The focus of history courses at Sparhawk Middle School is not to learn from a textbook version of history, but to construct it, the way historians do. At Sparhawk, your child will learn to think like an historian by examining historical events through varied lenses. This way of viewing history begs the questions: How do we know what we know about this? What evidence supports this account? What artifacts did historians used to piece this account together? Are there other ways to interpret this? Do I agree with this account? If not, why?

History as an area of study, then, provides great potential for building a variety of basic and 21st century literacies including researching, synthesizing, formulating an opinion and debating and supporting it. We begin by reading and analyzing historical fiction and non-fiction. We document; we ponder; we debate. Finally, we experience.

What we call “History Live” transports your child to other times and places, extending the learning in multi-sensory, experiential approaches. Through project-based learning, theatrical presentations and thematic field trips, students are immersed in a historical period and consequently bring what they have learned to what they experience. The result is students who form richer and more unforgettable pictures of history.