English and history: discrete but inseparable bedfellows

In true history teacher form, I often think about the factors which contribute to changes in my practice. Over the last few weeks, this factor has been luck, bad luck specifically; the car of a good friend of mine broke down a few weeks ago and, while she’s been waiting for it to be repaired, I’ve been driving her to work every morning. While this is unexceptionally unlucky for her (both having to deal with her car and deal with me at 6:50 every morning), it has been good luck for me; this particular friend is a very conscientious English teacher with a particular interest in meeting the needs of SEN students. As a result, the drive to work every morning has provided me with an excellent opportunity to pick her brain about her subject and how it links with history.

I have always firmly believed that, in order for pupils to be successful in history, they need to be taught how to read for meaning, how to construct an argument and how to write that argument in a sophisticated and logical way. In short, pupils who are successful in English are often successful in history. What I didn’t realise was quite how much the relationship works the other way: in order for pupils to be successful in English, particularly when studying Literature, they often need to have a good understanding of history. In his blog, Embedding Complex Fiction, Doug Lemov explains how reading the Little House on the Prairie series (a sanitised but accurate account of 19^th century settlers in the American West) with his daughter allowed her to access much more difficult texts. Similarly, I can vividly remember how easily my childhood obsession with the Titanic allowed me to understand dramatic irony in An Inspector Calls during my English GCSE.

As a result, I’ve recently been attempting to explicitly incorporate English techniques into my history lessons and I’ve been considering how to effectively utilise history in the English classroom:

How I use English techniques in History:

1. Whenever I complete a reading task with pupils, I always try to follow the methods used by the English department to ensure accessibility and comprehension. I include a key words list at the top of each piece which we go through before we start reading; I insist that all pupils follow along as we read, often insisting that I can see all pupils ‘tracking’ the text with a ruler or their finger; I read the first paragraph aloud and then ‘pounce’ on other pupils to continue and I ask comprehension questions as we move through the text.
   
2. I attempt to use the same vocabulary as the English department when appropriate, but I also try to separate discrete concepts with different terms. I have recently learned that I should not ask for a “quote” from a text, but a “quotation”. I have also learned to explicitly explain the purpose of the “explain” element of the paragraph structures I use, as this initially resulted in many pupils writing a distinctly English explanation of any quotations they used for as evidence.
3. Where possible, I try to talk with English teachers so I can make links between what pupils have studied in English and historical concepts. When discussing the Russian revolution with year 9 this term, their knowledge of Animal Farm, which they had read in English in year 8, allowed me to easily explain the concept and downfalls of communism.

Possible techniques to use History effectively in English:

1. As suggested by Doug Lemov, where possible, use non-fiction texts in tandem with fiction. This is particularly important when analysing novels with dramatic content: the thought of using the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as a historical source makes me shudder; it was published in 2006 and contains a number of historical inaccuracies. However, in the past it has been used by AQA as part of an English GCSE and it is an excellent piece of fiction. Alerting pupils to this fact reduces the likelihood of them carrying misconceptions in history lessons and will help to improve their contextual knowledge.
2. Discuss topics with the history department. If pupils have already covered a unit, being able to use that knowledge will not only cut down the time you need to use covering context, but will also help to underline the connections between different subjects.
3. Be extra clear about the purpose of historical creative writing. In his blog Never Live Like Common People, Ben Newmark clearly outlines the issues with writing empathy pieces in history; it is exceptionally difficult to understand how people in the past felt about different experiences and, when pupils lack contextual knowledge, they will often fill the gaps by guessing, using their own experiences and values as a guide. Obviously creative writing is a key component of English and serves a vastly different purpose to empathy pieces in history. However, when writing these pieces, pupils need to be well-informed and need to be reminded about the fictional nature of their writing.

English and history are separate subjects and have vastly different aims at their core. However, when well connected, they can have a huge mutual benefit to each other. In order to achieve this, teachers need an understanding of the pedagogy, content and principles which underpin the strong teaching of both subjects. I feel as though I’m probably writing a blog about how to suck eggs, but I think that the best possible way to achieve this for both departments is to regularly communicate and share subject specific methods and good practice.