Contextualization

One of the most important skills for a student of history is Contextualization which refers to the Historical Circumstances that led to this event/idea/time period/development. Contextualization could also refer to Geography or an area where the historical development/event took place and why it took place.

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Historical Context/Historical Circumstances

By answering the 5w's of History you can identify and explain the Historical Context. The 5W's questions below about any event or time period will give you the Historical Context. You can use this 5W's Worksheet for this skill.

WHO	WHAT	WHERE	WHEN	WHY
Who were the participants (people involved)? Who were the groups involved? Who were the leaders involved?	What happened/occurred? What were the sequence of events? What is the significance?	Where did the event(s) occur? Where was the region/area/continent/city/country?	When did the event occur? It is okay to not have a specific date. You can use time period, century, etc.	Why did the event occur? Why is based upon causes/reasons. Why does it matter?

Geographic Context

Geographic Context refers to where this historical development/event took place and why it took place there. Geographic Determinism is another phrase used for this. It basically means "How does/did Geography impact the historic event/development/idea/time period" ? Did geography play a role of the successful outcome or a failure?

Example: By using the map on the right, a Muslim country in the Middle East is least likely to be a republic or a democracy due to the success of Islamic law and/or its influence or due to its history.

P.E.R.S.I.A.

In order to organize basic information about a specific topic, country or period of history. An acronym called PERSIA, this simple graphic organizer breaks down general knowledge into six broad human concerns and over-arching questions:

Political: Who is in charge?
Economic: How do we make a living?
Religion: What do we believe?
Social: How do we relate to one another?
Intellectual / Arts: How do we learn? How do we express ourselves?
Area / Geography: How does where we live impact how we live?

When students are asked to study a time period in history, they sometimes have difficulty organizing all the seemingly unconnected facts about different people, dates, events, and issues related to that time period. The PERSIA approach is one way to organize how the people lived in a society at a certain time in history and so help students to understand that culture.

By considering in turn different dimensions of a historical period or event, students probe deeply into the many facets and implications of the past. Because of the depth of resources available online and in print, students can easily find evidence to support their investigations into all six of these areas by using this acronym.

You can also help students break each broad category down by providing the following specifics:


Political	Economic	Religion
Structure War Treaties Courts/Laws Leaders Popular participation (Sovereignty, Nationalism) Loyalty to leader (Patriotism)	Trade Industrialization Agriculture Labor systems Factors/Means of Production Interdependence/Globalization Gender and Slaves Money System	Belief Systems Political vs. Religious Governments Secular vs. Religious Role of Women Role of Trade Genocide/Human Rights Violations
Social	Intellectual/Arts	Area/Geography
Family Order – patriarchal, matriarchal Gender Relations – role of women, children Social Classes Slavery Entertainment Tradition / Life Styles Natural Rights/Human Rights	Art and Music Writing/Literature Philosophy Math/Science Education Technology/Inventions Architecture	Location Physical - Mountains, Deserts, Oceans, Peninsulas, Archipelagos Movement - Migration/Diaspora Human/Environment Interaction