Abstract
History is a language-based discipline. In this discipline, language plays a central role in understanding, reasoning, and explanation. Doing history entails engaging in close reading and evaluation of particular texts, reading across texts to establish intertextual links, constructing meaning by juxtaposing a series of texts, and writing arguments to support a particular interpretation of events, structures, themes, or metasystems (Leinhardt, Stainton, Virji, & Odoroff, 1994, Cognitive and instructional processes in the social sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates). Learning history requires teachers and students to engage with multiple kinds of texts deeply, fluently, and analytically
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- 1.
Between 1991 and 2001 the ELL population in public schools increased 105% (Kindler, 2002).
- 2.
This approach is based on M.A.K. Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar.
- 3.
By genre we mean the different forms texts take in connection to the social purpose they are fulfilling. Genres are usually described in terms of their rhetorical, discursive, and grammatical features.
- 4.
We are using the term historical narrative following historian Tom Holt’s work. In Thinking Historically (1990) Holt says “history is fundamentally and inescapably narrative in its basic structure, even when it is not reported in a narrative form” (pp. 12–13). This use of narrative differs from its use in linguistics where it refers only to a particular genre among many (see for example Coffin, 2006).
- 5.
The situation of African Americans today reveals how this historical period is still relevant to comprehend the current social and economic conditions of this group. According to the U.S. census special report on American communities (2007) Black workers are less likely to be employed in management, profession and related occupations. The poverty rate for Blacks is higher than for other groups: one of every four lives below the poverty level. Blacks also have a lower median income and are more likely to rent their homes.
- 6.
“Groups of people who use language for similar purposes develop, over time, common types of spoken and written texts which achieve their common goals. People who share an understanding of how the common purposes of a culture are achieved with language will therefore be able to predict, to a large extent, the structure and language of the texts they encounter.” Droga & Humphrey (2002: 2–3). Genre is a term used in literacy pedagogy to connect the different forms texts take with variations in social purpose. Texts are different because they do different things. (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993:7)
- 7.
See appendix.
- 8.
Lacking instructions from D.C. Washington, the field orders were written by Sherman to solve the problem of having newly freed slaves following his army. By settling them on reclaimed land he removed refugees from his operations and created a potential way to allow them to join the military service in the future.
- 9.
Referrers are pointing words. A participant or circumstance introduced in one part of the text can be taken as a reference point for something that follows. This means that something can appear again (before or after) or is the basis of comparison. These ‘pointing’ words link outwards to a person or thing in the environment or inwards to something in the text. In English the main categories of reference words include: pronouns, demonstrative (time and place), and comparatives.
- 10.
Modals are helping verbs that encode various meanings of necessity, obligation, possibility, permission, etc.
- 11.
These excerpts are from: PBS, American Experience, “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/40acres/ps_so15.html,: Holt, T. (1990). Thinking historically: Narrative, imagination, and understanding. New York: College Entrance Examination Board. pp. 23–25; and Danzer, G.A., et. al. (2003). The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. p. 390.
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Acknowledgments
We want to especially acknowledge the work of Anita Ravi (originally leader of the Disciplinary Literacy History team at the IFL) who was key in the development of the model unit developed here. We also want to recognize Dr. Joan Mohr’s work as facilitator in the IFL professional development sessions and as a historian who provided an expert’s perspective. Both were instrumental in the development of the model unit we codeveloped and present here.
We also would like to thank Mary Schleppegrell who provided us with clear comments and good suggestions on how to improve the paper. And finally, our thanks go to Gaea Leinhardt who was generous enough to read the paper and give us comments as well as inspire us with her work. Problems with the paper are our own responsibility.
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Achugar, M., Stainton, C. (2010). Learning History and Learning Language: Focusing on Language in Historical Explanations to Support English Language Learners. In: Stein, M., Kucan, L. (eds) Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0594-9_10
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