So by now, you’re probably thinking: What can we do to make history more exciting for students?
There are multiple ways in which classroom instructors and aides can “bring the material to life,” so to speak.
Below is a list of helpful suggestions:
1. Arrange field trips to historic sites within a reasonable proximity of the school campus (say, within no more than a 30-40 mile
radius) and assign them a worksheet that stimulates their curiosity. Encourage them to ask any questions that come up and to
add anything that they may want others to know about.
2. For high-school history classes, have the students produce a short movie about a selected area of history they are studying.
3. Stage a re-enactment of a historical event, with the students dressed up as period figures.
4. Students whose parents are more culinary-minded can prepare a historic dish, using ingredients and recipes that were
available during that time period, and bring them into class to share with other students.
Keep in mind, though, that research into how children learn best is still ongoing, and no two children learn exactly the same way,
so it is most advisable to integrate multiple approaches in classroom instruction and use them simultaneously. Some children are
predominantly visual learners, some are auditory learners, and some are kinesthetic (they need to go through the motions of
doing things). The rote learning method may work for auditory learners, but it is lacking for visual learners, and does basically
nothing for kinesthetic learners.
Back to Main Page for History 502: Digital Media and Technology in History
Introduction: Overview of the Teaching of History
How History Has Usually Been Taught
Students’ History Textbooks in Progressive-Era America
Instructors’ Guides for U.S. History in the Early 20th Century