Our method
Elementary and middle school teachers who participated in our American Voices grant project during the 2009-10 school year worked to develop these cases during our 2010 summer institute at Central Connecticut State University, in consultation with historians from the university and elsewhere.
We were inspired by the HSI project at the College of William & Mary to develop "cases" which would give students the opportunity to act like historians, investigating a question by searching through different types of historical sources and coming to their own conclusions.
The HSI model includes four steps:
- Becoming a Detective
- Investigating the Evidence
- Searching for Clues
- Cracking the Case
We expanded on this model in order to create lessons that would include reading other materials (historical fiction and non-fiction) and incorporate other learning activities related to the case.
Several resources are provided courtesy of the Connecticut Historical Society Museum, a partner in the American Voices grant.