Reading Like a Historian: Teaching Literacy in Middle and High School History Classrooms—Aligned with Common Core State Standards

This popular text shows how to apply Wineburg’s highly acclaimed approach to teaching— Reading Like a Historian—to middle and high school classrooms, increasing academic literacy and sparking students’ curiosity. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay that sets the stage of a key moment in American history—beginning with exploration and colonization and the events at Jamestown and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Primary documents, charts, graphic organizers, visual images, and political cartoons follow each essay, as well as suggestions for where to find additional resources on the Internet and guidance for assessing students’ understanding of core historical ideas.

Reading Like a Historian helps teachers use textbooks creatively and provides a wealth of ideas for how historical instruction can enhance students’ skills in reading comprehension.