1
Introduction: There is no future without historical memory
Textbook: pp. 3–6
GoalExplain the ideas of “homeland” and “history” and why it is important to know the past.
New words
homeland · Vatanhistory; the study of the past · tarixhistorical memory · tarixiy xotiraancestor · ajdod
Explanation
“Vatan” is an Arabic word meaning “native land”. The homeland is the place where we were born and grew up, where our forefathers lived, with all its cities and villages. History is the science of events that happened in the past. People who know their past value what their ancestors created and do not repeat old mistakes. That is why people say, “There is no future without historical memory.” This year, with the book “Stories from History”, you will follow the road from the earliest people to present-day Uzbekistan.
Worked examples
Family history is a small history: where your grandparents were born, what work they did, in which year your family moved into your house. The history of a neighbourhood, a city and a state is built from such small events.
If a people takes care of its tales, songs and monuments, its historical memory stays alive. Destroying or forgetting monuments weakens that memory.
Class activity
“Family chronicle”: each pupil writes three important events from their family with the year (for example, the year a sibling was born) and reads them to the class.
Practice
1
From which language does the word “Vatan” come and what does it mean?
From Arabic; it means “native land”.
2
What does the science of history study?
Events of the past and the life of people.
3
Name two events from your family’s history, with years.
Answers differ. For example: the year my parents married; the year our family moved into a new home.
4
Why do people say “There is no future without historical memory”?
A people that does not know its past loses its experience, repeats its mistakes and cannot protect its heritage.