US History - Contextualization

Contextualization

One of the most important skills for a student of history is Contextualization which refers to the Historical Circumstances that led to this event/idea/time period/development. Contextualization could also refer to Geography or an area where the historical development/event took place and why it took place.

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Historical Context/Historical Circumstances

By answering the 5w's of History you can identify and explain the Historical Context. The 5W's questions below about any event or time period will give you the Historical Context.

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WHO	WHAT	WHERE	WHEN	WHY
Who were the participants (people involved)? Who were the groups involved? Who were the leaders involved?	What happened/occurred? What were the sequence of events? What is the significance?	Where did the event(s) occur? Where was the region/area/continent/city/country?	When did the event occur? It is okay to not have a specific date. You can use time period, century, etc.	Why did the event occur? Why is based upon causes/reasons. Why does it matter?

Geographic Context

Geographic Context refers to where this historical development/event took place and why it took place there. Geographic Determinism is another phrase used for this. It basically means "How does/did Geography impact the historic event/development/idea/time period" ? Did geography play a role of the successful outcome or a failure?

Example: By using the map on the right, the United States is divided into three (3) distinct sections (The North, The South, and The West) each with its own political, economic, and social distinctions.

P.E.G.S.

In order to organize basic information about a specific topic, area, or period of history. An acronym called PEGS this simple graphic organizer breaks down general knowledge into six broad human concerns and over-arching questions:

• Political: Who is in charge?
• Economic: How do we make a living?
• Geography: How does where we live impact how we live?
• Social: How do we relate to one another?

When students are asked to study a time period in history, they sometimes have difficulty organizing all the seemingly unconnected facts about different people, dates, events, and issues related to that time period. The PEGS approach is one way to organize how the people lived in a society at a certain time in history and so help students to understand that culture.

By considering in turn different dimensions of a historical period or event, students probe deeply into the many facets and implications of the past. Because of the depth of resources available online and in print, students can easily find evidence to support their investigations into all six of these areas by using this acronym.

You can also help students break each broad category down by providing the following specifics:

Political	Economic	Geography	Social
Structure War Treaties Courts/Laws Leaders Popular participation (Sovereignty, Nationalism) Loyalty to leader (Patriotism)	Trade Industrialization Agriculture Labor systems Factors/Means of Production Interdependence/Globalization Gender and Slaves Money System	Belief Systems Political vs. Religious Governments Secular vs. Religious Role of Women Role of Trade Genocide/Human Rights Violations	Family Order – patriarchal, matriarchal Gender Relations – role of women, children Social Classes Slavery Entertainment Tradition / Life Styles Natural Rights/Human Rights Belief Systems Political vs. Religious Governments Secular vs. Religious Role of Women Role of Trade Genocide/Human Rights Violations Art and Music Writing/Literature Philosophy Math/Science Education Technology/Inventions Architecture

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