10/16: An Authentic Hypothetical

Authentic activities may help students develop a more thorough knowledge of content presented in the classroom (Ormrod 231). Moreover, having students write letters to real people may improve their overall writing skills more than traditional writing exercises (Ormrod 231). And though authentic activities may be more difficult to incorporate into a history lesson than other subjects, I would do well by my students to include authentic tasks in my lesson plans.

One authentic task I plan on including in my future classroom is having students write a letter to a historical figure. To be more specific, in a lesson on the Cold War, I would have students write a letter to president Johnson either supporting or protesting the Vietnam War. This letter would require students to understand the background and context of the war, including causes of the war and goals of the United States. The letter would also be authentic on two levels. First writing a letter, or maybe email, would be something students do in the real world. Second, war is a part of contemporary American life. By completing my authentic activity students would have a framework or reference to approach such a divisive issue like war and express themselves constructively and lucidly while referencing data.

Hopefully, students would react well to this activity; however, it would be naïve to assume some students simply will not be interested. For these students, I would have to elucidate the applicability and importance of the activity. Other students may be interested and excited, but may not be familiar with the structure and conventions of writing a letter. I may have to briefly discuss how to write a letter or simply change the letter into an email format. If I can get through these barriers, the issue of hindsight presents another problem, that is, students’ familiarity with the outcome of the war may influence how they write their letters. Unfortunately, teleology is a common problem in historical writing even past the secondary level, and sometimes the only remedy is to make students aware of how their present values and knowledge can affect their writing on past events. I may also have to stress the issue of contingency, that is, how events were not set it stone and could have easily occurred differently. In the same vein, students bringing in their own values on national security and patriotism may lead to heated discussions. I will have to make sure things remain civil and teach the importance of collaboration and respectful discussion and listening to the students.