History

What is the nature of History in Grades 7 and 8?

History at SJII is not a matter of learning names and dates, nor a matter of spending long periods taking notes from the teacher or the textbook. It is rather a wide range of activities through which students experience, understand and analyse the events they are studying. Above all, it is process of thinking and developing a range of skills. In the case of Grades 7 and 8 it is the foundation of their historical skills, their understanding of the world around them, through the critical and analytical eyes of a historian.

What is the approach to learning?

The students’ experience of History at SJII will be active, diverse and engaging. It will challenge their skills of judgement, evaluation and reasoning, and it will strengthen their values as they study real world dilemmas. They will be given opportunities to be original and creative, to communicate to small and larger audiences, to be persuasive, to lead and to follow. Through activities and means of engaging with the material, the students’ historical skills will develop in an enjoyable academic environment.

What is the subject content?

The topics of study in Grades 7 and 8 aim to provide a broad subject knowledge of events and themes from around the world which are significant enough to stand on their own but which also build a background for the study of History IGCSE.

In Grade 7 we study the following:

A. Early and Early-Modern Singapore to 1900 The students start their history development with a familiar topic that introduces them to the necessary historical skills which they will build throughout the two years.

B. East Asia meet the West Students study imperialism in the form of British expansion into China and the opening of Japan while also examining the modernisation that follows for both countries. C. The French Revolution Students get to examine the original revolution for liberty, to understand its ideas, its causes and its importance to history and the world today. D. Slavery and Civil Rights Students examine the impact of the French Revolution in their study of slavery and the civil rights movement in the USA.

In Grade 8 we study the following:

A. World War One (WWI) Students examine the causes, course and consequences of WWI, examining military and social history while evaluating the significant of the conflict.

B. The Russian Revolution Students are introduced to an alternative revolution to that of the French Revolution in the form of the Communist revolution and its political and social structures.

C. World War Two (WWII) and WWII in Singapore Students get to examine the causes, course and consequences of war in Asia through a selection of significant aspects that examine political and social history, including a selection through the eyes of Singapore.

D. Holocausts and self-directed investigation The students are introduced to the horrors and crimes of war while also being able to undertake self-directed study in preparation for IGCSE.

What is the nature of assessment?

The assessments cover the broad areas required within the subject of History; knowledge, application of knowledge, understanding, communication, and the more subject specific skills of evaluation and using evidence. All the skills and assessments lead up to the IGCSE style examinations but there are a variety of assessment methods employed to take account of the variety of competencies and topics studied in History. Some of the assessments will be creative and some will be more formal.