How to Teach History
Dear Mama,
History is a complex subject with many perspectives. It requires extensive study and research. Many historians focus on a specific era and conduct in-depth studies and research on it.
I got my bachelor’s in history and taught it for 6.5 years before getting married. I loved it. I did not always teach it well, but I loved it.
Teaching history as a homeschool mom became a different ballgame. It is not as simple, and many of the curricula were missing chunks of history.
Over the past three years, I’ve been working on developing a well-rounded approach to teaching history with an open mind.
1. Living Textbook: This was difficult for me initially because no textbook is perfect. You will always have to fill in with other books. My favorite is The Story of the World because it is written in a lively style and covers all of world history.
2. Living Books: I don’t believe living books should be the spine of your history program. But I think it should fill in the gaps the living text leaves. After reading about a specific historical era, take your child to the library to check out books related to that era. Allow them to check out as many books as they please. This will provide them with a more comprehensive understanding of the era.
3. Art & Music: Part of understanding history is looking at the art of the time and listening to the music. We are going through the Middle Ages, and my children enjoy listening to the diverse range of cultural music the world has to offer.
4. Field Trips: Visit museums wherever you live. Visiting museums is a way of bringing history to life. Children can see how different our lives are from those of the past. You learn a great deal more by visiting museums. Ghost Tours are fantastic, too, because you know a very unique history.
5. Worldview: It is essential to teach worldview when teaching history. Worldview influences morality, and how one culture perceives right and wrong may differ from another culture.
After a lesson, I use my history notebooks to record the narration and include any additional documents, quotes, or maps that help make the lesson complete, and, of course, discuss it.
How do you teach history?
Warmly,
Mirley
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