Contextualization – Introduction

Contextualization is a historical thinking skill that involves connecting historical events and processes to specific circumstances of time and place. Without understanding the circumstances that surround and build up to a historical event, it’s difficult to make sense of it. So far, you have learned about how spatial and temporal scale and elements of close reading all help frame a historical event. In this first in the spiral of activities on understanding context, you will begin to play with the idea of contextualization so you understand how important it is for understanding the past.

Reading, claim testing
To adequately make sense of the historical accounts you read, you need to understand the context in which an event occurred and how the assertions about the event are supported through claim testing.