Grasping the Past to Inform the Present

Abstract

By highlighting the intersections between two powerful instructional frameworks-historical inquiry using primary sources and culturally relevant pedagogy-this article demonstrates that powerful civic engagement can be developed at any age. A third-grade classroom example shows how rigorous historical investigation builds knowledge about the past that helps students recognize and communicate about the same historic issue in modern times and what students can do about it. Primary sources from the Library of Congress provide accessible historical evidence that allows students to construct knowledge about a historic period, develop a complex understanding about continuity and change over time, and see themselves as participants in democracy.