How many history essays have your students read?

You might have seen this special collector's edition of Canada's History - the Big Questions of Canada. I know I've given them to lots of teachers, and I found the essays enlightening and engaging for myself.

The question I'm addressing in this blog post is, how could you use this in your classroom?

I think we need to back up a little and ask ourselves, as history teachers a fundamental question:

How many history essays have your students actually read?

I know I had never really asked my students to read a well-written history essay, I just asked them to write a well-written history essay! I would venture to say that probably most teenagers are not seeking out history essays to read in their free time, so it's likely that the only place they would have encountered one is in history class.


How could I expect my students to write a good history essay if they had never even read one?!!

The light bulb went off for me a few years ago, when I learned about using mentor-texts. The concept is simple, but effective. Have students read a text like a writer. Guide them in understanding how the text is put together and what the writer does to engage you, persuade you, or inform you. You can get more tips on how you might use mentor-texts in this Edutopia blog post, and I will write about some strategies I've used in World History classes to address this gap.

In this special issue of Canada's History, they have gathered together real essays written by prominent Canadians who have a passion and expertise for the topic. These passions shine through in their writing, they know their material, and they are commenting on a lifetime of work.

• Lt. General Roméo Dallaire on- How can Canada be a global leader?
• Ry Moran on How do we achieve true reconciliation?
• Adrienne Clarkson on What does is mean to be a nation of immigrants?
• Charlotte Gray on Does Canadian culture need protecting?
• Merna Forster on Is gender equality achievable?
• Andrew Coyne on Does federalism have a future?

This is a ready-made text-set! You could have students choose the topic or question that they are interested in learning about. They will get not only a primer on the history of that question, and some insight into contemporary realities, but they could analyse the essay itself for all of those things that we are looking for in their writing.

I would recommend having students discuss and generate some responses to these big questions, and possible evidence they might use, before reading, as an anticipation guide. These ideas can be revisited after the activity to see how their ideas have changed.

• What is their thesis?
• What are their main arguments?
• Is the author using a historical thinking concept or approach? If so, which one(s)?
• What evidence do they use to support their arguments?
• What persuasive techniques do they use to convince the reader?
• What are your thoughts and questions? Are you convinced? What questions remain?

What I love about using these essays in the classroom is that they are directly tied to the reasons why we teach history or social studies in Canada. Our responsibility as history teachers is not to prepare our students to become historians, but to prepare them to become citizens who can articulate their views on an issue of relevance to them by using evidence. 

What better way to invite our students into the national conversation than by inviting them into the national conversation!

Please share how you are using these Big Questions and essays in the comments or connect with me on Twitter @rcollishaw



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