Fey 2018

Using English and Language Arts Skills

to Increase Understanding of History Content

The focus of my investigation is to engage students in higher-level thinking through encouraging them to draw connections between ELA content and skills and the AP History content. Building on the work I had done with this group when they were in 8th grade, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could help them make connections and retain information from their AP History class thereby helping them practice and refine their ELA skills while also retaining and comprehending the history content at a deeper and more meaningful level.

Skills in common between Honors English 10 and AP World History were identified with the help of Mr Frazier the AP World History teacher for 10B.

Texts were matched with History content

"The only issue that I have with the tie-ins between History and English is that the books we are reading in English class are always behind regarding where we are in history. If we were to read books that were about an era ahead, that would give us the background when entering that period of time in History." EN

A compilation of data collected over the course of the 2017-2018 school year

The practical measure of the success of this project is determined by the EOC and AP scores in History. The World History and Geography EOC take place on May 1 and the AP World History test takes place May 17, after the presentation date. However, there are some preliminary results that are of interest including student perception of the success of the cross-curricular experiment. While some students found the cross-curricular connection of ELA and History confusing most students reported an enriched understanding of both History and English

Survey Responses

Does English Help With History?

I can sometimes make connections between the books we are reading in English and the period we are studying in History; I know that is the point of the parallel curriculum, but it can be hard to do that sometimes, so it's pretty cool when it actually ends up working.

Through the reading of Julius Caesar, I was able to dive into and learn about the way of life in Rome through Shakespeare's writing during the times that we studied in history. Because of this, I can better understand what we are studying in both English and History since they both complement each other very well.

Overall, I would say that while the subjects are closely related, and help with understanding each other, the crossing of information can be confusing.

When we did the objects in space presentation we were able to connect it with the different way Greeks and Romans viewed the world. That helped us understand parts of Julius Caesar when we read that.

Personally, I believe that reading books in English that relate to and are about the time periods that we study in History actually assists immensely, as they give us a background and a PERSIA-G outline on the material. It creates points about the societal norms and economy that we are then able to reference when writing essays in History.

My knowledge of history has definitely been aided by the works we explore in class and has been a great addition and help to what I am currently learning.

For example, with Othello we were able to further discuss Othello and what he represented at the time which helped us further understand the time period of the Venetians and Moors and why there were existing conflicts between those two groups of people.

The setting of stories like Shakespeare's and "The Inferno" help describe how life was viewed back when these stories were written. Even stories like "The Epic of Gilgamesh" helps me understand how early human civilizations began to communicate and tell stories. Overall, English class helps my understanding of World History class.

Does History Help With English?

History class allows us to understand why the characters are acting as they are in the books and how their community works in regards to the culture and the influencers of their behavioral patterns.

I think that history class and the connections you and Mr. Frazier have made in regards to which novels to read with which historical time period we are in is helpful.

I have found that our AP World History class helps me to understand what we read in English. As our history class is usually ahead of our English class chronologically, we have almost always reviewed the era in which a story was written before we read it in English. The background knowledge I have of the time period really aids in my overall comprehension. Coming in with an adequate grasp on the mindset, cultural tensions, and political circumstances of the time allows me to gain a deeper understanding of what might be going through a certain character's mind as he or she makes their decisions.

Cross-curricular connections between English and AP World History provided excellent opportunities for deep questioning and generated teachable moments that helped to reinforce both subjects. The most remarkable and perhaps far-reaching impact was the connections students made between the content and contemporary life. The juxtaposition of contemporary content with classical or historical texts over the course of the semester helps students realize that although some things change over time and from place to place, there is something essentially human that connects us all. When students begin to recognize the common humanity of people from the distant past they can begin to apply that idea to people in general. The recognition that despite our differences we are all simultaneously part of our historical moment and part of the human race engenders greater understanding and compassion for their contemporaries. That is the beginning of civil discourse and civil society and it may be our best hope for the future.