The Historical Method for Secondary Students

Take a Stand! teaches the historical method to students ages 11-18.  Instead of merely memorizing facts or engaging in busy tasks, students partake in the activities of the historian. Through simple but meaningful lessons, the instructor guides pupils of all levels how to research, analyze primary and secondary sources, debate, and write history essays. Provided the tools of the historian and challenged with open-ended questions, young scholars are fully engaged in deciding the meaning of history and become aware of various perspectives and cultures.  Inspired and challenged to take a stand, beginning historians become patient listeners and courageously assert their analysis of the past in speech and writing.

Created by a classroom teacher in an urban school district, Take a Stand! is successful with students of all levels and English abilities because it is based on sound educational principles, psychology of the adolescent, and years of research and practice in the classroom and in private tutorials. Pupils access challenging primary and secondary sources and historical artifacts. Comparing and contrasting various perspectives from great thinkers of the past and present, the researcher decides the meaning of great events, movements, and people of history.  Take a Stand! is written for grades 6 - 12 providing six student and teacher editions and is excellent curriculum for Social Studies, Language Arts, and English Language Development.

Along with working in a variety of classroom and individual settings, Take a Stand! and its author have earned state-wide and federal acclaim. It has passed California Department of Education Legal and Social Compliance Review, an assessment essential for supplementary sources.  It is state certified for English Learners and for English Language Arts Standards.  GATE funds may be used to purchase Take a Stand!, as it provides for differentiated learning, challenges students to think critically, ethically, and originally, and develops respect and patience for opposing ideas. The author is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, an honor given to the top 1% of America's teachers.

Upon request , Take a Stand Publications will make available a technology portion that will enable each student to advance in the historical thinking skills at his own pace.  Our experience has shown that technology is a method to teach and monitor students of varying levels within the same classroom.

We look forward to cooperating with your school district to provide excellent educational tools that will help the teacher meet and exceed the many tasks and dreams we have for our students. You may call us at (714) 623-6104 to speak to us about purchasing Take a Stand! for your school.

Dr. Robert Johnson, Ph.D. in History

"You do a wonderful job of breaking down analytical thinking and critical writing into manageable and systematic teaching units. This is a great model for teaching content-based literacy. Your method for taking students through the various stages of writing (pre-writing, paragraph practice, document analysis, outlining, and assessment) goes a long way towards moving students to the type of critical literacy that is not only rewarded at the university-level but needed if we are to build an informed and engaged citizenry."

News!

• Author John De Gree earned National Board Certification in 2007
• Books have passed California Department of Education Social and Legal Compliance
• AB 1802 provides funds for books to be purchased for English Learners
• Take a Stand! is English Learner Certified and English Language Arts Certified in California