How do you know that? That’s the question we ask our students when they’re analyzing primary sources from the past. What if something else, something bigger, was going on here? We can break the sentence down and emphasize the how or the that, but that’s only part of the equation. Living in the western world, we’re a very evidence and reason based society. We want to know exactly how something happened, when it happened, and who was there and if you could put it in chronological order, that’d be great. Those are all things we need to do. What I’m talking about is getting your students to expand their perspectives.
As teachers, we should incorporate storytelling into our lessons that deal with primary sources. It doesn’t have to be anything lengthy or elaborate, just something that hooks your students into the problem of the time period you’re studying. Instead of discussing things in a linear fashion, base your discussions around topics and don’t emphasize the timeline. Just like two people who witness the same event share different perspectives, organizing how you discuss the past can help your students begin to understand that a historical event meant something to those in the past and you can use this connection to hook them into the lesson for the day.
Ryan Wagoner
Lyceum of History
“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” ~Alexander the Great
Lyceum of History 
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