| The Hawai‘i
Standards document states, "The study of history should
not rest solely on the knowledge of facts, dates, and places. Effective
historical understanding requires students to engage in historical thinking.
At the same time, history consists of real people and events, the accurate
knowledge of which is crucial to proper historical understanding. Modes
of historical thinking should therefore take place within a solid framework
of actual historical events and developments."
Addressing the Standards:
At least for the study of Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands, Pacific
Worlds provides a very useful resource towards this end:
The websites combine primary (oral) material with secondary material
Chronologies are provided, and there is an overall temporal sequence
There are multiple speakers (Guides), hence multiple perspectives.
This also allows students to consider "fact" versus "opinion"
"Continuity and Change" is the fundamental focus of this
project, with various perspectives as well as historical facts provided
for each location
"Values" form another main focus of this project
Indigenous perspectives generally allow for the past to be judged
on its own terms
Exercises promote the "doing" of history, with students
focusing on their own local area.
In addition, the Suggested Historical Framework provided in the Standards
booklet (bottom of this page) outlines specific themes in Hawaiian/Pacific
history, many of which are addressed in Pacific Worlds websites. Use
these as another guide.
Below are listed the content standards
as laid out for Hawai‘i Schools (Source: "Social Studies
Content Standards"). Use the ideas listed above to apply to the
specific standards listed for each category and each grade level.
Content Standards History:
(taken directly from the Standards booklet)
1. CHANGE, CONTINUITY, CAUSALITY
Students employ chronology to understand change and/or continuity and
cause and/or effect in history
Grades 4 - 5:
• Place people and events in chronological order to explain
causal relationships between and among people and events.
• Identify change and continuity in historical eras.
Grades 6 - 8:
• Identify possible causal relationships in historical chronologies.
• Offer fact-based explanations for change and continuity in
history.
Grades 9 - 12:
• Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and multiple causation
of change.
• Explain how change occurs at varying rates during different
time periods and in different regions of the world.
2. HISTORICAL EMPATHY
Students learn to judge the past on its own terms and use that knowledge
to understand present day issues, problems, and decision making.
Grades 4 - 5:
•Explain how rules and values of a society determine the behavior
and attitudes of its members.
Grades 6 - 8:
• Develop historical empathy-analyzing the past on its own
terms; not judging it solely by present-day norms and values.
Grades 9 - 12:
• Apply knowledge of historical periods to assess present-day
issues and decision making.
3. HISTORICAL INQUIRY
Students use the tools and methods of historians to transform learning
from memorizing historical data to “doing history.”
Grades 4 - 5:
• Distinguish historical fact from opinion.
Grades 6 - 8:
• Frame and answer questions through historical research.
• Differentiate between primary and secondary sources, recognizing
the potential and limitations of each.
Grades 9 - 12:
• Distinguish information that is relevant vs. irrelevant and
essential vs. incidental to research and assess the credibility of
the sources.
• Use appropriate evidence gathered from historical research
in written, oral, visual, or dramatic presentations.
4. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND INTERPRETATIONS
Students explain historical events with multiple interpretations
rather than explanations that point to historical linearity or inevitability
Grades 4 - 5:
• Explain how beliefs and education and/or the society in which
a person resides shape his/her “point of view.”
Grades 6 - 8:
• Analyze and accept multiple perspectives and interpretations
to avoid historical linearity and inevitability
Grades 9 - 12:
• Assess the quality of historical interpretations based on
the arguments they advance and the evidence they use.
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