{"id":4506,"date":"2019-09-26T20:48:41","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T17:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/?p=4506"},"modified":"2019-10-10T20:52:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T17:52:05","slug":"ideas-for-making-the-most-of-your-old-history-magazines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/ideas-for-making-the-most-of-your-old-history-magazines\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas for making the most of your old History magazines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Overview<\/h2>\n

As digital archives of history articles become increasingly accessible for students and teachers, it\u2019s easy for print versions of of magazines slowly gather dust on the shelves before being unceremoniously dumped onto the charity pile during the annual classroom clearout. But looked at more creatively, those old issues of History Today, Modern History Review and Hindsight can be given a new lease of life in order to generate fresh topics of debate and inspiration for personal projects, presentations and extended essays.<\/p>\n

Case Study: \u201cWhen and Where?\u201d to broaden chronological and regional knowledge<\/h2>\n

Provide each student (or pair of students, given how many magazines you have available) with a different edition of the history magazine. Ask them to look at the cover image and the caption associated with this \u2018lead article\u2019. Without opening the magazine, invite them to make a deduction about what is going to be the \u201cwhere and when\u201d focus of this piece (e.g. Americas, Early Modern period? Britain, 19th<\/sup> Century?). After discussion in groups and\/or as a class, each student should then open the magazine, identify the article in question, and decide upon the actual \u201cwhere and when\u201d focus of the article. Each student should report their findings one at a time, and the rest of the class should take brief notes. Additionally, the teacher should record the patterns that start to emerge on the classroom whiteboard in a grid like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nAmericas<\/strong><\/td>\nAsia<\/strong><\/td>\nAfrica<\/strong><\/td>\nOceania<\/strong><\/td>\nEurope<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<1450<\/strong><\/td>\n–<\/td>\nXXX<\/td>\nX<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nXX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1450-1750<\/strong><\/td>\nX<\/td>\nXX<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nX<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1750-1900<\/strong><\/td>\nXX<\/td>\nX<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nXXX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1900-2000<\/strong><\/td>\nXXXX<\/td>\nXXXXX<\/td>\nXX<\/td>\nX<\/td>\nXXXXX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Following from this, students should be invited to draw some observations and complete some follow-up tasks to make use of their notes and the summary grid. These might include:<\/p>\n

? Which periods \/ regions appear to be most popular with historians? Why might this be?<\/p>\n

? Are there particular topics or themes which seem to be particularly popular? Why?<\/p>\n

From this initial starting point, students can go in all sorts of different directions. For example, the process could be deepened by students completing their own version of the grid outlined above for all the articles in their allocated magazine. These could then be compared and collated prior to further discussion and observations.<\/p>\n

Next, students should choose one article from their own or someone else\u2019s magazine to read more thoroughly (or skim-read, depending upon the time available) and present to the class in a mini-presentation (sticking to the strict format, perhaps, of \u201cThree interesting things and one interesting image\u201d to present in just a couple of minutes). After finishing, provide each student with a sticky-note to summarise their essential thoughts upon and to stick onto the article ready to provide inspiration and interest for the students who follow the next year.<\/p>\n

Taking it further<\/h2>\n

The ideal result of this process should be that students have broadened their perspective about the breadth of history in a way which gives them a complete break from the normal scheme of work. They should also now be aware of neglected parts of the historical record, at least insofar as these magazines would suggest.<\/p>\n

From this point, they could then proceed to conduct their own research on one of these neglected periods, places or themes and come up with a proposed question for investigation. Each of these ideas could be \u201cpitched\u201d to the teacher in a \u201cdragon\u2019s den\u201d format (with the teacher asking such questions as \u201cWhy is this interesting? Why is this significant?\u201d).<\/p>\n

Alternatively or additionally, students could design their own mock magazine cover in the same style as those they have been using, drawing attention to what they consider to be the best articles from the widest range of places and periods. After providing an explanation along with their design, this could form the basis of a stimulating display piece with the magazines themselves being placed alongside for students to dip into and hopefully gain interest and inspiration from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overview As digital archives of history articles become increasingly accessible for students and teachers, it\u2019s easy for print versions of of magazines slowly gather dust on the shelves before being unceremoniously dumped onto the charity pile during the annual classroom clearout. But looked at more creatively, those old issues of History Today, Modern History Review… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[183,1164,1170,1165],"class_list":["post-4506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-teachers","tag-history","tag-ideas","tag-magazines","tag-making"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4563,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/convert-a-teachers-essay-into-a-history-magazine-article\/","url_meta":{"origin":4506,"position":0},"title":"Convert a teacher’s essay into a History magazine article","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"October 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Overview It's always good practice for teachers to write a timed essay at the same time, and in the same conditions, as their students. In this way students can immediately appreciate that you can 'walk the walk' and not just 'talk the talk'. Moreover, they will then be able to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Historiography"","block_context":{"text":"Historiography","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historiography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Picture-1-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1562,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/history-mysteries-lesson-plans-worksheets-markschemes\/","url_meta":{"origin":4506,"position":1},"title":"History Mysteries: Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Markschemes","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"December 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've just launched a brand new section on the website called the \"ActiveHistory Mysteries\". I have been trialling these with my own students this term and they have proven to be a big hit! If you try them out with your own students, and \/ or you have any ideas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1000-1450 (Year 7 History)"","block_context":{"text":"1000-1450 (Year 7 History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/medieval\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3012,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/who-tall-are-you-classroom-display-resource\/","url_meta":{"origin":4506,"position":2},"title":"“Who Tall Are You?” – Classroom display resource","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"March 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2022 This resource is designed to be printed off on A3 paper, laminated and then placed at the appropriate height in the classroom. \u2022 Students (and teachers) are invited to stand against it and write their names at the appropriate height to find out which historical and current celebrities share\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"History Teachers","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/history-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 19.51.48","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Screen-Shot-2014-03-18-at-19.51.48-300x222.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4574,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/unseen-history-a-new-blogpost\/","url_meta":{"origin":4506,"position":3},"title":"“Unseen history” – a new blogpost","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"October 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Overview Building up a sense of anticipation and curiosity within a history lesson is always a great way to engender a sense of interest and engagement. What follows are a few ideas which I have found work particularly effectively. What's in the Bag? I am a big fan of using\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"History Teachers","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/history-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4501,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/history-teachers\/five-ideas-for-model-making-in-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":4506,"position":4},"title":"Five Ideas for Model Making in History","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"October 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Overview Designing and realising a physical model can be a very engaging and stimulating experience for bringing history alive for students in a novel and memorable way. It also provides some superb display material for creating an engaging classroom environment. 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I find it a really invaluable way of developing my teaching and my schemes of work. Here are the questions I use in case you're interested\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessment"","block_context":{"text":"Assessment","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/assessment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screenshot-2020-05-31-at-09.55.28.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/history_today.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4508,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions\/4508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}