Methodological Characteristics of Interpretation-focused Learning of History：From the Perspective of Fostering Reading Comprehension

Methodological Characteristics of Interpretation-focused Learning of History：From the Perspective of Fostering Reading Comprehension

Is it possible to teach children how to read history deeply, that is, to offer them an experience of interpreting history? Also, is it necessary to do so? Detailed discussions on social studies classes in consideration of these issues are needed. Based on such recognition and citing examples of interpretation-focused learning of history in Britain, this paper clarifies the principle of class structure for fostering “reading comprehension”, for which there is a growing need in Japan for the learning of history in social studies classes. Citing the examples of history textbooks in Britain, this paper shows the class structure of interpretation-focused learning of history. This learning is merely an experience activity of being a historian, where students themselves describe history. This method fosters logical reading comprehension by gathering experiences of being a historian in a phased manner. For the practice of history education in social studies in Japan, fostering reading comprehension is not considered to a significant issue. This paper points out that such reading comprehension can be fostered through interpretation-focused learning of history.