Apprenticing Third Graders in Disciplinary Literacy in History

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study, I sought to understand the disciplinary nature of an expert third-grade teacher’s practice as she apprenticed students into ways of reading, analyzing, and employing historical evidence. Using a case study methodology, I draw on classroom observation data, teacher interviews, and classroom artifacts to identify instances where the teacher apprenticed the students into practices related to historical thinking concepts. I found the teacher engaged students in disciplinary literacy practices through discussing the constructed nature of historical accounts; allowing students to analyze primary sources using heuristics, tools, and instructional sequence; and engaging students in making claims from evidence over the course of the inquiry. This paper highlights the possibilities for disciplinary literacy instruction in elementary schools.