EYEWITNESS HISTORY: A PERSONAL, LITERARY AND CREATIVE APPROACH TO TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES

by LINDA CURRY and DEBRA COX
1st edition, 150 pages, $18.95
ISBN 978-0-89641-240-8 

Eyewitness History is an innovative method of inquiry, research, reading, reflection, and writing to guide students in a lifelong process of understanding history. It is a child-centered, developmental approach to teaching elementary history and social studies. The goals of Eyewitness History are to enrich personal experience, to develop a lifelong love of inquiry and reading, and to teach students how to make historical generalizations.
Through critical reading of award-winning literature, students meet the famous people and characters who are our national heritage. Personal research and exposure to good literature together nurtures an understanding of self, a love of reading, and a foundation for historical understandings. Through this process students learn how to visualize more clearly the historical past, becoming more aware and observant of current events, and reflect upon ways to build a better future.
The authors as teacher-researchers believe that learning about history is an ongoing holistic process that develops with language learning; students must
meaningfully experience and use history just as they meaningfully experience and use language; discovery of one's own history gives greater meaning and relationship to the history of others; and personal and vicarious historical experiences lead learners to continuously discover and redefine who they are in the context of past, present, and future.

Contents

Chapter 1: EYEWITNESS PERSONAL HISTORY
Reflection: Who am I?
Observation: Who am I?
Active Inquiry
Compile a Story
Speaker/Audience Rules
History by Example: A Model Story
Celebrate the Story
References

Chapter 2: EYEWITNESS LITERARY TIME TRAVEL
Eyewitness: Reading with an Author's Eye and the Newbery Award
Eyewitness: Reading with an Artist's Eye and the Caldecott Award
Eyewitness: The Literary Elements of Story
Literary Genres for Historical Research
Eyewitness: Important Awards in Children's Literature
Timeline for Children's Literature

Chapter 3: EYEWITNESS AMERICAN HISTORY
Timeline: Literary Time Travel

Chapter 4: EYEWITNESS PERSONAL LIBRARIES
Written Histories
The Written History Process
Writing the Story
The Revising Process
Eyewitness Student Models
Book Formats

Chapter 5: EYEWITNESS CLASSROOM MURALS
Communication is the Key
Murals
Literary, Map, and Landscape Murals
Coherent Curriculum
Free

Chapter 6: TEACHING METHODS AND MATERIALS
Guided Discovery Learning
KWL: Know, What to Know, Learn
Inquiry/I-Search Chart; Compare/Contrast Matrix
Dialogue
Timelines
Journals
Interviews
Projects
Community Interaction
Activities
Assessment
Portfolios

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

About the Authors

Linda Curry is an Assistant Professor in Elementary Social Studies Methods at Clemson University. She received her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina, her M.A. in History from Appalachian State University and her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Texas A&M University.

Debra Phillips Cox is currently a classroom teacher in South Carolina and a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Instruction at Clemson University. She received her B.A. and M.Ed. from Clemson. Debra is also an Elementary Education Consultant for the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies.