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Academics » History Department

History Department

History at TYWLS 

 

 The TYWLS History Department is dedicated to supporting our students in developing the critical thinking skills needed in our ever changing world. 

Our mission is to engage students with the complex and varied narratives of human history by exploring a wide range of societies and cultures, both past and present. We aim to cultivate their research and analytical thinking skills, and ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. By engaging with historical study, students develop into informed, active, and reflective citizens. History education fosters critical thinking, effective communication, and a nuanced understanding of the world. We are dedicated to equipping students with the skills needed to critically assess both historical and contemporary sources. By nurturing their analytical and evaluative abilities, we aim to prepare them to make informed decisions and engage thoughtfully with media. Our goal is to provide the tools necessary for them to critically evaluate information and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

History Department Foci:

We believe our students are deserving of learning about difficult topics, and engaging with challenging source materials to prepare them for college and beyond. Our department has aligned our skills vertically so that each grade level builds upon skills learned the previous year, allowing our students to become experts by the time they graduate TYWLS. These skills, as outlined in the New York State Next Generation Learning Standards, include:

  • Paragraph & essay writing utilizing the CERC writing format
  • Historical Thinking including assessing:
    • Contextualization
    • Corroboration
    • Identifying audience
    • Determining point of view
    • Assessing the author’s purpose
    • Critiquing possible biases & assessing reliability 
  • Evaluation causes and effects
  • Citing Sources in MLA Format

Notable projects and methods:

  • Middle school history courses focus on developing students’ ability to identify evidence and writing claims. Students also work on identifying authorship, purpose, place in time and audience. 
  • 9th graders in their first year of Global History at TYWLS begin to learn the processes we use at TYWLS to critically read and analyze historical documents, as well as practice writing skills, presentation skills and  ultimately ending the year able to write strong paragraphs with historical supporting evidence. 
  • 10th graders continue to practice skills through our HIPPO protocol, and write several multi paragraph and page essays. These skills and essays prepare students for the Global History and Regents Examination that is taken in June. 
  • Some 10th graders may elect to enroll in the Global Honor’s track, offered in the beginning of the year to those students who have shown dedication and interest to their history class in 9th grade.
  • 11th graders tap into their creativity through an immersive project that challenges them to create a song, dance, scene, or poem that centers around the Revolutionary Era. This culminates in students getting the opportunity to see Hamilton: the Musical live!
  • Some 11th graders may enroll in AP U.S. History class
  • 12th graders may enroll in AP Government and Politics, while others will enroll in a semester of Government, and a semester in Economics and Personal Finance.