Massachusetts' Big Move on Elementary History | History Matters Podcast

In Medway, Massachusetts, “social studies is a subject to be valued,” fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Lindsey explains in this episode. “It’s the place to teach kids how to talk to each other and negotiate conversations and digest information and form an opinion—but also listen to others’ opinions and back that up with evidence,” she says.

This content-rich, inquiry-based learning is powered by Investigating History, a new, free social studies curriculum developed by Massachusetts teachers, scholars, and the state education department. It’s aligned to state standards and is available for grades 5–7; a pilot of grades 3–4 is underway.

Lindsey describes the “resource gap” of the past: either textbooks from 1992 or materials from the Internet, much of which is intended for teenage students. The state-developed curriculum is designed to build knowledge and literacy and critical-thinking skills in young students and works within a daily 30-minute timeslot, she tells host Barbara Davidson.

“Three core routines—a supporting question launch, an investigating sources routine, and a putting it together routine—really set kids up nicely to learn some solid informational texts and written and oral discourse skills because they are starting from a place of curiosity,” she says. “And in my literacy block, I’m teaching kids how to ask questions to keep themselves engaged and how to clarify ideas by asking questions. Those two things go hand-in-hand.”

The curriculum also is designed to support teachers with their content knowledge and provide guidance for challenging questions and conversations, Lindsay says. In one lesson, fifth-grade students are tasked with advising the president on a major decision, such as whether to declare war on Great Britain in 1812. They research the options and present their advice to the class—and often disagree with what actually happened.

“Fifth graders are talking about foreign policy and it will blow your mind,” she says. “Tiny humans can have the hard conversations.”

This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign and StandardsWork, on behalf of the History Matters Campaign. Follow the History Matters Campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Search #historymatters to join the conversation.

Production by Tressa Versteeg. Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.

Transcript

Jennifer Lindsey 

Social studies is the place to teach kids how to talk to each other and negotiate conversations and digest information and form an opinion. But also listen to others opinions and back that up with evidence. And at the elementary age, I just feel like that's the place for some of that work.

Barbara Davidson

Welcome to the History Matters podcast. I'm your host, Barbara Davidson, President of Standards Work and Executive Director of the Knowledge Matters Campaign. 

In today’s podcast, I’m joined by Jennifer Lindsey, a fifth grade teacher at Medway Middle School in Medway, Massachusetts. For almost five years, she’s been using a structured social studies curriculum called Investigating History that was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This past summer, Jennifer facilitated professional learning for districts piloting the new grades three-four rollout of Investigating History. Our conversation explored not only the benefits of this content-rich approach to social studies, but also the vital role that curriculum-based professional learning has played in the wide embrace of Investigating History across the state.

I think you will enjoy this conversation.   

Barbara Davidson

I'd like to ask you to sort of set the stage for us, if you will, and tell us a little bit about the state's rollout of Investigating history.

Jennifer Lindsey 

My experience with the rollout is that, like, we were craving for something more comprehensive than the textbook from 1992 that we have been using in our district. And there really wasn't anything out there developmentally appropriate to teach fifth graders about the connections of the economy, the legacy of the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement. There was just a real resource gap for elementary age students. And everything like on the internet as a teacher, if we would try to go and search and find things, it was geared towards eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth grade. And then as an elementary teacher, it's just hard to bring that down. 

So we were really excited when the state said that they were developing materials. And we really ー at the teacher level, our administration was very supportive of us, like saying, no, we want to do this. We want to do this. It was in the height of the science of reading craze and we were getting a new reading program. But we were like, no, we understand it's going to been ー a big undertaking, but we ー the textbook approach doesn't work. 

And social studies is important and our district really valued social studies and they applied for the pilot in 2021 and we got in.  And the curriculum that exists now is so much more reflective of what we can do on a day-to-day basis in an elementary classroom with short digestible 30-minute lessons, and I really like it. 

Barbara Davidson 

Oh my gosh, there is so much in what you just said that I want, you know, to dig in on. And I guess the place to start is if you could just talk a little bit more about what wasn't working. 

Jennifer Lindsey

I think at my grade level specifically ー at the time we taught history every day in fifth grade. And we were using, like I ー I went to school in the district I teach in. So one of the textbooks in my classroom, like my name was in the textbook. 

Barbara Davidson 

[gasps] Oh my goodness.

Jennifer Lindsey 

That's how old it was. So I ー I felt this call to action just around social studies personally. But like reading a textbook, taking two column notes, memorizing dates and historical figures and battles and names of places just wasn't engaging for kids. They were bored and they didn't retain anything. And social studies wasn't something they left the classroom talking about. 

And there's a sense of urgency around social studies instruction, I think now just because of the time we live in and the discourse and people's ability to divide into camps and not be able to consider perspectives that we really felt this call to: Social studies is the place to teach kids how to talk to each other and negotiate conversations and digest information and form an opinion, but also listen to others opinions and back that up with evidence. And at the elementary age, I just feel like that's the place for some of that work. And in history, we can teach them how to be human just like we can when we read books.

Barbara Davidson

Well, that was so beautifully stated. And I mean, what kind of content are you all ー are your kids learning in fifth grade?

Jennifer Lindsey 

So the fifth grade curriculum starts with early colonization and the growth of the colonies. And then they have a unit on the American Revolution, the development of the Constitution, and just some really founding principles about government. And then the end of the year is all about the growth of the Republic beyond Lewis and Clark. And then the fourth unit is really focused on the legacy of the Civil War. Not so much nuanced information about battles and generals and ー they do read about those and they get information but it’s ー the curriculum, like, at the end of unit one, it plants this idea of like, is America a place or is America an idea? As kids go through, they learn about like, what were the founding values of the country through all of the historical content and then how people took action to live up to those values. 

And so, yeah, it's ー they have some really deep conversations and they have sources and evidence and content rich materials. But like, having to let go of, like, teaching all of the battles of the revolution and all of the Massachusetts history is something that I think as fifth grade teachers, we sort of go: Oh but, but we're in Massachusetts. And like, that's what we live and breathe. But they don't necessarily need a test on all of that inf ー all of those facts to get the actual greater story. That the colony is united as one, that there were, there were more than two sides. It was more than just patriots and British. There was an indigenous perspective and there were people who wanted to be neutral. And what were the ideas they were fighting for. 

And then as we go through the year, like, is America living up to those ideas? Who's benefiting from the actions we're taking? Who's being harmed by the actions? How did things change? And how do people act to protect their rights and interests, is a really big thread throughout the whole fifth grade year.

Barbara Davidson 

So, I guess that that gives rise to my next question which is how are the kids responding?

Jennifer Lindsey

They really like social studies. And they really enjoy the fact that they can share their opinions. And because there are so many perspectives in the resources provided, when you are planning a lesson or deciding how to deliver it in whatever timeframe you have to teach social studies in an elementary setting, you can really give kids choice in who they read about. And they have the opportunity to see other people's lived experiences and answer their own questions that they're curious about, beyond things that they can just type into Google. And they, they really get excited. 

Barbara Davidson

Is there a particular lesson that you'd like to share that your kids have been over the moon about or particularly engaged with?

Jennifer Lindsey 

There are several, but there's this one no matter ー all four years I've taught it, in unit three, the very first cluster is all about Americans' early foreign policy decisions. And the ー yes, fifth graders are talking about foreign policy and it will blow your mind. 

They get assigned a brief. And some of them get assigned a brief about John Adams' decision about the Alien and Sedition Acts or James Madison deciding to go to a war in ー The War of 1812, or George Washington deciding to stay neutral. But like, they get told like you are working for the State Department and you need to help the president come up with a decision. So here are the facts and you need to make a recommendation to either President Washington or President Madison or President Adams and what should he do and why. And then they present to the class what they think. And then they find out what really happened and sometimes they're really disappointed. And, and they, they get really opinionated about why the president should have chosen something different. 

But before that moment, I don't think they realize that, although we've learned that the president has a cabinet, they don't really internalize what those advisors do. And that that's a real job and that's a real career path. So that professional framing piece in that lesson specifically really hooks kids.

Barbara Davidson 

As you were talking it made me imagine the ways in which that's being experienced by the students in dialogue. I suspect that they are writing, that there’re ー claims that they're making and writing that they're being asked to do. So that makes me think about how literacy ー this curriculum is supporting literacy. And to what extent you you see that and maybe even see evidence of it in terms of reading comprehension and the building of literacy skills?

Jennifer Lindsey

I think the core of Investigating History, no matter what grade you're in, just that there are these three core routines ー a supporting question launch, an investigating sources routine, and a putting it together routine ー really set kids up nicely to really learn some solid informational texts and like written and oral discourse skills because they're starting from a place of curiosity. And in my literacy block, I'm teaching kids how to ask questions to keep themselves engaged, and how to clarify ideas by asking questions. Those two things go hand in hand. 

And then when students are investigating sources, they're using a close reading protocol. And they're using a close reading protocol not on a secondary source or a book about frogs or snakes or or baseball ー whatever their high interest area is, but on a primary source, which is really complex text.

So then they're bringing those ideas to conversation before they have to write. And I tell my kids all the time, if you can say it, you can write it. And I believe firmly that I can't expect kids to have strong opinion writing or strong argument writing if they can't clearly communicate those ideas first in their listening and speaking skills. And so I think Investigating History, because there's so much oral discourse, their writing over time is just, is stronger. And then we can make connections to those two things, especially in elementary where you're also responsible for the literacy instruction.

Barbara Davidson

So I'd like to pivot if we can and talk about how hard it was to learn the curriculum and what kinds of things you noted in the trainings that you did this summer that teachers are particularly either struggling with or feel that the curriculum is a solution, you know, for them.

Jennifer Lindsey 

Yeah, so I think the biggest shift ー especially for teachers who aren't diving in headfirst, like electing in. So myself and one of my colleague ー we elected in and we knew it was going to be hard work. And so our mindset might be different than someone who ー whose district is saying: This is what we're doing. You're going to this training. Learn it, do it. 

And so I think it's a really big pedagogical shift in social studies specifically to go from reading about history, answering questions, taking a test and having a study guide, to really framing it around student curiosity and in inquiry design. And I think that pedagogical shift is really hard for folks in the beginning. 

Barbara Davidson

Well, it would be if you don’t ー if you feel insecure with the content too, probably, right?

Jennifer Lindesey 

Like as a fifth grade teacher, most people feel confident teaching the 13 Colonies and the American Revolution. But then after Lewis and Clark, which is like before ーbefore Investigating History, most people, that's about how far we got because there just wasn’t resources ー content knowledge tends to dip and then there's discomfort. 

So as you're trying to change your instructional approach, if you're also anxious about content, you're gonna go back to what you know. Just like our kids, when they're anxious, they do what they know and they don't wanna move. And so I think content knowledge is a place where there's some anxiety. 

And then when we're talking about hard histories and marginalized people, it's also a place where adults are afraid to make mistakes. It's people's comfort level with those topics, there can be a tendency to want to avoid some of the harder lessons. And whether it's a belief that it's not appropriate for kids that age to talk about race. Whether it's a place of: I don't feel comfortable, so I don't think my kids will feel comfortable. Or sometimes it's the political and community climate that they live in, which can make people hesitant to talk about multiple perspectives. 

But ー and it's hard work. And I think the state has done a really nice job recognizing that there's a content knowledge piece and then every unit has a background brief that goes with it to help teach ー support teacher content knowledge development, which has been really helpful.

Barbara Davidson 

Yeah, that's great. I was just going to ask you about that. And can I imagine that there is some guidance about how to handle some of these more difficult conversations?

Jennifer Lindsey

There absolutely is in the lesson plans. There are, there are teacher tips. There are notes in the lesson plans about how to handle those topics. It's framed in a very developmentally appropriate way. I think the angst is really adult angst. Because the kids can have the conversation. And the kids will come into it from a place of curiosity. And it's hard for us as adults to set aside everything we know that's going on in the background. But sometimes we just have to acknowledge that what's in the lesson plan is really what they need to be set up for success. 

Everyone talks about stepping outside of your comfort zone when you're teaching hard history. But I think looking at the resources in the curriculum and reading the boxes about how to talk about hard history will help people more expand their comfort zone so that when ー cus when you step outside your comfort zone, you get anxious and then you fall back into patterns and then maybe you step outside of the new pedagogy. But you want to be, you want to feel comfortable with what you're teaching. 

Barbara Davidson 

That's great. Well, my only last question, Jen, is one that I've been asking others on the podcast. What gives you hope about elementary history instruction?

Jennifer Lindsey 

I think the fact that there is now this sense of urgency and calling behind the fact that it's necessary. And social studies is a subject to be valued and not necessarily a project of the month or a once a week opportunity if we have time for it.

I think there’s ー there's a lot to be said about connecting history to literacy because it's, it's narrative in nature. And I just think it's hopeful just for the subject area, but also just because the tiny humans can have the hard conversations. And those skills will only carry them forward and make the more nuanced conversations they have in the upper grades richer, if the upper grade teachers don't have to teach them how to negotiate a disagreement because they learned how to do that in fourth grade social studies.

Barbara Davidson

This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign. You can learn more about our work at knowledgematterscampaign.org. 

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