Making Sense of History: Using High-Quality Literature and Hands-On Experiences to Build Content Knowledge (Theory and Practice)

This book was chosen as a required text for an Elementary Social Studies Methods class I had the opportunity to teach. The book is geared to elementary teachers and students, but many of the methods could be utilized for secondary teachers/students as well.

I like that Zarnowski focuses on historical thinking, hands-on minds-on experiences, and the use of literature to strengthen student connections with history as well as their own personal experiences. I also like her focus on reading in the content area and her many examples of working through both nonfiction and historical fiction text. In addition, Zarnowski provides a variety of post-reading strategies to use with students. I would recommend this book to reading teachers, show more elementary teachers, and any teacher who is looking for something new to change up the social studies routine at the secondary level. show less