Confidence with substantive knowledge

This page is for those new to the published writings of history teachers. Each problem you wrestle with, other teachers have wrestled with too...  

History is a complex enterprise. In order to produce sophisticated arguments, pupils need firm foundations. One foundation is knowledge of the argumentative structures that historians deploy, for example, when constructing causal arguments or arguments about the nature of change over time. Another is knowledge of the ways in which historians use sources as evidence in order to construct their interpretations. Knowledge of other possible interpretations – and how and why these have been formed – is another necessity for pupils seeking to write sophisticated responses to questions...