We cannot make assertions about the past being this way or that without specific evidence as proof. Yet discrete “facts” are of little value unless we draw from them a connection to generalized conclusions about cause and effect in the processes of historical change. Developing the habit of mind that allows you to connect the micro to the macro and to demand that the macro be based on an assemblage of the micro is one reason studying history is valuable to everyone, regardless of what career they plan. Seeing this kind of “significance” in the myriad of past events is often difficult for students and it takes practice to develop the skill of thinking this way.

To help students practice the skill of articulating historical significance, I have designed a series of weekly projects that require students to select a person, event, place, or object from 12 categories (a technological innovation, a great piece of American literature, a famous American musician or composer, an ordinary household object, for example). Students write a 250-word statement of historical significance. From the course website, students download a Word form and fill it out with their statement, an image, and the citation to their research source(s). Students return the completed Word form to the Blackboard assignment drop box.

I provide students with an example (this history of the Barbie doll), which we discuss in class as I explain the goal of the Weekly Projects. The exemplar is also available on the course website. On each exam, students answer several “identification and significance” questions. I chose the terms, but the Weekly Projects have helped them develop the skill of articulating historical significance.

I have found these weekly projects to be extremely valuable. They alert me to students who are struggling with basic concepts or language skills. They are a test of student engagement—if students fail to turn them in, I know they are losing touch with the course and I can encourage them to re-engage. Conversely, they show me that a student may be very interested in the course and stimulated by history even though his/her skill level is low. Also, the weekly projects give me an occasion for brief engagement with individual students, which is often very difficult when I have a hundred or more students to interact with. I try to make simple comments on the projects, noting, for example, that the student has taught me something I didn’t know before or that I, too, find the subject they have chosen to be especially meaningful. I often make suggestions for books or movies on the subject in order to encourage the student to pursue their historical curiosity.