Methodological features of the reflection of the theoretical foundations of the theme of the lesson "History of the development of the Northern Sea Route in the XVIII century" in school textbooks

Throughout the history of the educational system, it has undergone major modernization several times, depending on the development trends of society. From the 18th century many kinds of teaching methods and tools were developed that meet the requirements of their time.

One of the significant directions of state policy in the field of the development of the educational system is updating the curriculum in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation. In this regard, it is necessary to create new school textbooks that must meet modern state standards and the federal law on education.

By definition of the teacher and publisher D.D. Zueva, a school textbook is a mass educational book that sets out the subject matter of education and defines the types of activities intended for compulsory assimilation by students, taking into account their age and other characteristics [5, P. 12]. If before this book was the main source of information, in the modern world it plays a more directive role and is practice-oriented in nature [3, P. 278]. That is why educational literature should be consistent with the trends of the time predominance of information technology.

On an annual basis, the Ministry of Education and Science draws up the “Federal List of Textbooks Recommended for Use in Implementing State-Accredited Educational Programs for Elementary, Basic, General, and Secondary Education” on the basis of compliance criteria [11]. This final register allows representatives of educational institutions to choose the best textbooks for their students.

According to the "Federal List of Textbooks ...." for the academic year 2018-2019, the use of the following textbooks on the history of Russia in grade 8 is recommended in schools:

1) Andreev I.L., Lyashenko L.M., Amosova I.V., Artasov I.A., Fedorov I.N. History of Russia the end of the XVII-XVIII centuries;

2) Arsentyev N.M., Danilov A.A., Kurukin I.V. and other History of Russia (in 2 parts / Ed. by Torkunov A.V .;

3) Zakharov V.N., Pchelov E.V. Russian history. XVIII century / Ed. Petrova Yu.A.

On April 25, 2013, during a direct line, the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin initiated the creation of history textbooks with a single concept and an official assessment of what is happening [1]. The government, together with the Russian Historical Society (RHS), began to develop this project. As a result, the federal list of textbooks from 2016 included only three textbooks on the history of Russia in the 18th century. They all began to comply with the Unified Historical and Cultural Standard, which includes the events of the past recommended for study, concepts and terms, and personalities.

Also, since 2016, according to the explanation of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 08-2655 of December 7, 2016, all secondary schools of the country have switched from a concentric system of teaching history to a linear one [9]. In accordance with this, the history of Russia of the XVIII century are studied in grade 8 throughout the school year. This significantly expanded the scope of material for the school curriculum.

Unlike textbooks of the old type, the entire structure of the material was radically rebuilt and updated. All three books from the federal list are based on the cultural and anthropological principle. As a result of this, much more attention is paid to issues of culture and faith, everyday life of the population, various strata from different territories in the new school curriculum. For example, in the school textbook of  N.M. Arsentyev, A.A. Danilov, I.V. Kurukin, A.Ya.Tokarev a whole chapter is devoted to the "Cultural Space of the Russian Empire in the 18th Century." [8, P. 71]. In the old textbooks, several sections were devoted to this topic.

The concept proposed by V.V. Putin has been criticized. The committee of civic initiatives, together with historians, expressed dissatisfaction with this idea in a statement, since standardization of school textbooks cannot be implemented, since modern historical science cannot exist without different points of view. In this case, discipline turns only into a list of factors without value judgments [6].

The project on creating a unified concept in history textbooks states that this subject should not be overloaded with dates and names. However, in the Historical and Cultural Standard, on the basis of which all textbooks from the federal list were created, a huge number of names and dates are listed [12]. Most of the names in the paragraphs are only mentioned. The authors in detail affect only key personalities. In the textbooks of N.M. Arsentyev, A.A. Danilov, I.V. Kurukin, A.Ya. Tokarev and V.N. Zakharov, E.V. Pchelov developed the rubric “History in Persons”, which summarizes the basic information about a particular figure. They differ only in the volume of material proposed for study.

It was previously mentioned that, in accordance with the explanation of the Ministry of Education, schools returned to the linear system of teaching history. It allows you to sequentially in chronological order to study events from ancient times to the present day, to synchronize the course of general history and the history of Russia. School textbook of V.N. Zakharova and E.V. Pchelov often in the material refers students to knowledge of the history of foreign countries, in order to find patterns between events [4, P. 73]. In turn, the teaching and learning complex on universal history has not been redesigned into a linear system, which will require teachers to work independently to synchronize the topics of both courses.

Having previously mentioned the one-sided study of history according to a new concept, some textbooks correct this with historiographic inserts. For example, in the textbook “History of Russia: Grade 8” of the publishing house “Enlightenment” edited by A.V. Torkunova authors suggest that students, after a paragraph, get acquainted with the opinions of historians on a particular event. This allows not only a comprehensive review of the incident, but can also become a subject of discussion during the lesson. Also, this is an integral part of the exam tasks in history. In another textbook  I.L.Andreeva's, L.M. Lyashchenko's, I.V. Amosovoi's, I.A. Artasova's, I.N. Fedorov's historiography is not quite common.

Despite the fact that the struggle of opinions is present in educational books, the authors are extremely cautious about this, trying not to confuse children with different points of view. An important role is played by the teacher, who must guide his students in this matter.

E.G. In his article “Historiography in school history textbooks: realities and possibilities”, Tarabrin put forward two points of view on the problem of including historiography data in the text of a school book: 1. The text of the textbook should reflect the course of history, the struggle of opinions, and the degree to which the issue has been studied. 2. In general, it should not contain any alternative interpretations and concepts, clear, balanced and specific information should be reflected [15, P. 16].

There is an opinion that the textbooks are overloaded with historiography and that there is no need for other approaches. However, the school should bring up respect for a different opinion in children. In the learning process, the teacher must strive to ensure that the student not only acquires general ideas about the classical interpretations of Russian history, but also forms his own historiographical position.

The positive side of the new textbooks is the basic approach to the presentation of the material. The text is not overloaded with information, which can help in preparation for the exams. Paragraphs and chapters are structured competently, allowing you to navigate the topics of the program.

Since the authors provide only basic information, at the end of the textbook there are links to additional literature. Since now is the century of modern technology and children spend most of their time on the Internet, various electronic resources have been added to all three books. For example, a link to the historical site “Chronos”, the site of the Hermitage, the Museum of the History of Petersburg, etc. Lists of additional literature of N.M. Arsentyev, A.A. Danilov, I.V. Kurukin, A.Ya. Tokareva and I.L. Andreev, L.M. Lyashchenko, I.V. Amosova, I.A. Artasov, I.N. Fedorov very similar to each other. In turn, V.N. Zakharov and E.V. Pchelov emphasized the history of culture.

This list of additional literature meets the requirements of the federal state standard of general education for introducing innovative informational and educational sources into the learning process, which contribute to the deepening of the material in the textbook [10]. Working with additional sources of information not only broadens the horizons of the student, but also contributes to the development of analytical thinking.

In addition, students are presented with additional questions after each paragraph, being the main part of the textbook. Independent work helps to consciously and in-depth work out the material and learn the content of the lesson, and gives the teacher the opportunity to direct the educational activities of students. Also, questions and tasks allow us to recall the previously passed material of the school curriculum on the history of Russia in the 18th century and other items.

In the textbook of V.N. Zakharov and E.V. Pchelov “History of Russia. XVIII century” at the end of each paragraph, in addition to additional questions, independent tasks are presented. For example, to compile a table "The largest battles of the Northern War (1700-1711)", a diagram of the structure of the central government [4, P. 38]. Also, according to the requirements of the GEF lesson, the author poses a new question in front of a new topic, to which students must answer by passing new material. With the correct organization of the educational process by the teacher, this should set children up for the lesson and make them focus on new information. In the remaining two textbooks, this technique is also used.

According to the Federal State Standard, a teacher obliged to adapt the educational process  to the individual characteristics of children, therefore, in school textbooks there are questions with different complexity. This allows you to differentiate the work of students in the classroom. This requirement is fulfilled V.N. Zakharov and E.V. Pchelov.

The author are marked  the most difficult questions with the symbol "*". These tasks include independent work in which it is necessary to use not only the textbook material, but also get acquainted with additional literature. Often there are creative tasks. For example, a historical trip to St. Petersburg during the time of Peter I [4, P. 50]. Such exercises contribute to the development of creative abilities of students.

The textbook “History of Russia: Grade 8” edited by A.V. Torkunov. Publishing House "Education" offers students not only questions on the text, but also on an independent search for material in additional literature or online resources. The tasks from the section “We Think, Compare, Reflect” are taught to independently analyze and express their position on a particular phenomenon in history [8, P. 63].

A distinctive feature of the textbook I.L. Andreev, L.M. Lyashchenko, I.V. Amosova, I.A. Artasov  “History of Russia: The End of the 18th – 18th Centuries” is that the authors of the questions summarize not only the material of the entire paragraph, but propose to consolidate the information after each section [2, P. 12].

An important part of school life is the formation of general educational skills in children. To this end, written and oral projects, which may include a variety of forms and methods of research (observation, analysis, evaluation, etc.), were added to the system for evaluating the results of mastering the educational program [10].

Some textbooks from the federal list include topics for project activities. In “History of Russia: the End of the 18th - 18th Centuries.” of I.L. Andreev, L.M. Lyashchenko, I.V. Amosova, I.A. Artasov, I.N. Fedorov, a similar task related to the material covered is presented at the end of each chapter. Of the 13 topics presented, three are related to regional studies. For example, "my region during the palace coups / during the reign of Peter the Great" or "my small homeland in the second half of the XVIII century." This interesting approach allows children to connect the main events of the XVIII century with the history of their region, to identify the influence of the center on incidents in the peripheral regions of the country. In addition, the last task of the All-Russian test for students contains a question related to the history of their region.

The study of regional history is necessary for "the development of a democratic state, the formation of a modern, tolerant personality, ready for the perception of the ethnic and religious diversity of the world" [13].

The advantage of such a task in the textbook of N.M. Arsentyev, A.A. Danilov, I.V. Kurukin, A.Ya. Tokarev is that the authors explained the content of the topic for project activities [8, P. 113]. This greatly facilitates writing work for students. Similar tasks in other subjects can develop students' interest in scientific activities.

The federal state standard indicates the specific subject problems of the course of Russian history that a child should master by the end of his education. The development of the ability to search, analyze, compare and evaluate information in various sources about events of the past and present is included in this list [10]. This requirement is carried out not only through working with the textbook, as the authors introduce students to real written sources, which reflect the side of a particular period of history.

The main component of the textbooks is represented by an additional text consisting of fragments of historical documents. The difference between them is only in quantity. In the textbooks of V.N. Zakharov, E.V. Pchelov and N.M. Arsentyev, A.A. Danilov, I.V. Kurukin, A.Ya. Tokarev is the most diverse and extensive list of sources, which include legislative acts, sources of personal origin, memoirs, etc. The same cannot be said about the publication of I.L. Andreev, L.M. Lyashchenko, I.V. Amosova, I.A. Artasov, I.N. Fedorov, since it focuses more on historiography.

Historical sources are marked with symbols and are located on a background that differs from the main design of the textbook. Each text is also accompanied by a list of questions for its analysis.

Professor M.M. Stasyulevich expressed the idea that working with historical sources is better than with the text of textbook contributes to the historical development of the student [14, P. 132]. However, most methodologists believed that it is impossible to build classes only on the basis of documents, since they serve as an auxiliary tool for the teacher’s story and textbook. In turn, historical sources form an interest in history, and the use of new facts allows you to feel the spirit of the period.

Significant is the work not only with written sources, but also with images, diagrams and maps. Textbooks of V.A. Andrew and V.N. Zakharov is most saturated with illustrative material, compared with the editors under the direction of A.V. Torkunov.

It is impossible to conduct a history lesson without the use of maps, diagrams, illustrations and other types of visualization. With these methods, the teacher makes historical material understandable to students. Visualization activates their attention and thinking, makes them switch to another element. The correct use of visual aids contributes to improving the quality of education and increasing the effectiveness of the educational process.

Illustrative material does not work apart from the text, it is an integral part of it. Additional information is easier, faster and more interesting to convey with the help of visual sources, since in the conditions of a limited volume of school textbooks it is impossible to verbalize educational material without the help of illustrations.

For the first time in Russia, the classification of illustrative textbook material was developed by the founder of the Soviet theory of book design V.N. Lyakhov and his colleagues V.D. Dolsky and N.A. Goncharov [2, P. 76]. It includes illustrations on functional (target features), on the image object and on the graphic ways of representing the object.

Subject images, including the work of artists, photographs of material sources and cultural monuments, are most often used by the authors of the textbook from the federal list as additional information. The list includes works by famous artists. For example, the paintings of the master of large-scale historical paintings, V.I. Surikov, who gives with colors an emotional touch to events.

First of all, illustrative material creates authentic, visual images of the historical past in students. So, for example, “Suvorov Crossing the Alps” by V. Surikov, reflecting the entire severity of hostilities [2, P. 65]. The painting by M. Avilov “Workers of the Ural factories bring guns to Pugachev”, in which the author conveyed with paints the hopeless position of the lower layers in the Russian Empire under Catherine II, which led them to rebellion [2, P. 127].

The value is borne by the images, the content of which is associated with the textbook. This helps children analyze illustrations and promote a better understanding of the content of the material being studied.

Schemes and tables are used as a conditionally-graphics tutorial in history lessons. According to the Soviet methodological historians N.V. Andreevskaya and V.N. Bernadsky, the scheme “does not have immediate visualization”, but “only conditional visualization and does not represent life in its wholeness, not objects of the past, but the correlation of phenomena, their placement in space, the relationship between them” [7, C . 101]. A similar method is used by the authors of school textbooks to demonstrate the structure of state and local authorities in the 18th century.

V.A. Andreev, L.M. Lyashchenko, I.V. Amosova, I.A. Artasov, I.N. Fedorov, in addition to the structural diagrams at the beginning of each section, offer students diagrams, in other words, chronological diagrams. Timeline is the basic type of this kind of illustrative material. The author identifies key dates that a student should know at the lesson. Since the textbook does not indicate which event these dates belong to, this allows the children to independently complete the task of correlating events.

In the school textbook of V.N. Zakharov and E.V. Pchelov as an independent task are invited to compile tables. For example, about the events of the Russian-Turkish war, about the largest battles of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721, about internal transformations, etc. Exercises with diagrams and tables allow students to visually compare the phenomena studied, trace the development trend, and also generalize and systematize information.

The educational maps in the school books for grade 8 mainly reflect the course of hostilities in the 18th century, which contributes to the development of the student’s visual skills and allows the inclusion of interdisciplinary knowledge for working in history classes. For example, by geography. A distinctive feature of historical maps is their dynamics of events and processes [14, P. 103]. The compilers of the textbook "History of Russia: the end of the XVIII - XVIII century. 8 cl. ”Publishing house“ Drofa ”, unlike other authors, added an additional section to questions for detailed work with this illustrative material [2, P. 43].

Thus, the presented school books from the federal list of standards to varying degrees comply with the Historical and Cultural Standard. Each of them has its own feature and ease of use. Authors groups contribute something new to their textbooks that sets them apart from others. The authors, thinking through the concept of the textbook, have an idea of the school curriculum under which it is created. New information is summarized and supplemented by various types of independent tasks and questions. There is a partial deviation from the traditional teaching system therefore students need to learn to search and work with information on their own.