Why we need thinking skills
Historical narrative, explanation, role-play, TV programmes etc can give children the information, or they can find it out for themselves, but how do they understand it? How do they represent it in their heads? In what form do they store it? Is the knowledge accessible for use? Can it be retrieved and applied or manipulated?
History is complex, involving many-faceted elements. Children need help in visualising this often, using complex maps of interactions such as Venn diagrams, Concept maps, Tables, Charts, Networks, Webs and Flow diagrams.
All these approaches help children to:
- See relationships
- Make associations
- See and form categories
- Distinguish relevant information
- Analyse ideas
- Relate new information to existing information
- Show how different parts of the topic relate to one another
We can use these devices at the beginning of a topic to provide an overview, during a topic (as a thinking tool) or
