s1 history - introduction to history

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

S1 History

The Living Past

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Mr. Gerald ChangStaffroom Ext. 561

Email: chang_shian_feng_gerald@moe.edu.sg

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Course coverage & expectations

Introduction to Secondary 1 syllabus Ancient Civilisations of India, China and Southeast Asia

Overview of topics Introduction to History Reconstruction of the Past Birth of Civilisations Government Society Religion & Philosophy Achievements in Arts and Sciences Contact & Interaction Internal Threats External Threats

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Course coverage & expectations

Skills to be mastered Short Answer Questions (SAQ) Source-Based Questions (SBQ) Structured Essay Questions (SEQ)

Requirements for daily work and assignments, group projects, term assessments and examinations To be handed in by the allocated date / time-line

Textbook, Notes and Assignments Bring your History textbook for every lesson Files all notes, completed and marked worksheets

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Any Questions?

JOURNEY INTO THE PASTAn Introduction to History

What is History?

The story of the past People

Ordinary and famous How they lived and what they

did

What is History? Events

Major world events, e.g. World War Two Local events, e.g. Orchard Road flooding* Their effects on us

Objects/Monuments/Buildings, e.g. Victoria Memorial Hall

Countries

History is the story of Man’s past. When we study History, we learn more about our past.

History in a record and the study of past human events which have shaped the way the world is today

What is History?

Patterns Common features Continuity Change

History is NOT just about

Dates Dead people Hard memory work Boring

* HISTORY IS INTERESTING!

Why Study History? Learn lessons from the past e.g. past success

and failures Understand society and change e.g.

understand why things are the way they are today - How did Orchard Road get its name?

Learn attitudes and understand or respect people e.g. appreciate that people in the past live in an environment very different from us

Learn critical thinking skills e.g. investigate, look for evidence and asking ‘Why’ questions

“Those who cannot remember the past are

condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana

HomeworkTitle of Assignment: “This Day in History”

Your Task: You will select a current day in the calendar. Conduct a research on the selected day and find one important event that took place on this day in History. Record your research findings below in no more than 150 words about the event. You can choose to type out your findings or to write them on A4 pad.

 *Presentation: You will be presenting this to your

classmates and relate to them what had happened ‘This Day in History’ during the next History lesson. Remember to keep your presentation to no more than 2 minutes.

Reconstructing the Past

Learning History

Questions to ask: What happened When it happened Where it happened Why it happened To whom it happened What its consequences were

Learning History Types of Sources

Written Oral Non-written Artefacts

Sources are collections of evidence or proof.

Broad classification of sources Primary Secondary

Primary Sources

Informational sources from the time of the event – Information provided by people who were involved in historical events or who witnessed the events

First-hand Examples

Written: autobiographies, diaries, letters, documents, newspaper articles, novels, poems

Pictorial: film footage, photographs, maps, art

Primary Sources Oral – Spoken words of eyewitnesses to

historical events E.g. Accounts, oral histories, songs, speeches

Artefacts – Items made and used by people of the past E.g. tools, jewellery, coins, paintings, clothes

Archaeology

The study of objects left behind by people in the past

Found through excavations Artefacts

Secondary Sources

Informational sources that analyse the event, often using several primary sources and compiling the information – Records of people who did not directly participate in or witness the events they describe

Second-hand onwards Examples

Biographies, encyclopedias, history books, textbooks

Problems of Historians

Insufficient evidence New evidence Reliability

Biased – One sided view of things? On purpose or by accident?

Fact or opinion? Internet - can we trust

what we read?

Evaluating Sources The Three Cs

Credibility Can we believe the source? Trustworthy? Any reason to lie or exaggerate – Then the evidence may be

considered unreliable Consistency

Is the information the same when repeated? Does it contain statements that have similar meaning? i.e.

Contradictory statements? Corroboration

Do other sources say the same thing? Provide information to support it i.e. do two accounts of a

same event or situation agree with one another? Two sources providing evidence to corroborate.

Facts of Opinions

Must pass the 3Cs test for a piece of evidence to be considered reliable – becomes a fact – historians then use a collection of facts to put together an accurate picture of the past

Thoughts or beliefs – others may not agree - Opinion

Evaluating Sources Provenance

Who produced the information? A person or a group?

When was the information produced? Where was the information published?

Content What does the source tell me?

Reliability Does the information show a particular point of

view, perspective or bias? Usefulness

Does the source tell me what I need to know?

Measuring History

Chronology Putting events in their order of

happening

Circa/c. = around the time of Decade (10 years), century (100

years), millennium (1000 years) Dynasties and periods

Chinese history, e.g. Han/Qin/Tang Dynasties

Measuring History

Counting history Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domini (AD) Before Common Era (BCE) and Common

Era (CE)

Dating systems Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Indian,

Gregorian

The Living Past

Evolving history Discovery of new evidence Need to revise views and interpretations History that includes the role of women

(“Herstory”)

Prehistory and History

Artefacts vs written records

Ages and periods