Seixas, Peter, and Tom Morton. The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts. (2012)

Peter Seixas and Tom Morton explain that “historical thinking” is the creative process historians go through to interpret the events of the past and the general stories of history. The purpose of the book is to explore the concepts of historical thinking, articulate the problems when writing history, and then suggest pathways for students to achieve a greater understanding of what has happened in the past, rather than rely on rote memorization. Seixas and Morton root this pedagogical approach in the “Big Six” principles and explain how each concept can be applied in the classroom. Each chapter begins with an essay that explores one of the six concepts through the work of a Canadian historian, followed by a discussion of four or five “guideposts” (the big ideas related to each concept).  

Chapter 1: Historical Significance

Historical Significance emerges when the historian links elements of big, compelling concerns that exist in our lives today, such as environmental sustainability, justice, and welfare, to more specific items such as objects, or people whose historical significance is in question. Seixas and Morton provide insights on how to design lessons to achieve powerful understandings of historical significance, and include example inquiry questions, activities, and Black Line Masters (BLMs).

Chapter 2: Evidence

This chapter discusses how the process of writing history relies on primary sources and explains understanding history as interpretation, how sources become evidence, and how we analyze and take the context into account in order to help students create and understand history on multiple levels. Included in this chapter are example lessons, BLMs, activities, diagrams, vocabulary and a section on interpreting historical photographs.

Chapter 3: Continuity and Change

By looking at examples in history to identify and question change and continuity, this chapter explains how this concept encourages students to acknowledge the vast and multiple continuities that underlie change, and which contribute to the human experience. Through “teaching tips,” the authors also offer teachers advice on how to handle difficulties students might have when learning the historical approach. The chapter includes example lessons, BLMs, and activities to help integrate the concept into the classroom.

Chapter 4: Cause and Consequence

This concept suggests not just looking at the immediate factors of history/causes of history, but the interplay of causal factors ranging from the focused influence of prevailing social, political, cultural and economic conditions. Teachers should promote consideration of the actions of historical actors, the conditions which they operated in, and the interplay between the two. The chapter also has example lessons, BLMs, and activities to help integrate the concept into the classroom.

Chapter 5: Historical Perspectives

This concept suggests students engage with historical perspectives through the use of primary sources (evidence) in order to try to see through the eyes of the people who lived in times far removed from our present day lives. By teaching students to consult primary sources (evidence), students can make evidence based inferences about the thoughts and feelings of characters in history, rather than judging them from a present day perspective. Included in this chapter are ideas for role playing activities, dramatizations, and more.

Chapter 6: The Ethical Dimension

Often students judge the past harshly because they judge according to the standards and mores of the present day. By encouraging students to view events of the past in a historical context, we can help them to learn to judge the past fairly. One way Seixas and Morton suggest to do this is through reading and discussing historical narratives. They also offer more ideas on lessons plans and activities to help students understand this concept.