Title: Teaching World History Thematically
Author(s): Rosalie Metro
Publisher: Teachers College Press, New York
ISBN: 9780807764466 Pages: 304 Year: 2020
Rosalie Metro’s Teaching World History Thematically provides a guide to teaching the sprawling subject of world history by theme rather than through a traditional chronological framework. The work, intended for use in Grades 7-12 and, according to the author, capable of meeting virtually all sets of U.S. state and national standards, divides World History into nine themes. Each theme is centered around a “21st century issue” or “essential question” that humans have wrestled with over large periods of time. Units begin with a document from the recent past and move on to a series of document-based lessons representing various historical figures answering the same question. Themes include “what is worth fighting for?” and “who is civilized, and who is a barbarian?” Altogether, the lessons are intended to help students make connections between past and present and to develop critical thinking skills through the regular use of document analysis.
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