S1 History

The Living Past

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Mr. Gerald Chang Staffroom Ext. 561 Email: chang_shian_feng_gerald@moe.edu.sg

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Course coverage & expectations

Introduction to Secondary 1 syllabus
Ancient Civilisations of India, China and Southeast Asia

Overview of topics
Introduction to History Reconstruction of the Past Birth of Civilisations Government Society Religion & Philosophy Achievements in Arts and Sciences Contact & Interaction Internal Threats External Threats

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Course coverage & expectations

Skills to be mastered
Short Answer Questions (SAQ) Source-Based Questions (SBQ) Structured Essay Questions (SEQ)

Requirements for daily work and assignments, group projects, term assessments and examinations
To be handed in by the allocated date / time-line

Textbook, Notes and Assignments

Bring your History textbook for every lesson Files all notes, completed and marked worksheets

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

Any Questions?

~ Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love ~

JOURNEY INTO THE PAST An Introduction to History

What is History?
The story of the past People
Ordinary and famous
How they lived and what they did

What is History?
Events
Major world events, e.g. World War Two Local events, e.g. Orchard Road flooding * Their effects on us Objects/Monuments/Buildings, e.g. Victoria Memorial Hall Countries

History is the story of Mans past. When we study History, we learn more about our past. History in a record and the study of past human events which have shaped the way the world is today

What is History?
Patterns
Common features Continuity Change

History is NOT just about

Dates Dead people Hard memory work Boring

* HISTORY IS INTERESTING!

Why Study History?

Learn lessons from the past e.g. past success and failures Understand society and change e.g. understand why things are the way they are today - How did Orchard Road get its name? Learn attitudes and understand or respect people e.g. appreciate that people in the past live in an environment very different from us Learn critical thinking skills e.g. investigate, look for evidence and asking Why questions

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana

Homework
Title of Assignment: This Day in History Your Task: You will select a current day in the calendar. Conduct a research on the selected day and find one important event that took place on this day in History. Record your research findings below in no more than 150 words about the event. You can choose to type out your findings or to write them on A4 pad. *Presentation: You will be presenting this to your classmates and relate to them what had happened This Day in History during the next History lesson. Remember to keep your presentation to no more than 2 minutes.

Reconstructing the Past

Learning History
Questions to ask:
What happened When it happened Where it happened Why it happened To whom it happened What its consequences were

Learning History
Types of Sources Written Oral Non-written Artefacts Sources are collections of evidence or proof. Broad classification of sources Primary Secondary

Primary Sources
Informational sources from the time of the event Information provided by people who were involved in historical events or who witnessed the events First-hand
Examples
Written: autobiographies, diaries, letters, documents, newspaper articles, novels, poems Pictorial: film footage, photographs, maps, art

Primary Sources
Oral Spoken words of eyewitnesses to historical events E.g. Accounts, oral histories, songs, speeches Artefacts Items made and used by people of the past E.g. tools, jewellery, coins, paintings, clothes

Archaeology
The study of objects left behind by people in the past Found through excavations Artefacts

Secondary Sources
Informational sources that analyse the event, often using several primary sources and compiling the information Records of people who did not directly participate in or witness the events they describe Second-hand onwards Examples
Biographies, encyclopedias, history books, textbooks

Problems of Historians
Insufficient evidence New evidence Reliability
Biased One sided view of things? On purpose or by accident?

Fact or opinion?
Internet - can we trust what we read?

Evaluating Sources
The Three Cs
Credibility
Can we believe the source? Trustworthy? Any reason to lie or exaggerate Then the evidence may be considered unreliable

Consistency
Is the information the same when repeated? Does it contain statements that have similar meaning? i.e. Contradictory statements?

Corroboration
Do other sources say the same thing? Provide information to support it i.e. do two accounts of a same event or situation agree with one another? Two sources providing evidence to corroborate.

Facts of Opinions
Must pass the 3Cs test for a piece of evidence to be considered reliable becomes a fact historians then use a collection of facts to put together an accurate picture of the past
Thoughts or beliefs others may not agree - Opinion

Evaluating Sources
Provenance
Who produced the information? A person or a group? When was the information produced? Where was the information published?

Content
What does the source tell me?

Reliability
Does the information show a particular point of view, perspective or bias?

Usefulness
Does the source tell me what I need to know?

Measuring History
Chronology
Putting events in their order of happening

Circa/c. = around the time of Decade (10 years), century (100 years), millennium (1000 years) Dynasties and periods
Chinese history, e.g. Han/Qin/Tang Dynasties

Measuring History
Counting history
Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domini (AD) Before Common Era (BCE) and Common Era (CE)

Dating systems
Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Gregorian

The Living Past

Evolving history
Discovery of new evidence Need to revise views and interpretations History that includes the role of women (Herstory)

Prehistory and History

Artefacts vs written records Ages and periods