Historical sources in the function of the development of the historical way of thinking in the teaching of the subject nature and society

Encouraging historical way of thinking is a segment that brings the teaching process closer to the essence of history as a science. Historical research - historical analysis and interpretation are categories of historical thinking. We conducted a research aimed at studying methodological strategy of teachers in their work with historical sources in the teaching process of the subject Nature and Society. The data were gathered by questioning 289 teachers about the place and role of historical sources in the teaching of Nature and Society, and by observing methodological approaches of the teachers when they elaborated historical sources. Examined also were the achievements of 648 fourth-year elementary school students on assignments related to recognizing and evaluating historical sources. The data show that the teachers use historical sources infrequently and superficially which results in poor achievement of students when the selection and evaluation of historical sources are required.