Inquiry into the Past: Some big ideas

Some big ideas/themes embedded in this lesson:

-History textbooks are just like all other written accounts of the past. As such, they need to be examined critically.
-Accounts of the past contain claims about the past. These claims need to be examined (need to teach Ss how to examine claims about the past).  
-The past no longer exists in the same way it once did. There are, however, some remains of the past that do linger. These remains can be examined and interpreted, providing us with information about the past. 
-When writing about the past, authors make a number of choices that impact how they present the past to readers.
-All texts are underpinned by questions. Figuring out these questions, as well as the questions not asked, is one way to analyze a text.
-Movies about the past ought to be examined with the the same scrutiny we subject to written accounts.
-We need to be careful about throwing around the term truth in a history class. What, exactly, do we mean? Is it more precise to speak of truths? Multiple perspectives? We need to unpack this term and consider its implications. 

Ideas on this page will likely be consolidated with this page.