This study assessed the influence of emphasizing historical investigation with fifth graders through documentation of classroom activities and students' analysis of historical documents and images before and after the design experiment. Data suggested that the investigative approach holds promise for teaching fifth graders how to analyze…

This report is one of a series on how curriculum unit experiences in U.S. history influenced the learning of fifth-grade students. This report focuses on the American Revolution period. Before the unit began, three classes of fifth graders stated what they knew (or thought they knew) about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War, the War…

A naturalistic study explored a classroom in which multiple history text resources were present and actively used by fifth-grade students. The teacher used the textbook and supplemented it with a wide assortment of trade books. Students worked in small groups of 3 to 5 students. Data included field notes of classroom observations and in-depth…

Over the past 10 years, traditional elementary history textbooks have been criticized by a number of reviewers. In part as a result, some fifth-grade teachers, many of whom have students who are learning chronological U.S. history for the first time, have begun to augment these textbooks with biographies, historical fiction, literature-based…