7 Themes

Chronological Reasoning1. Historical Causation: relationships among multiple historical causes and effects, distinguishing between those that are long-term and proximate, and among coincidence, causation and correlation.

2. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time: the dynamics of historical continuity and change and relate historical patterns to larger historical processes or themes.

3. Periodization: models that historians use to organize history into discrete periods (turning points, dates), while exploring the causes and consequences of the narratives that develop as a result of historians’ choices about periodization.

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Comparison and Contextualization4) Comparison: historical developments and processes across place, time and different societies or within one society as well as evaluate multiple and differing perspectives on a given historical phenomenon.

5) Contextualization: the connections between historical events and processes to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes.

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Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence

6) Historical Argumentation: evidence used in commonly accepted historical arguments. Construct convincing interpretations through the use of and analysis of historical evidence. Evaluate and synthesize conflicting historical evidence to construct persuasive arguments.

7) Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence: supportable inferences and draw appropriate conclusions from historical evidence by considering audience, purpose, point of view, format, argument limitations and context.

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Historical Interpretation and Synthesis8) Interpretation: diverse interpretations of the past while recognizing how circumstances and contexts effect historians work which shapes interpretations of the past.

9) Synthesis: develop meaningful and persuasive understandings by using the historical thinking skills, methods from different fields of inquiry or disciplines, and through the use of primary and secondary sources.

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