All Activities
History

Does It Matter Now?

Overview

Students debate which historical events and people are most significant, and discuss what criteria historians use to judge significance.

Learning Objective
Students understand that historical significance is not fixed and can evaluate why some events are considered more historically significant than others.

Resources needed

  • None

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Ask: why do we study some historical events and not others?
  2. 2 Introduce criteria for significance: how many people were affected, for how long, how deeply, does it still affect us today?
  3. 3 Give four historical events — ask students to rank them by significance.
  4. 4 Groups compare rankings and defend their choices.
  5. 5 Discuss: does significance change over time? Can an event become more or less significant as time passes?
  6. 6 Ask: whose significance? An event may be significant for one group but not another.
  7. 7 Ask: what events happening today might future historians consider significant?

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Compare how different countries rank the same historical event differently.
  • Focus on one event and argue for its significance using the four criteria.
  • Debate: is local history more significant than world history to ordinary people?
More information

Teach: significance, criteria, affect, legacy, judge, rank, perspective. The ranking activity generates natural discussion without requiring complex language.

Provide the criteria in writing as a reference card. This makes the abstract concept concrete and gives students a framework to return to.

Can students use at least two significance criteria to justify a ranking? Do they recognise that significance is a judgement, not a fact?

No resources needed. Write the four events in soil for groups to reference during discussion.

Students often assume significance is obvious and objective. The key lesson is that significance is a historical judgement that depends on criteria, perspective, and time.

Historical significance is one of the most challenging and important concepts in history. It asks students to exercise disciplined historical judgement rather than just recall facts.

Activity details
Secondary Medium 25 minutes no prep Small Group, Whole Class Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Historical Significance Judgement Legacy