Unit7 Rewriting American History.docx
- 文档编号:9932520
- 上传时间:2023-02-07
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:47
- 大小:55.47KB
Unit7 Rewriting American History.docx
《Unit7 Rewriting American History.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Unit7 Rewriting American History.docx(47页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
Unit7RewritingAmericanHistory
Unit7
RewritingAmericanHistory
FrancesFitzGerald
TeachingTips
“RewritingAmericanHistory”isanexposition.Fitzgeraldismakinganargument,soitisimportantforthestudentstofindout1)whattheauthor’sargumentsare;2)onwhatevidencetheauthorbasesherarguments;3)howtheauthormakesthesearguments.Afterunderstandingtheauthor’sarguments,thestudentscanthenevaluatethesearguments:
1)aretheyconvincing?
and2)howcanIconnecttheseargumentstowhatIalreadyknowaboutthesubjectmatter?
TheessayistakenfromFitzGerald’sjournalarticles/bookAmericaRevised:
HistorySchoolbooksintheTwentiethCentury,sodrawyourstudents’attentiontotechniquesofcomparisonandcontrastandthewaysinwhichFitzGeraldassessescurrent(i.e.1970s)historytextbooks.AsFitzGeraldiswritingabouttherewritingofAmericanhistory,thetextcontainsquiteanumberofreferencestoU.S.history.Givethestudentsjustenoughinformationtoenablethemtounderstandthetext,butaskthemtofocusmoreonhowFitzGeraldmakesherargument.
Hereareafewsuggestionsforhandlingtheessay.Askyourstudentstokeeptheseinmindwhilescanningtheessay:
1)statewhattheessayisaboutinoneortwosentences;2)enumerateitsmajorpartsintheirorderandrelationandoutlinetheseparts;and3)definetheproblemorproblemstheauthoristryingtosolve.Inclass,youcanaskyourstudentsto1)identifyandinterprettheauthor’skeywords,forexample,“rewriting”,“change”,“problems”,“patchwork”,“diversity”,etc.;2)grasptheauthor’sleadingpropositionsbydealingwithhermostimportantsentences;3)knowtheauthor’sarguments,byconstructingthemoutofsequencesofsentences;and4)determinewhichoftheproblemsshepresentstheauthorhassolved,andwhichshehasnot.Attheendoftheweek,youcanaskyourstudentstoassessFitzGerald’swritingandpresentgoodreasonsforanycriticaljudgmentstheymake.
StructureoftheText
PartIIntroduction
(1)Itishardtoimaginehistorytextbooksasbeingsubjecttochange.
PartIIAmericanHistorySchoolbooksRewritten
SectionI:
changinghistorytextbooks
(2-4)Examplesofchangesthathavetakenplace
(5)Itisnotsurprisingthattextbooksreflectchangingscholarlyresearch,butthechangesremainshocking.
SectionII:
threetypesofchangesthathavetakenplace
(6-9)politicalchange:
patchworkreplacingunity,problemsreplacingprogress
(10-11)pedagogicalchange
(12-13)physicalchange
PartIIIConclusion
(14-15)Thereisnoperfectobjectivity,buttheproblemwithconstantlychangingschoolhistorytextbooksisthateachgenerationofchildrenreadsonlyitsowngeneration’stextbooksandthereforelearnsonlyoneparticularandtransientversionofAmerica,whichremainstheirversionofAmericanhistoryforever.
OutlineandTopicSentences:
PartI
Para.1
Topicsentence:
ThoseofuswhogrewupinthefiftiesbelievedinthepermanenceofourAmerican-historytextbooks.
Transitionalsentence:
Butnowthetextbookhistorieshavechanged,someofthemtosuchanextentthatanadultwouldfindthemunrecognizable.
PartII
Para.2
Topicsentence:
Onecurrentjunior-high-schoolAmericanhistorybeginswithastoryaboutaNegrocowboycalledGeorgeMcJunkin.
Example:
GeorgeMcJunkin,Negrocowboy,discoveryofremainsofanIndiancivilizationin1925civilizationsbeforeEuropeanexplorers
Para.3
Topicsentence:
Anotherhistorytext—thisoneforthefifthgrade—beginswiththestoryofhowHenryB.Gonzalez,whoisamemberofCongressfromTexas,learnedabouthisownnationality.
Example:
HenryB.Gonzalez,questionofnationality:
birthrightorculturalheritage,meltingpotvs.saladbowl
Para.4
Topicsentence:
PoorColumbus!
Heisaminorcharacternow,awalk-oninthemiddleofAmericanhistory.
Example:
Columbus,prominenceinU.S.historyfadingwithtimeandrevision,alongwithotherself-promotingfiguresinU.S.history.
Para.5
Topicsentence:
Ofcourse,whenonethinksaboutit,itishardlysurprisingthatmodernscholarshipandmodernperspectiveshavefoundtheirwayintochildren’sbooks.Yetthechangesremainshocking.
Para.6
Topicsentence:
ThehistorytextsnowhintatacertainlevelofunpleasantnessinAmericanhistory.
Examples:
thelast“wild”Indiancapturedanddisplayed,childcoalminersofPennsylvania,crueltyintheAmerican-FilipinoWar,crueltyofpatriotsagainstroyalistsintheAmericanRevolution,andJapaneseinternment.
Para.7
Topicsentence:
Ideologicallyspeaking,thehistoriesofthefiftieswereimplacable,seamless.
Para.8
Topicsentence:
Butnowthetextshavechanged,andwiththemthecountrythatAmericanchildrenaregrowingupinto.
Aradicalwayofreconceptualizingpastandfuture:
ØSociety:
uniformapatchworkofwealth,ages,gender,andraces
ØSmooth-runningsystemarattletrapaffair
ØPastfuturerelationship:
progresschange
ØThepresent:
ahavenofscientificadvancesatangleofproblems
oExamples:
problemsofconsumersociety;problemsofthepoorandagedwhodependonsocialsecurity.
oScienceandtechnologystilldeemedtobethemagicbulletforsocialproblems
Para.9
Transitionalsentence:
Evenmoresurprisingthantheemergenceofproblemsisthediscoverythatthegreatunityofthetextshasbroken.
Topicsentence:
Whereasinthefiftiesalltextsrepresentedthesamepoliticalview,currenttextsfollownopatternoforthodoxy.
Examples:
ØPortrayalofcivilrights:
asaseriesofactionstakenbyawise,paternalgovernmentvs.theinvolvementofsocialupheaval
ØPortrayaloftheColdWar:
havingendedvs.continuing
Para.10
Topicsentence:
Thepoliticaldiversityinthebooksismatchedbyadiversityofpedagogicalapproach.
Types:
ØTraditionalnarrativehistories
ØFocusingonparticulartopicswith“discovery”or“inquiry”textsandchapterslikecasestudies(withbackgroundinformation,explanatorynotesandquestions)(questionsareattheheartofthematter;theyforcestudentstothinkmuchashistoriansthink,todefinethepointofviewofthespeaker,analyzetheideaspresented,questiontherelationshipbetweenevents,andsoon.)
oExample:
Washington,Jefferson,andJohnAdamsonthequestionofforeignalliances
Para.11
Topicsentence:
Whatiscommontothecurrenttexts—andmakesallofthemdifferentfromthoseofthefifties—istheirengagementwiththesocialsciences.
Transitionalsentence:
Inmattersofpedagogy,asinmattersofpolitics,therearenottwosharplydifferentiatedcategoriesofbooks;rather,thereisaspectrum.
ØPoliticalandpedagogicalspectrum:
opolitically,frommoderatelefttomoderateright;
opedagogically,fromthetraditionalhistorysermon,throughamiddlegroundofnarrativetextswithinquiry-stylequestionsandofinquirytextswithlongstretchesofnarrative,tothemostrigorousofcase-studybooks
ØEngagementwiththesocialsciences
o“Concepts”asfoundationstonesforvariouselementary-schoolsocial-studiesseries
▪Example:
the1970HarcourtBraceJovanovichseries,“ahorizontalbaseororderingofconceptualschemes”tomatchits“verticalarmofbehavioralthemes,”fromeasyquestionstohard
oHistorytextbooksalmostalwaysincludediscussionsof“role,”“status,”and“culture;”someincludedebatesbetweeneminentsocialscientists,essaysoneconomicsorsociology,orpicturesandshortbiographiesofsocialscientistsofbothsexesandofdiverseraces
Para.12
Topicsentence:
Quiteasstrikingasthesepoliticalandpedagogicalalterationsisthechangeinthephysicalappearanceofthetexts.
ComparisonandContrast
The1950s
Current(1970s)
Overall
Showingsomeeffortinthematterofdesign:
theyhadmaps,charts,cartoons,photography,andanoccasionalfour-colorpicturetobreakupthecolumnsofprint;
LookingasnaïveasSovietfashionmagazinesbesidethecurrenttexts
Paragonsofsophisticatedmoderndesign
Heavyandfartooblack,thecolorsmuddy
Photographsandillustrations
Photographs:
conventionalnewsshots;
Illustrations:
Socialist-realist-styledrawingsorincrediblyvulgarmade-for-childrenpaintingsofpatrioticevents
Fargreaterspacegiventoillustrations;
Thepicturesfaroutweighingthetextinimportanceincertain“slow-learner”books;
Theillustrationshavingamuchgreaterhistoricalvalue:
cartoons,photographs,andpaintingsdrawnfromtheperiodsbeingtreated
Para.13
Topicsentence:
Theuseofallthisartandhigh-qualitydesigncontainssomeirony.
Exampleofhowarttranscendsthesubjectmatter:
childlaborers,urbanslumapartments,theTriangleshirtwaist-factoryfire,junkyards,nucleartesting
Paragraphsummary:
Whereasinthenineteenth-fiftiesthetextswerechildishinthesensethattheywerenaïveandclumsy,theyarenowchildishinthesensethattheyarepolymorphous-perverse.Americanhistoryisnotdullanylonger;itisasensuousexperience.
PartIII
Para.14
Topicsentence:
Thesurprisethatadultsfeelinseeingthechangesinhistorytextsmustcomefromthelingeringhopethatthereissomewhereoutthere,anobjectivetruth.
Question:
whyisitdisturbingtoseethechangesinhistorytextbooks?
Paragraphsummary:
Thetexts,withtheirimpersonalvoices,encouragethishopethatthereisanobjectivetruth,andthereforeitisparticularlydisturbingtoseehowtheychange,andhowfast.
Para.15
Topicsentence:
Inhistory,thesystemisreasonable—exceptthateachgenerationofchildrenreadsonlyonegenerationofschoolbooks.Thetransienthistoryisthosechildren’shistoryforever—theirparticularversionofAmerica.
DetailedAnalysisoftheText
1.Thoseofuswhogre
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- Unit7 Rewriting American History