The Dock

An Anabaptist Resource for Teaching and Learning

  • LOGIN / SIGNUP

Register
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
      • School Administration
      • School Board
      • School Culture
      • School Library
      • Community Relationships
      • Curriculum and Instruction
      • History of Christian Education
      • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    • Art

      • Art
      • Music
    • Bible and Christian Thought

      • Bible Study
      • Doctrine
      • Ethics
      • Worldviews
      • Service
    • Social Studies

      • American History
      • Anabaptist History
      • Church History
      • World History
      • Geography
    • Language & Literature

      • English
      • Grammar
      • Reading & Literature
      • Language Arts
      • Writing
      • Vocabulary
      • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math & Science

      • Math
      • Science
      • Chemistry
      • Earth Sciences
      • Life Sciences
      • Physics
    • Electives & Health

      • Physical Education
      • Electives
      • Business
      • Apps and Programs
      • Technology Literacy
      • Special Events
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Submit an Event To Be Posted
  • Classifieds
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • About
  • Donate
Home / Contributions / Teaching History Beyond Names and Dates

Teaching History Beyond Names and Dates

March 1, 2017 by Anita Yoder Leave a Comment

March 1, 2017 by Peter Goertzen

Our history tests are littered with questions like this:

Alexander the Great’s decisive victory at the Battle of _____ led to his conquest of the Persian Empire.

  1. Bucephalas
  2. Chickamauga
  3. Gaugamela
  4. Artaxerxes

Let’s be honest—who cares? In twenty years, will it make any difference to my students if they know the name of the decisive battle that led to Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire? (The answer is Gaugamela, in case you’re wondering. And yes, I had to look it up.)

On the other hand, “What empire did Alexander the Great conquer?” is a good test question. That’s something students really ought to know. Even better is a question like this:

Alexander the Great’s conquests led to _____.

  1. a thousand years of Greek rule in the Middle East.
  2. the spread of Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean region.
  3. the First Defenestration of Prague and the Hussite Wars.
  4. the establishment of the Achaemenid dynasty.

This question gets to the heart of Alexander’s significance. By spreading Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean region, he profoundly affected the course of Western civilization. If students remember anything about Alexander, it should be this.

The purpose of teaching history is to help students understand the world so they can more effectively serve God in it. Our plans for our students’ learning must be measured against this purpose. If it doesn’t contribute to students’ understanding of the world, there’s no sense in wasting time and energy on it.

So don’t worry about getting students to memorize every bold term in the history textbook. Instead, teach them how the world got to be the way it is. This teaching will include many of those bold terms, but they must be part of the story and not substitutes for the story. In their proper context, the names and dates of history organize and even enrich the subject. In isolation, they are meaningless and dull.


Objectionable/Very PoorOKGoodVery GoodExcellent (4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading...

CONTRIBUTOR: Peter Goertzen

Pass it on:

Filed Under: Blog, High School Teacher’s Blog Tagged With: God's story, History, teaching history, world history

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google

Your Saved-for-Later List

Related

FILTER RESULTS Search

Categories
Resource Type
Length


Grade Level
Popularity
Date Created

Join the email group.

Find out about new videos, posts, and content.
Unsubscribe at any time.

View past emails.

Desk from Skippack School The Dock is conceived to serve schools in the spirit of Christopher Dock, the devoted teacher who authored a warmly practical teacher's manual in colonial America. Read more...

The Dock List: a Podcast

Listen and follow on the platform of your choice.

Subscribe on iTunes
Follow on Spotify
Subscribe on Google Play

OTHER HELPFUL SITES

Christian Light
Christian Learning Resource
Faith Builders Educational Programs
Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute
Contribute banner
2019® THE DOCK | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Powered by Cloudways.              
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Contact Us
  • Leave Feedback
  • Privacy

Optimized by PhastPress

Add The Dock to your Home Screen

Add
  • Home
  • Leave Feedback
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
    ▼
    • School Administration
    • School Board
    • School Culture
    • Community Relationships
    • Curriculum and Instruction
    • History of Christian Education
    • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    ▼
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    ▼
    • Art
    • Music
    • Bible Study
    • Doctrine
    • Ethics
    • Worldviews
    • Service
    • American History
    • Anabaptist History
    • World History
    • Geography
    • English
    • Language Arts
    • Reading & Literature
    • Writing
    • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math
    • Science
    • Earth Sciences
    • Life Sciences
    • Physics
    • Physical Education
    • Electives
    • Apps and Programs
  • Forums
  • Events
  • Classified Listings
    ▼
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • Log In
  • Share what you’ve made.
  • About
X