Toward Meaningful Accounts in History Texts for Young Learners

This examination of instructional sequences from four 5th-grade textbook series' treatments of the American Revolution is the center-piece of a larger in-depth analysis of content and presentation of commercial social studies programs for elementary grades. Our work has drawn on cognitive research on comprehension and learning in order to bring into focus issues of learning that have direct bearing on textbook content and organization. Our analysis uncovered lack of clarity in the relation between the content presented and the instructional goals, assumption of an unrealistic variety and depth of background knowledge, and inadequate explanation of significant events and their relationships. An approach to improving instruction is embedded in the examination of the text's coverage of the chain of events leading to the American Revolution

CLARITY · Cognition · Comprehension · Content analysis · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Presentation (obstetrics · Relation (database · Social science · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Educational Assessment and Pedagogy · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development

• Promoting Social Studies Understanding through Literature-based Instruction

  Tom McGowan, Barbara J Guzzetti et al.•The Social Studies•1991

  Incluir item

• Strategies for Aiding Students in Comprehending Social Studies Subject Matter

  Peter H Martorella•The Social Studies•1990

  Incluir item

• Remembering George Washington

  Jason Fitzgerald, Jason C Fitzgerald•The Social Studies•2011

  Incluir item

• Thinking Aloud about History

  Stuart Foster, Stuart J Foster et al.•Theory & Research in Social…•1999

  Incluir item

• Fifth Graders' Ideas about History Expressed before and after Their Introduction to the Subject

  Jere Brophy, Bruce A Vansledright et al.•Theory & Research in Social…•1992

  Incluir item

• Testing Historical Knowledge

  Gabriel A Reich•Theory & Research in Social…•2009

  Incluir item

• Fifth-Grade U.S. History

  Jere Brophy•Theory & Research in Social…•1992

  Incluir item

• Prose Comprehension Beyond the Word

  Open Access•Arthur C Graesser•Prose Comprehension Beyond the Word•1981

  Incluir item

• Causal thinking and the representation of narrative events

  Open Access•Tom Trabasso, Paul Van Den Broek•Journal of Memory and Language•1985

  Incluir item

• Text processing of domain-related information for individuals with high and low domain knowledge

  Open Access•George J Spilich, Gregg T Vesonder et al.•Journal of Verbal Learning and…•1979

  Incluir item

• Contextual prerequisites for understanding

  Open Access•John D Bransford, Marcia K Johnson•Journal of Verbal Learning and…•1972

  Incluir item

• Causal relatedness and importance of story events

  Open Access•Tom Trabasso, Linda L Sperry•Journal of Memory and Language•1985

  Incluir item

• Acquisition of domain-related information in relation to high and low domain knowledge

  Open Access•Harry L Chiesi, George J Spilich et al.•Journal of Verbal Learning and…•1979

  Incluir item

• Toward a model of text comprehension and production.

  Walter Kintsch, T A Van Dijk•Psychological Review•1978

  Incluir item

• Strategies of discourse comprehension

  Teun A Van Dijk•Strategies of discourse…•1983

  Incluir item

• The effects of organization and instructional set on story memory∗

  Nancy L Stein, Teresa Nezworski•Discourse Processes•1978

  Incluir item

• Improving the Comprehensibility of Stories

  Isabel L Beck, Margaret G McKeown et al.•Reading Research Quarterly•1984

  Incluir item