behind this activity is to demonstrate to students both how history was once kept, but also how oral history can change over time. The teacher writes down a statement about a historical event, and reads it to a student without letting anyone see it. The information is passed from student to student one at a time until everyone has taken part, and the information is then compared to what the teacher wrote down at the start of the activity.
-An analogous study involves students researching two events in history to find and discuss similarities or differences between them. An example would be students researching the events that caused the first two World Wars, and determining the similarities or differences in what led to the start of those wars.
-The Jigsaw strategy involves splitting students into groups, and assigning each group a particular piece of information regarding a particular topic. Students research their group's information, then as a whole class put the information together to understand the topic, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. An example could be students researching each branch of government, then coming together to understand the government as a whole.
-KWL stands for "What I Know, What I Want to know, What I Learned". This chart allows students to keep track of prior knowledge, and compare what they wanted to learn to what was actually learned. This can lead to a better evaluation of the learning experience for both student and teacher.
-Case Studies are scenarios made up for students to investigate and form a conclusion about events, usually based partly on actual occurrences. Case studies are a great way to introduce a "real-world" element into the classroom, and are particularly useful in history classes. An example would be students investigating cases from the Supreme Court and deciding an outcome.
-Current Events should not be neglected in a history class, as they are history in the making. Every week, students will either be led in a brief discussion about current events, or be asked to turn in a short paragraph about something new going on.
- Problem-Based Learning is, in a way, similar to how case studies work. In this strategy however, students are given problems with no clear, right answer. They also receive less assistance from the instructor, as the goal is to create problem solving skills in the students,