Historical Significance

What does it mean for something to be "historically significant?"

• It's not more important than anything else in history.

• Some things in history become more important than others.

• Everything in history is equally important.

• Anything that has happened is historically significant.

We practice historical significance because the past is ______, and there's too much to study or remember.

Since the past is infinite, and we can't study or remember everything that's ever happened, we must (do what) from history?

• the past is not infinite

• not try to study or remember any of it

• study and remember all of it

• pick and choose what to study or remember

If we have to pick and choose from history what we study and remember, that means some things from history:

• are lame.

• are significant.

• are left out, forgotten, or ignored.

• are just as important as the rest.

There are 3 reasons historians use to decide what's important from history. They are: (check all that apply)

• events or people that fit into a meaningful narrative.

• events or people that caused great change.

• events or people that are not important for any reason.

• events or people that reveal something about life at that time.

• events or people that don't show us anything about the past.

For something to become significant because of the change it caused, it must:

• be slow change that affects some people for a little while.

• have deep consequences that last a long time for a lot of people.

• change some peoples lives for a while.

• develop gradually and only affect a few people.

Something in history can be significant if it is "revealing," which means it:

• hides or conceals what happened in the past.

• caused great change in people's lives.

• tells a story about what happened.

• shows us what life was like for people at a certain time in history.

Other ways to describe something that is revealing are: (check all that apply)

• They help uncover what it was like.

• They help shine a light on life at a certain time.

• They can be like a window to look into the past.

• They might not be important until you use them to learn about the experiences of people at a certain time.

The final reason something can become historically significant is if they fit into a "meaningful narrative," which means:

• they fit together with other people or events to tell a clear story about what happened.

• they are combined with other people or events that don't fit together to tell a story about the past.

• they are used by themselves and are not combined with other people or events to learn about the past.

• there's no common theme that they connect to with other people or events.

When describing how to form a narrative, Mr. Marden explained that the infinite past is made up of an infinite number of _________ pieces, and we must pick the ones that fit together to tell a clear story about the past.