Ensuring Valid Effective Rigorous Assessments

To young adolescents, historical
figures are a bunch of dead guys.
Many students believe the issues,
values, and perspectives of the
people from the past hold no
relevance to their lives in the 21st
century. However, perspectivewriting
activities in the middle
school social studies classroom
can help young adolescents grasp
the importance of people from the
past who have affected the world
around them today.
Perspective-writing
activities call on
students to research
all aspects of an
historical individual
and apply that
knowledge by writing
a short piece as if they
were that person.
Perspective-writing activities
call on students to research all
aspects of an historical individual
and apply that knowledge by
writing a short piece as if they
were that person. Students must
consider how an historical figure
might think and feel about events,
issues, and other people in his or
her time period. It’s an opportunity
for students to truly engage with
history.
One key ingredient of
successful perspective-writing
activities is incorporating texts
that capture the personalities
and values of historical figures.
The readily available supply of
digitized online primary sources
can help teachers accomplish this
goal. For example, free digitized
primary sources are available from
the Library of Congress (www.
loc.gov) and the National Archives
(www.archives.gov).
Here are three classroom
activities that incorporate
perspective writing.
Why Only Nixon Could
Go to China
After years of fighting Klingons
and building up resentment
because one of them murdered
his son, Captain Kirk is upset
that he is to be the Federation’s
representative at a meeting to
discuss peace with the Klingon
Empire. Mr. Spock says to him,
“There is an old Vulcan proverb:
Only Nixon could go to China.”
This quote from Star Trek
VI: The Undiscovered Country
illustrates the importance of
moving past recalling facts such
as what U.S. president visited
China, and examining the reasons
why Nixon could visit China
despite weak U.S.–China relations.
This is the type of analysis that
students should be doing in our
social studies classrooms.
Unfortunately, many students
do not come into our classrooms
with the prerequisite skills for this
type of analysis. Social studies
teachers need to scaffold this
type of thinking with multiple
opportunities for students to
critically examine a text with
an eye to exploring an historical
figure’s beliefs.
Teachers might select a short
passage from a text that captures
the personality and beliefs of an
historical figure. Henry Clay: The
Essential American, by David
and Jeanne Heidler, is a great
biography that depicts the values
of a man considered to be one
of the greatest U.S. senators.
Chapter two includes many quotes
from Clay about his core beliefs.
The students could answer the
following questions while reading:
1. What were Clay’s views on the
issue of slavery?
2. How do the authors describe
Clay as a public speaker?
3. Why did Clay favor the use of
government funds for public
projects?
Students could then discuss
these questions in small groups,
supporting their reasoning
with quotes from the text. This
process familiarizes students
with defending their arguments
through evidence, teaches them
how to read a text critically,
and helps them glean a great
deal about the personalities and
values of an historical figure in
preparation for perspective-writing
activities.
Blogging with Bilbo
Many people find it cathartic to
write down daily events in their
lives. In J. R. R. Tolkein’s The
Hobbit, if Bilbo Baggins had not
penned There and Back Again,
we would never have seen his
personal growth from a sheltered
hobbit to one with a spirit for
adventure. Personal accounts
allow insight into the innermost
thoughts and feelings of others.
With this activity, students
assume the role of an historical
figure and create a blog about
an event. As illustration, here’s a
possible blog entry from Justinian
the Great’s perspective:
From humble beginnings,
I arose to be the greatest king
of the Byzantine Empire. It is
24 ASSOCIATION FOR MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION amle.org