Rethink History

Exploring History: Engaging Lesson Plans and Resources for Teachers

Welcome to our website, where we dive into the captivating world of history education. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or a passionate homeschooling parent, we’ve curated a collection of engaging lesson plans and resources to make your history teaching journey both exciting and informative. Join us as we explore a variety of historical topics, from ancient civilizations to modern events, while incorporating interactive activities and primary source documents that bring history to life.

  • History Lesson Plans: Unveiling the Past: Our history lesson plans cater to different age groups and cover a wide range of topics, ensuring that you can find the perfect resources for your classroom. From exploring ancient civilizations like Egypt, Rome, and Greece to understanding the causes and consequences of World War I and II, our comprehensive lesson plans provide a solid foundation for historical learning.
  • Social Studies Resources: Cultivating Global Citizens: Social studies is an integral part of history education, fostering an understanding of cultures, geography, and citizenship. Our social studies resources complement history lessons by integrating geography into historical narratives, helping students grasp the significance of locations and how they shaped historical events. Additionally, we offer activities that promote global citizenship and encourage students to explore the diverse perspectives that have shaped our world.
  • Primary Source Documents: Hearing Voices from the Past: One of the most effective ways to connect students with history is through primary source documents. We believe in bringing historical figures and events to life by allowing students to engage directly with the voices of the past. Our curated collection of primary source documents, including letters, speeches, photographs, and diary entries, provides valuable insights into different historical periods, fostering critical thinking and historical analysis skills.
  • Interactive History Lessons: Learning Through Engagement: Gone are the days of dry and passive history lessons. Our interactive history lessons encourage active participation and engagement, making learning a fun and immersive experience. Whether it’s organizing mock debates on historical controversies or creating hands-on projects that recreate historical artifacts, our resources ensure that students become active participants in their own learning journey.
  • Black History Month Activities: Celebrating Diversity and Contributions: Black history is an essential part of our collective narrative, and we provide a range of activities to celebrate and honor the contributions of Black individuals throughout history. From biographies of influential figures to lessons on the Civil Rights Movement, our resources offer opportunities for students to explore the rich tapestry of Black history and its significance in shaping society.

As educators, it’s our responsibility to ignite a passion for history in our students. Our blog is dedicated to providing you with the tools and resources necessary to create engaging and meaningful history lessons. By incorporating our carefully curated lesson plans, social studies resources, primary source documents, and interactive activities, you’ll inspire your students to become critical thinkers, empathetic global citizens, and lifelong lovers of history. Join us on this exciting journey of exploration and discovery as we unlock the doors to the past and bring history alive in your classroom.

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13 Ways To Make History Class Engaging For Students

Learn a variety of strategies on how to make history class engaging for students. Check out in this blog post.

History class is much more than reading out of a textbook. Use these 10 tips to help make history class engaging and relevant to your students.

This blog post contains affiliate links that are of no cost to the reader. If you make a purchase through the provided links this blog will receive a small commission to help with the financial costs of maintaining the site.

13 Strategies To Make History Class Engaging 

I hope you can use some of these 13 tips to help make history class engaging. As a history teacher, it is important to contact local historical sites, museums, organizations, and libraries to see how they can help enrich your program.

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #1 Use QR Codes

This quick technology can be accessed with personal or school portable technology (phones, iPads, tablets). The QR code embeds information (text, URL, etc) into the code image. Students scan the code with a QR Code reader app and they unlock the information.

I use this in my classroom for introducing vocabulary words in a new unit or for students to access information in a different format. I try to make QR Code activities into scavenger hunts where they must locate the code before accessing information.

Tip #2 Incorporate Movement into Lessons

I love using the cooperative learning strategy called Four Corners. Around the classroom in each corner hang up four different answer cards such as Agree, Disagree, Undecided, and Need More Info (cards can be changed to align better with your lesson). Then ask the class a rich thinking question. Students move to the answer card area that best aligns with their opinion.

In this new opinion group, students discuss their ideas. Ensure that they know they will be held accountable for these discussions either through written or oral means. When first introducing this strategy it is a great idea to have a Need More Information section where the teacher can stand and provide support.

Tip #3 Add Drama

Activities such as Monologues, Wax Museum and Hot Seat make historical figures come to life in your classroom.

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #4 Use Collaborative Discussion Strategies

Students are not always comfortable discussing in History classes due to their lack of subject area background knowledge. When we have class discussions I try to build up their knowledge and confidence by using strategies such as Think Pair Share or Four Corners Placemats.

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #5 Bring In Primary Sources

Where possible bring in primary sources. Photos from the time period and archival documents can make history seem more authentic to students. Lots of internet sites (government archives) have access to these excellent pieces of history. A quick Google search will contain lots of ideas. Your local library, historical societies, and museums are also great places to look. Also, the New York Public Library has digitized a lot of pieces that could work in your classroom. You can also find great primary sources at Library and Archives Canada .

history activities in the classroom

Tip #6 Picture Books

Do not discount the value of picture books in the middle or high school history classroom. Two of my favourite picture books for my Canadian history classes are The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Canadian Railroad Trilogy . The vivid images and storylines bring history alive.

Picture books can also be used to provide background knowledge prior to starting a unit. In English classes, I often use the book Teammates by Peter Golenbock as a mentor text, which discusses Jackie Robinson’s treatment as the first African American Major League Baseball player.

Picture books are fantastic literacy resources to help students learn about a variety of topics and reinforce literacy skills. I have used these picture books to help teach students about Residential Schools. Please purchase these books from Indigenous-owned bookstores.

  • When We Were Alone by David Robertson
  • Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
  • Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
  • When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
  • Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad
  • I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
  • Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell
  • Shin-chi’s Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell

Tip #7 Browsing Bins

To help ignite and maintain a spark for historical knowledge, create a browsing bin of books related to curriculum topics. Ask your school librarian or media specialist if you can borrow books from the school library that relate to your current unit of study.

Keep these books in a special bin and in a highly visible area to encourage students to look through the materials and possibly check them out at the library. If your school does not have a library, visit your local library or contact any local historical associations to see what materials they can lend your classroom.

Tip #8 Historical Fiction

History classrooms are also literacy classrooms. Students engage each day with written text and make connections and inferences about the people they are studying. Keeping a good variety of historical fiction related to your topics of study can help students extend their classroom learning.

Some favourite books among my students are anything related to major wars or conflicts. The Dear Canada and Dear America series from Scholastic are great places to start for historical fiction. Here are some historical fiction book lists.  

  • Middle School Historical Fiction Books
  • World War Two Themed Novels For Middle School Students
  • World War Two Themed Novels For High School Students

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #9 Assignment Choice

It is also important that your assignments have different choice options. Students feel more empowered about their learning if given the chance to produce works of their choosing. Providing choices about content and product is a great place to start.

My first major assignment in my Grade 8 History class is having students create a persuasive piece to encourage the British Colonies to join Confederation. Depending on the school year, students have been offered choices in the final product: pamphlet, website, slideshow, etc.

They can also produce the product in either the official language English or French. During historical inquiry assignments, students are given choice over what topics (from a list related to the curriculum expectations) they want to learn about. I match them with other students in the class who want to learn about the same topic.

For my inquiry assignment on Canada at the turn of the century, students can choose from a long list of topics ranging from technology and transportation to arts and culture.

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #10 Artifacts

Last year, for one lesson I set up my classroom as an interactive museum. The unit was called Canada: A Changing Society 1890-1914 . I tried to find artifacts around my house and relatives’ houses that could potentially represent items from this time period.

I also printed off colour photos of daily living artifacts. Students had to circulate around the classroom in pairs and guess what the object was and its modern-day equivalent. The item that had most of the class confused was the manual meat grinder.

They definitely had a better understanding of the challenges of daily living from touching and seeing the different tools than if we had read about it online or in a textbook. Another year, while studying the settlement of Western Canada, I contacted a local museum and borrowed an educational kit that had replica items from the mid-1800s. Students loved seeing the toys and school materials from this time period.

Tip #11 Virtual Field Trips

The internet has changed the way I teach history. No longer are students only able to access information from library books, they can actually digitally visit the locations we are studying. This past year we used Google Maps to locate major battle sites and visit museum websites. Use Google to help locate interesting virtual field trips for your class this year.

Tip #12 Embrace Virtual Reality

Depending on your school budget Google Cardboard could be a very good investment. This small device allows students to download an app and view places in a virtual reality environment.

Try these lesson ideas to make history class fun.

Tip #13 Use Engaging Curriculum Materials

At the end of the day, you still need to cover the contents of your curriculum. By integrating some of these tips into your daily lessons you will make history class more engaging for your students. If you teach Canadian history check out these units by 2 Peas and a Dog which will help you keep your students engaged. I hope you use these strategies to make history class engaging for your students.

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Whether you’re looking to kick your lesson planning into high gear or just need a few extra fun factoids and anecdotes to cap off your world history curriculum this school year, TeacherPop has a few suggestions to make the history of the world even more interesting for your students. Check out these top world history resources to keep your students at the edge of their seats!

SHEG’s World History Lessons

From Stanford History Education Group, these  world history lessons  are a great resource for students and teachers to use to learn and create engaging curriculum surrounding the history of the world. From the pyramids of Egypt to China’s Cultural Revolution, teachers can access detailed lesson plans on any number of interesting historical topics from all over the world. The fine folks at SHEG already have nearly 40 world history lessons available, and even more are on the way.

Children & Youth in History

There’s no better way to teach the history of the world to your students than from the perspective of children their own age.  Children & Youth in History  provides teachers the opportunity to scour primary sources about youth in history and even offers a  handy guide  for students on how to get started accessing the vast array of resources that have been collected.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The  online exhibitions  housed on the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are a valuable resource for teaching students about the Holocaust. Teachers can create lessons around important topics like  anti-Semitism  and what  Jewish life  was like in Europe prior to the Holocaust. There are also a number of  online activities  and research projects students can participate in by accessing the museum’s collection of resources.

KidsPast.com

KidsPast.com  offers students and teachers the opportunity to “take a blast through the past” with a number of interactive games and online activities that make learning about history fun and engaging. And whether you’re creating a history lesson on prehistoric humans or the French Revolution, you’ll find KidsPast.com’s free online textbook to be an important tool.

History Channel

Looking to complement your history lessons with  video clips and audio  from celebrated speeches and interviews of the 20 th  and 21 st  centuries? The History Channel features a great collection of audio clips from some of the most famous recorded moments of recent history.

Teaching History

TeachingHistory.org  is perfect for students and teachers interested in learning how to think like historians. This site features plenty of lesson plan guides and other teaching materials to help teachers shape their world history curriculum into one that’s fun and engaging for both teacher and student. Be sure to check out their  website reviews  section for even more valuable resources for teaching your children about the history of the world.

PBS LearningMedia Crash Course

PBS offers the best in digital education with its  Crash Course  series on world history. Students can watch engaging and imaginative videos ranging in topics from the dawn of human civilization to the fall of the Roman Empire.

National Geographic

This famed magazine hosts a  wide array of articles on its website covering almost every imaginable facet of world history from the fall of the Soviet Union to the face of a 9,500-year-old-man. Take some time to browse its collection of engaging stories and features for great material to round out your world history lesson planning.

Do you have a favorite world history resource you utilize in your classroom? Share your suggestions on Facebook and Twitter and let us know. 

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10 Ways To Make History Class Engaging For Students

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  • July 16, 2022

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History class is more than just reading from a textbook. History is a record of mankind’s journey from when they first arrived on the planet to when they waged battles for kingdoms and ushered in the era of technology . Because it contains all of the ingredients of a potboiler, it should be a subject that youngsters are eager to learn. However, for most pupils, history is one of the most uninteresting courses in school. Of course, walking into a class and seeing a sea of blank faces is discouraging for a teacher. Here are some ideas for increasing student involvement in history classes.

10 Ways to Make History Class more Engaging 

Use visual media to supplement your teaching .

One advantage of teaching history is that filmmakers have an undying passion for the topic. As a result, there are many historical films accessible. Following the viewing of the film or television program, you and your students might hold a conversation about the historical correctness of the film, as well as the sections they loved and related with.

As a History teacher you should engage your students in the historical period if you want them to be engaged. Roleplaying is an excellent method to get children involved and learn about different periods of history.

Consider assigning each student to choose a historical figure from the period and write a speech complete with a costume. Again, students are more likely to become involved when they see their peers engaged.

Find entertaining information to discuss during history class

Some historical issues are inevitably dry. Teaching kids about the American War of Independence, the Boston Tea Party, and other historical events, for example, might be a test of patience since there is nothing that connects India to these events. As a result, kids have little interest in studying these events.

So, how may these subjects be made more interesting? You may teach them intriguing information about yourself while teaching them. But, of course, what constitutes an intriguing fact relies on you and your students.

Trips to the Field

Bringing history students into the environment they’re learning about is one of the most effective methods to engage them. Take your students on a field trip to a museum that includes world war II relics if you’re teaching about world war II history. Simply removing your students from the traditional classroom learning environment and placing them in a different visual environment may drive interest.

If you can’t arrange a physical field trip, try taking a virtual one. Many museums provide virtual tours for students to learn about history when they cannot visit the museum in person. Simply immerse your students in a historical setting that allows their perceptions to engage with your lecture.

Use entertaining memory aids to help students remember dates

There are an infinite number of dates in history that must be remembered. Yet, seeing a list of them might be incredibly unsettling. So, how can you assist your students in remembering them better? One method is to use memory aids, which converts information into a form that the brain can recall more easily.

Transform History Class into Stories

Each historical epoch is fundamentally a tale in the grand scheme of things. Rather than mandating textbook reading, turn it into Storytime. It is far simpler for a student to learn when immersed in a tale than reading line after line of tedious text.

Your students can readily interact with the tale when there are visual, audio, and emotional signals. You may make this historical character into a live, breathing person to whom your students can relate.

Group Discussion

Understanding history entails examining it from your point of view. Group discussions are an excellent tool for students to boost their learning about the historical period and raise questions about topics they don’t grasp. The more active you can get the team, the more conversation they’ll appreciate.

Suggested – How And Why Group Discussion Is Important In Teaching

Treat history as though it were a live news segment

While much of history’s attraction stems from the fact that it occurred a few hundred years ago, for many, this is also history’s largest drawback. It is unusual to hear a youngster say, “But that occurred so long ago, I don’t need to know that !” To avoid such objections, as a history teacher you should approach historical events as if they were current happenings.

And give the information to your students in the manner of recently acquired catchphrases or current events. Instead of gloomy expressions, you should have eager faces listening carefully to every word if you present your course in this manner.

Choose a few key topics to concentrate on

Choose only a few significant themes and/or subjects to focus on while planning the history lesson curriculum. Rather than trying to cover everything, concentrate on strategies to develop important knowledge. While you must follow some institutional guidelines.

It is difficult for you to teach your students all there is to know about a history lesson. Students will have more opportunities to think critically about and comprehend the past if they go further into select themes or issues.

Simplify Things for Students

Maintain simplicity. Begin your journey through history by giving your students a broad overview of what they’ll be learning. It’s easy to get too narrow too quickly. Instead, summarize the period and emphasize the important events and persons. To introduce a history lesson plan to your students, use an introduction exercise such as a map or a wide chronology.

You must still cover the elements of your curriculum. However, incorporating some of these ideas into your everyday teaching may make history class more engaging for your students . Join us at Classplus, where we provide engaging and cutting-edge technologies to make teaching easier. Get your own app and reach out to a larger number of students across the country. To know more, connect with us and talk to our experts now!

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Teaching History in the 21st century: 5 interactive strategies

Teaching History in the 21st century: 5 interactive strategies

“History is boring,” “there are too many dates to memorize,” “why do I care about things that happened such a long time ago?” are just a few of the questions history teachers have to deal with every day. In the 21st century, children have changed, and they need new approaches and teaching strategies. Proving your students that history is far from being boring, you can tailor interactive classes that go beyond manuals and sheets of dates and events. Let’s see five fun, interactive strategies to make history classes educational, entertaining, and engaging!

Teaching History in the 21st century: 5 interactive strategies

Adapting History Lessons to Interactive Teaching Principles

According to researchers in education and learning, the primary purpose of contemporary education should focus on student’s independent activity balanced by team activity, an organization of self-learning environments, and innovative and practical training, critical thinking, initiative, and more. Since history is an essential component of education, teachers should make the effort of engaging the students and entice them to understand history rather than memorize it.

To achieve such goals, teachers should rethink their view on history in general and history teaching in special. In this article, we will take a look at a handful of techniques that aim to:

  • Encourage student participation in compelling manners;
  • Support students to apply critical thinking upon learned events and draw their conclusions;
  • Develop cognitive methods of remembering dates and events in a facile, fun, and long-term manner;
  • Use teaching methods that capture/hold the student’s attention while pressing them for thinking and answering;
  • Work in teams, show initiative and participate in

1. Use Media to Teach and Generate Engagement

One of the essential interactive teaching styles and principles is the use of media and technology in the classroom. The easiest way to keep students engaged in the history class is to watch a movie together. Luckily, enough, Hollywood and the cinema industry does not find history boring – on the contrary, moviemakers exploit significant events and historical periods to educate viewers and thrill them at the same time.

  • If you want to teach them about Weimar and Nazi Germany , you have a handful of awarded movies that can elicit questions, debates, critical thinking, emotion, and reaction – the essential elements of interactive teaching: Wizards (1977 animated film filled with social and political commentary), The Pianist, Schindler’s List, and more.
  • After viewing such a heartwarming movie, you can engage the class, ask for opinions, and make a life-lasting lesson about the dangers of totalitarianism and the real horrors of the Holocaust.

Depending on the lesson, you can pick a full movie, an animated one, a few episodes from a TV show, a documentary, YouTube videos, and more. All you must to do is make sure the class gets a genuine reaction from the movie. The more debate you elicit, the better they will learn the pieces of history you want them to learn. Before you press the Play button, make sure the movie is age-appropriate. While some make excellent teaching materials, you need to tailor the violence and the emotional burden depending on the kids’ age.

2. Field Trips

You will not be able to take the children out of the classroom every week, but try doing it as often as you can. History seems dry and dull in the lack of physical support. Luckily, you have plenty of museums to visit together with the kids to make your point, emphasize a conclusion, or help them associate abstract notions with real-life examples.

You can also take them a bit farther and organize a day-trip to memorial sites, monuments, ruins, famous buildings and landmarks that tell a particular story.

Afterward, encourage children to work individually or in a team to mix what they learned from the books with what they saw in the field to make a point or sustain an idea.

3. History is an Ongoing, Fascinating Story

Do you know who loves history even more than directors do? Writers! If you have a particular topic you want kids to understand better, connect it with the literature they read (curriculum or not).

  • Have fun with The Three Musketeers while you teach a little piece of French history and engage kids in debates to separate fact from fiction;
  • Get Gone with the Wind and North and South a go to discuss the American Civil War;
  • Discuss the British Regency period through Pride and Prejudice ’s comment on manners, education, marriage, society, relationships, and money during that period;
  • Understand the Stone Age and Iron Age by reading the adventures of Conan the Barbarian ; try to draw similarities among the fictional prehistoric world of Robert E. Howard and our planet’s ancient times;
  • Always introduce geography (associate places with events makes learning easier) and even invite the Geography teacher for a few interdisciplinary courses.

You can always invite the English teacher to such class so you two can make an interactive, cross-disciplinary course on events, periods, and social/political evolution of cultures and countries. The English teacher will also be happy about it as such mixes will also help kids understand better the literature they study.

4. Reenactments

While it will be a bit difficult to reenact each battle you have to teach in the book, you can try stepping out of the box from time to time. Reading about fighting in history manuals is not fun, but you can have a class of active kids instead of a bored one, by making the battle/event more real.

Pick a handful of kids and challenge them to play some scenes in the textbooks. They can simulate a battle or an event. This way, you will liven up the classroom, give kids a chance to display their acting skills, have a good laugh together, and retain the essential information from the lesson.

After the theatre scene is over, you can quickly engage the entire classroom in the debate, brainstorming sessions, work in pairs, or argumentative presentations of the topic.

5. Gamification

In education, gamification is an essential component – kids learn better and for more extended periods if they play or have fun during the learning process. You have many ways to introduce gamification in any learning environment and teaching session, but we will focus on teaching history while tackling the most dreadful aspect of this class: learning of dates.

Admittedly, learning dates is just teaching months and years. Memorizing dates is fun and easy, said no children ever, so you need to help them. Times in history are critical, obviously, but lists of number strings do not help anyone.

Welcome fun games and calendars! Let us take World War II for example:

Instead of having your kids memorize that World War II started on September 1 st, 1939 with the attack of Germany on Danzig, you can start from a more easy challenge: what significant things happened in history on September the 1st ? Kids will learn that the 1 st of September means not only the beginning of WWII but also its end (the formal surrender of Japan in 1945) while reminding them that on the 1 st of September 1715 ended the most extended rule of any major monarch in Europe (the death of King Louis XIV of France).

  • And what was King Louis XIV known best for? What did he do in Europe that deserves our praise? What fiction books or movies have you seen about him? How do you feel about his times’ fashion, manners, politics, religion, and social interactions?
  • You get the point – a date can turn into the most fantastic reason for debate, individual essays, teamwork, multi-media usage, reenactments, literature, general culture, and fun;
  • Insert as much trivia and fun historical facts when you teach them dates.

This game of dates and calendars triggers logical transfers in between chunks of memory and information. While it is easier to remember that WWII started and ended on the same day, taking precisely six years, kids will have a more streamlined view on history itself (as many things happened in the same time).

You can continue the game by learning about important events taking place during a specific day in history, to make bridges between information and add a few more games into the mix.

  • Associate the crucial historical date with an event, fact, an occurrence that has an emotional impact upon children: WWII started and ended on September 1, when I… (insert here something that the child remembers easily);
  • Mix historical vital dates with fun dates: September 6, 1620, is the day when The Mayflower departed from Plymouth to sail to America. What fun thing do we celebrate on the same day? Read a Book Day ! Do you know any books about Plymouth?

Keep a day calendar and a fun calendar close. Kids will learn better and, the dream of any history teacher, will remember more historical events after class is over. Integrating different types of information from various fields in a complex narrative helps people retrieve data from their memory and use complex information in problem-solving.

Teaching interactively engages both the teacher and the classroom. Do everybody a favor and have some genuine fun with history, as kids will love it like never before.

Primary History – Great Resources For Teaching Primary History  –  Knowledge Rich resources that are free  – Mozaik3D

User submitted article, thanks Sean. 

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10 History Games to End the School Year

Wrap up your school year with these ten fun history games

Finish out your history class with a bang with these creative end of the year games!  They are a fun way to review history for kids, and many would work for a literature class as well.  They are easily adapted for different age groups by requiring different levels of detail and complexity in their responses.

10 Fun History Games to End the School Year

1. The Dinner Party

I am shamelessly borrowing this from one of my favorite high school teachers.  The students are throwing a dinner party, and the guests are the major historical figures they have studied during the year.  Their task is to create a seating chart for their guests.  Who would they seat together and why?  This works well as an individual or group project.

2. Head-to-Head Matchups

It seems that so much of history is about war and conquest, so have your students decide who they think the biggest and baddest conquerors were by lining them up in one-on-one matchups.  Could Alexander the Great defeat Napoleon?  Was a Persian royal guard tougher than an Assyrian solider?  Why or why not?  You could also do all kinds of variations: Which orator could outspeak the others?  Which king commanded the most loyalty?  Older students might like to set it up like a video game, which each opponent is rated on several factors, like strength, intellect, loyalty of troops, support of the people, etc.

3. Fantasy Conquest Teams

Following the conquest theme (can you tell we’ve been studying ancient history?), have your students create fantasy conquest teams, by taking warriors and leaders from various periods you’ve studied to create super teams then imagine what would happen as they battle it out.  Who would win?  What would the ultimate prize be?

4. Wanted Posters

Have your students create wanted posters for various historical figures, complete with drawings and a list of crimes.  You’ll find plenty of material no matter what the time period!

5. Time Travel: Take 1

Students pick one time period studied during the year that they would like to visit.  Why would they like to go there and what do they think would happen if they did?  This would work well as an essay, a short story, or a play.

6. Time Travel: Take 2

Now imagine that someone from the past (Cleopatra? Newton? Confucius? a medieval peasant?) traveled through time to your town today.  What would they think of what they encounter? How would they act?  Would they want to go home again or stay?  Again, this could be an essay, short story, or play.

7. Modern Makeover

Take a famous city or landmark you have studied and have the students give it a modern upgrade.  What would the Pyramid at Giza look like if it were being built today?  Who would build it and how?  Would it have wi-fi??

8. Crash Course

A visitor to your class wants to know what your students have learned this year.  Have them give a short summary in 5 minutes or less!  Bonus points for humor and use of visuals.

9. Yearbook Photos

Your historical figures are graduating from high school, and your students are putting together their yearbook.  Who would have been captain of the football team, and who would have been president of the chess club? Come up with some fun “Most Likely to…” captions.

10. Twenty Questions

Have the students take turns picking a mystery historical figure or event.  The other students have to try to guess the answer by asking yes or no questions, such as “Was this person a political leader?” or “Are you thinking of a battle?”

What games have you played with your students to finish out the year?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

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51 Great Online Resources for History Teachers

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We are currently building this page to help history and social studies teachers, instructors and professors find useful online resources. This project will probably never end because new sites are continuously created and old sites disappear. We have already blown past 51 great online resources. If any of the resources link to a dead page or you would like to suggest a useful site please send an email to [email protected] .

DailyHistory.org Study Guides

DailyHistory.org has over 900 articles that cover a multitude of topics. Our study guides organize core groups of materials for specific eras, and you can look for other articles with our search function. In addition to articles, we also have book reviews and booklists. Additionally, we have the complete Federalist Papers.

United States History American Civil War World War One World War Two Ancient History Roman History Renaissance History Ancient Greek History Ancient Egypt History The History of Things Book Reviews Booklists The Federalist Papers
  • The American Yawp

The American Yawp is an outstanding free online textbook that is divided into two volumes. You can also get a paper copy of the book from the Stanford University Press for $24.95 for each volume. The American Yawp is a massive "Collaboration Open U.S. History Textbook." Essentially it is an open-source textbook. Historians essentially modeled the textbook on the open-source model that has been successfully used for numerous computer programs such as Linux, MediaWiki, Wordpress, and many more. In addition to the textbook, "The American Yawp" has an excellent Sourcebook that can be used to expand on topics with primary source documents.

Besides being an excellent textbook, it is a great way to help reduce textbook costs for students because it can be accessed online for free.

  • Digital History

"Digital History" is a free textbook and sourcebook for United States History written and created by Steven Mintz and Sara McNeil . It's a great site that has a ton of content. Additionally, "Digital History" is supported by the University of Houston. Digital History also provides quizzes, interactive history modules, timelines, and teaching resource that include lesson plans and handouts. The site does use flash and some browsers will block some of the images.

  • EDSITEment! - National Endowment for the Humanities

EDSITEment! focuses on Lesson Plans and Study Activities. The Lesson Plans cover some topics and are exceptionally detailed. The plans even suggest how many class sessions should be used to teach the lesson. The lesson plan also breaks down how each day should be organized to get through all of the material. For example, take a look at Turning the Tide in Europe, 1941-1944 . It provides background for the lesson, preparation, lesson activities, assessment, lesson extensions, and a ton of resources. These are some of the best lesson plans you will find online.

The site also has a section on Student Activities. There are over 200 different student activities that can be used in classrooms. These student activities include texts, videos, and interactive maps.

EDSITEment! is easily one of the best resources for teachers and instructors.

State Online History Encyclopedias and Archive Collections:

Many states have created online history websites through state historical organizations, state universities, university presses, and state humanities organizations. Some of the sites are fantastic and others are pretty underwhelming. Still, if you need your students to write about your state or a doing a state-based history project, it can be a good place to explore first. Additionally, some states have websites that can direct students to archives but most of these archives are not online. I am also concerned that some of the state resources for archives are not considered secure by google. While that is both concerning and embarrassing, it probably should not prevent students from using the websites.

If I am missing a state history Encyclopedia or history portal - please send me an email - [email protected] - so I can add it.

  • The DPLA: Digital Public Library of America The DPLA includes a number of Primary Source Sets that allow teachers and students to explore specific topics. Additionally, the site may also be helpful if your state lacks a solid history site because it includes resources from all over the country.
  • Encyclopedia of Alabama
  • Alaska Humanities Forum Alaska History & Cultural Studies
  • Encyclopedia of Arkansas
  • Online Archive of California - This is only an archive - no articles. Most of the archives do not have any online resources available.
  • Calisphere - University of California This site is a collection of California university archives and libraries.
  • Colorado Encyclopedia
  • ConnecticutHistory.org
  • DC History Center Includes a history blog focused on DC and links to archives.
  • Floripedia: A Florida Encyclopedia
  • New Georgia Encyclopedia
  • 64 Parishes - Encyclopedia for Louisiana
  • Maine: An Encyclopedia
  • MNOpedia - Minnesota Encyclopedia
  • The Mississippi Encyclopedia
  • Missouri Encyclopedia
  • Online Nevada Encyclopedia
  • New York Heritage - Digital Collections
  • Ohio Central History - Content is pretty limited
  • The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
  • Oregon Encyclopedia
  • South Carolina Encyclopedia
  • Tennessee Encyclopedia
  • Utah History Encyclopedia
  • Encyclopedia Virginia
  • HistoryLink.org - Online Encyclopedia of Washington State
  • The West Virginia Encyclopedia
  • WyoHistory.org
  • Smithsonian's History Explorer

The Smithsonian site includes teaching lessons, interactives, videos, museum artifacts, and other teacher resources. There is a remarkable amount of material to explore. The site also has an outstanding search function. The search function allows you to look for resources based on resources type (videos, artifacts, reference materials, etc.), grade, historical era, and cross-curricular connections (look for resources that touch on multiple subjects such as economics, science, etc.)

The United States National Archives The National Archives has a ton of resources on US history that focuses on primary source documents. Additionally, the Archives has created syllabi on how to teach students how to analyze primary sources. The Archives also created the DOCSTeach online tool for teaching archives from the National Archives.

The Archives has produced material that is primarily intended for middle and high school students. Here is an example of one of their Lesson Plans: Teaching Six Big Ideas in Constitution It creates several day ways to help to teach these documents.

  • Library of Congress

Like the Smithsonian, the Libary of Congress is another outstanding United States government resource. The Library of Congress has multiple missions, but it has a teachers portal that allows you to browse materials and search for them more easily. It also has a search function that will help you find resources, but it isn't as good as the Smithsonian's search. It does allow you to search for content that satisfies Common Core and State materials. It also permits you to search for materials that fit organizational standards as set by the NCTE, AASL, NETS, NCSS and the NCSG.

  • Chronicling America - Library Of Congress

Chronicling America is a digitized resource from the Libary of Congress and the National Endowment for the Arts. Chronicling America has a massive database of newspapers from all around the country. It is an outstanding place for students to learn how to use newspapers as a source for papers and history projects.

  • The Stanford History Education Group

The Stanford History Education Group has created History Assessments of Thinking (HATS) that draw on the Library of Congress's digital resources. Here is a list of the HATS that Stanford has compiled. You can download the lesson plans from the site after you register (free) to the site. Typically, these HATS are critical writing assignments. The HATS use images or statements and to get students to write critically about the content. It is a fantastic way to add a writing assignment to cover materials that you have taught in class.

  • The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an archive based in the New York Historical Society building in New York. Instead of relying on its 70,000 piece collection on American History it has become a resource for teachers, undergraduate, and graduate students, professors and writers. Its website has a blog called History Now that has articles, videos, online timelines, and information from the Institute's exhibitions.

The 50+ Issues from History Now typically focus on a single broad historical topic. The articles in that issue will help you dive deeper into specific historical issues such as US Immigration Laws, Voting Rights, Alexander Hamilton, and Civil Rights. Each item of History Now links to relevant videos, articles, and even lesson plans.

  • National History Education Clearinghouse

TeachingHistory.org resource created by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. It has a mixture of resources for teachers including teaching guides, lesson plan reviews, website reviews, history quizzes, guides to best practices, and history content. Teachinghistory.org has a ton of content, but you will need to do a deep dive into the site to find what you are looking for. Probably the most useful aspect of the Teachinghistory.org is its Website Reviews of various historical sites.

  • Newseumed.org

Newseumed.org has a critical mission. It provides free resources "to cultivate the First Amendment and media literacy skills essential civic life." In the new social media world, students need to know how "to authenticate, analyze and evaluate information from a variety of sources." Over the past few years, it has become clear that Americans struggle to do this. Newseumed.org wants to help. To access Newseumed.org you do have to register with the site, but the materials are free.

Through its EDTOOLS feature, Newseum has numerous resources for history, government, and civics teachers. The two most useful tools are Critical Debates and Lesson Plans. Here an example of a Critical Debate entitled Is the System Fair? and a lesson plan called Introduction to the First Amendment: What's a Violation?

  • Teaching with Historic Places

Teaching with Historic Places is a site run by the National Park Service. The site is focused on using the National Park and sites on the National Register of Historic Places as educational tools to teach history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects.

The site has created Lesson Plans, Writing Assignments, Beyond the Classroom Activities and a Teacher Lessons Portal. They do have lessons plans for all states, but this a new site and it is still a touch wonky. Once they work out the kinks, it will be a great resource.

  • American Battlefield Trust

The American Battlefield Trust has created over 400 maps, videos, and articles that illustrate battles from the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. These maps, videos, and articles can be used to show what happened at over 400 battles. The site is exceedingly straightforward and informative.

  • America in Class

The National Humanities Center is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the advancement of the understanding of the humanities and is supported by approximately 50 universities, foundations, and companies created America in Class. The website provides curated primary source materials for United States history classes. These materials would be appropriate for both high school and college students. These materials are organized into thematic and time-based collections. For example, here is a link to the Toolbox The Triumph of Nationalism/The House Dividing: America 1815-1850 . The Toolbox contains materials for different topics, checklists, timelines, topic framing questions, and source material.

The materials on the site are curated, and the selections are outstanding. That provides a ton of exceptional sources and guidance that helps teachers use the materials for discussions, assignments or essays.

  • The American Presidency Project

The American Presidency Project, non-profit and non-partisan, is the leading source of presidential documents on the internet hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Messages and Papers of the Presidents: 1789-1929 The Public Papers of the Presidents: since 1929 The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: 1977-2009 The Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents: post-2009
  • Voices of Democracy -- The U.S. Oratory Project

The Voices of Democracy is a web project that focuses on great speeches from American history. There is a journal, curriculum units (based on themes, Speakers, Authors and periods) and blog with short posts focused on crucial speeches. Typically, each speech part of the site will have either a video or text of the speech, an essay, teaching materials, and additional resources. Voices on Democracy also has an Grades 8-12 Educational Resource Guide that shows teachers how to use their materials and comply with Common Core Standards.

  • Google Arts & Culture

Google Arts and Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform that allows teachers to not only connect with art in some of the best museums in the world, but also extensively covers fashion, performing arts, and world heritage sites. The site uses pictures and articles to tell unique stories about some of the most influential artists in the world. Here is a profile on Alvin Ailey and his choreography . Here's another project that introduces the art of Vermeer .

Google Arts and Culture would be a useful resource to introduce arts and culture into history or other humanities courses.

  • PBS Learning Media

PBS Media is a resource that includes videos, interactive content, and lesson plans. The site has resources for a ton beyond history and social studies. The critical component of PBS Media is its wealth of videos that have been drawn from PBS. It has over 6,000 videos (K-13+) on various social studies topics for students.

  • Digital Public Library of America

"The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is an all-digital library that aggregates metadata — or information describing an item — and thumbnails for millions of photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States." What does this mean? Essentially, it allows you to access sources from all over the world.

The DPLA has created the Primary Source Sets for teachers and instructors. The Source Sets explore historical topics with primary sources and teaching guides. You can search for the Source Sets either through the site's search function or on the Primary Source Sets page. On the Source Sets page, you can search based on subject, periods or recently added. For example, the Scopes Trial Source Set includes photos of the people involved in the trial, excerpts from the Tennessee biology textbooks, records of witness testimony, and even a political cartoon.

  • Civil Rights Movement Primary Sources

These resources were collected by Professor Evan Faulkenbury ( @evanfaulkenbury ) for his students. Each of these collections explores a different aspect of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Freedom Summer (1964) Collection - Wisconsin Historical Society SNCC Digital Gateway KZSU Project South Interviews - Stanford University Libraries Complete interviews from Eyes on the Prize - Washington University in St. Louis Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Papers - Mississippi Department of MDAH Archives and History Freedom Summer Interviews - University of Florida Civil Rights Digital Library - University System of Georgia Southern Oral History Project Black Panther sources - Michigan State University Who Speaks for the Negro? - Interviews - Vanderbilt University FBI records on Civil Rights - The Federal Bureau of Investigation Malcolm X Project - Columbia University Green Book Digital Archive - New York Public Library NY Black Freedom Struggle - Rochester University Umbra - Umbra Search African American History Goin' North - West Chester University Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina - The North Carolina Digital Collections from the State Library of North Carolina and the State Archives of North Carolina
  • National Archives - Educator Resources

The National Archives is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for maintaining and documenting government and historical records. The National Archives has been a resource for historians since its creation in 1934. The Archives has some resources available for teachers, but the DocsTeach.org is probably the most useful and readily accessible feature for teachers. DocsTeach.org is designed for educators to help them connect with the Archives resources.

  • BBC History

BBC History site focuses on short interactive stories that mix charts, videos, pictures, and text boxes. The interactives are useful for teaching subjects quickly, but they lack the depth of other sites on this list. Regardless, the interactives are fun and entertaining. Here's a link to an interactive on The London Blitz .

  • Zinn Education Project

The Zinn Education Project is inspired by Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States which emphasized the role of working people, women, people of color and the organized social movements that helped shape history. Zinn project is much less focused on politics that can take a central role in the history courses. The Zinn Education Project has a Teaching Materials portal that helps teachers find resources based on periods, themes, resource type, or grade level. It also has a keyword search function if you know what you are looking for. You can search for different types of resources including teaching activities, articles, profiles, posters, audio clips, websites, and many others. Here is an example of a Teaching Activity entitled COINTELPRO: Teaching the FBI's war on the Black Freedom Movement .

  • Ancient History Encyclopedia

The Ancient History Encyclopedia is a carefully curated encyclopedia covering the ancient world history. The encyclopedia publishes articles, definitions, timelines, maps, and has a search function. If your students are studying ancient history, this is a good place to start. Unlike Wikipedia, the articles are written and edited by experts in their fields.

  • History Blogs
Nursing Clio - Nursing Clio describes itself as "open access, peer-reviewed, collaborative blog project that ties historical scholarship to present-day issues related to gender and medicine. Bodies, reproductive rights, and health care are often at the center of social, cultural, and political debates. We believe the issues that dominate today’s headlines and affect our daily lives reach far back into the past — that the personal is historical." Tropics of Meta - Tropics of Meta describes itself as a site dedicated to offering "a fresh perspective on history, current events, popular culture, and issues in the academic world. Founded in 2010, ToM has published over 700 essays by historians, social scientists, artists, filmmakers, and creative writers both within and outside the academy, giving voice to communities across the United States and the world." We're History - "We’re History tells the story of America and how the country became what it is today. Written by scholars, it is real history with all its triumphs, failures, twists, and ironies. Our contributors come from inside and outside of academia, but they are all committed to the idea that it is history that has made us who we are." We're History has a ton of great articles addressing different aspects of American History. The Junto - The Junto "Americanists dedicated to providing content of general interest to other early Americanists and those interested in early American history, as well as a forum for discussion of relevant historical and academic topics." Points: The Blog of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society - The Points Blog "is an academic group blog that brings together scholars with wide-ranging expertise with the goal of producing original and thoughtful reflections on the history of alcohol and drugs, the web of policy surrounding them, and their place in popular culture." Process: A Blog for American History - "Process—the blog of the Organization of American Historians, The Journal of American History, and The American Historian—strives to engage professional historians and general readers in a better understanding of U.S. history." U.S. History Scene - This site is a fantastic resource for articles, primary sources, syllabi, and reading list covering American History. It describes itself as "a multimedia education website composed of historians and educators at over fifty universities dedicated to teaching the American past in a global context. Our goal is to use innovative open source technology and live digital curriculum to democratize learning and help history lovers master United States history in a way that is entertaining, relevant, and intuitive." Balkinization - Balkinization publishes articles that address current constitutional and legal issues with a historical lens. The authors are a collection of historians and law professors. They often explain currently relevant legal questions that are in the news. If there is a legal question dominating the headlines there is a good chance there is an in Balkinization on that topic. The only downside is that the site is somewhat difficult to use but it does have a useful search function.
  • Organization of American Historians Teaching Resources

The Organization of American Historians has some tools for high school and college-level United States history courses, but the material is primarily for members of the OAH. Memberships range in price from $45 (for students), $60 (K-12 Educators), and up to $245 (income over $150,000). The membership includes access to several OAH publications and US History Teaching Units. While there is a rationale to join the OAH as if you are United States history teacher, it probably cannot be justified based solely on the materials offered by the organization.

  • American Historical Association - Teaching Resources for Historians

The American Historical Association (AHA), the largest history organization in the United States, has a much rich assortment of material for teachers and instructors. Like the OAH, the AHA is a member organization and has some excellent resources on their website. They offer a mixture of classroom materials, discussions of teaching, plagiarism and a Teaching and Learning History community portal. Like the OAH, some materials will require a membership. Membership for K-12 teachers costs $59 a year.

  • Best History Websites

The Best History Sites from EdTechteacher is probably the most comprehensive listing of websites for teachers in different history fields. Despite being comprehensive, it is difficult to recommend the site because it does not appear to be updated regularly. If you start going through the site, you will find numerous dead or misdirected links. It is especially frustrating when you are looking for sources on World, Latin American, European, Asian, and African history courses. Still, it may be useful if you are willing to poke around the site.

  • Online History Courses

Free online college-level history courses are an excellent resource for teachers and instructors. They can be used as a refresher for material that you haven't studied in years or at all. Many of the sites also include portals for educators. Most of the online courses break them up into individually sub-titled lectures. Instead of taking an entire course you can watch a specific lecture on a single topic or use the resources from the class (such as lecture slides, images readings, and assignments) in your class. The number of history courses available has grown dramatically.

Most of the courses on the sites below will allow you to access all its materials (videotaped lectures, materials, images, slides, etc.), but a few don't. The videotaped lectures may be only available when the course is scheduled. Courses may also only be available for a limited period.

Most of the online courses will require you to register, and they will most likely send your email. Typically, this process is pretty painless. Additionally, some organizations will also charge a fee if you need a certificate of completion from the site. For example, EdX.org charges fees ranging from $49-99 to get a verified certificate of completion. Other sites will ask for a donation to support their programs.

Future Learn, Coursera and edX are currently the best options from this list because they get their course from multiple universities. The Yale and MIT sites appear to lack full institutional support. There numerous also other providers and some may be better options than those listed here, but the world of online courses seems to be evolving. Unfortunately, history courses are not a primary part of their offerings. Most of the sites are focusing on skills such as IT specializations and computer programing.

edX.org - edX.org has several history classes available from multiple universities across the including Columbia, Harvard, Purdue, Peking, and others. They have one of the widest selections of course. Future Learn History Courses - Future Learn has a focus on European and British History, and the courses are fairly eclectic (i.e., Hadrian's Wall, The Fall of the Roman Republic, and Why Opera Matters). As of January 2019, the site had 29 different courses available. They also have paid online degree programs for students. Coursera.org - Coursera.org is one of the largest providers of online courses in the world. It has 182 universities and organizations partnering with it. This feature allows Cousera to offer over 100 history or history-related courses. The courses offered are incredibly diverse. The courses include videos, readings, and quizzes. Some classes can be completed for free, but others are behind paywalls. You can either pay for courses individually or buy a monthly subscription. Udemy - Udemy is the largest online course provider in the world. They offer free courses, but most of them cost $9.99 or more. Their history section is relatively limited. Additionally, more than half of the classes are not in taught in English. MIT Open Courseware - MIT Open Courseware has numerous history courses, but they have not added any new courses since 2017. The courses are structured more like classes and are less user-friendly. The courses also do not appear to have videotaped lectures available after the course has finished. Still, the courses do have lecture slides and additional information for educators. Open Yale Courses History Courses - The Open Yale Courses offer free complete courses taught by Yale History professors, but it only has four history courses available.
  • Reacting to the Past

Reacting to the Past is a teaching technique that instead of relying on lectures and notes, uses elaborate role-playing games based on classic texts that require students to play historical characters. Instead of observing a lecture, students are actively working within the confines of the philosophical and intellectual beliefs of the historical figures they are portraying. Reacting to the Past requires students to explore the complicated historical situations that people lived through. As part of the game, students prepare speeches, write papers, and other public presentations to try and win the game.

Reacting to the Past was created by Mark C. Carnes at Barnard College in the 1990s. So far, it has been implemented at hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. High schools have also started introducing Reacting to the Past in the classroom. 30+ Reacting games have been published by W.W. Norton & Co., the University of North Carolina Press and the Reacting Consortium Press. In addition to the published games, there are over 100 games currently in development.

Unlike other sites on this list, Reacting to the Past requires preparation by teachers to implement it into the classroom successfully. Therefore, Reacting has numerous conferences to help teachers add it to their curriculum. The Reacting site has an article and several videos explaining how Reacting to the Past was incorporated into the Freshman curriculum at the University of Oregon.

Genealogy Explained: Military Records

Genealogy Explained has an excellent Guide for researching military records. While the guide focuses on searching military records for genealogical purposes, these records could be used for a number of different types of historical research projects. The article explains how to use the free FamilySearch.org service. The links on the guide go directly to the section on United States veterans.

  • United States History
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History STEM Activities and Challenges for the Classroom

October 25, 2022 by Melissa Seideman 1 Comment

History Stem Activities

As teachers, we love when our students understand the importance of learning the history of the world. In total honesty, many students will say they find history boring. They feel it happened so long ago, and it is not important to know about. Of course, this is not the case at all. The past truly shapes the world we live in today. Likewise, the choices we make today impact the future. Teachers can work to incorporate hands-on learning activities into history lessons. This is a great way to help students understand the lessons. These historical STEM activities and challenges for the classroom are the perfect way to bring learning alive!

Ancient Civilization Challenges

Ancient Civilizations STEM Activities

Ancient civilizations can be among the most challenging topics to draw students into. When they hear the word “ancient,” they want to tune out. However, this period contains some of the most exciting challenges and solutions! For instance, one of the most dangerous sporting events occurred during this time- chariot races! Students are always fascinated to learn how horse teams pulled two-wheeled chariots with intense turns in Ancient Greece! Additionally, they love learning how Canopic Jars were part of the mummification process in Ancient Egypt. Students never want the class to end when learning about mummification. 

U.S. History Challenges 

US History Activities

Since students live in the United States, they do not always see past and current challenges. For example, students may not realize how Native American tribes had to learn to survive in all different climates. Likewise, they had to design intricate communication systems. As time progressed, societies had to learn to make their own items to adapt to the evolving world. For instance, this helped people see the importance of the spinning wheel. When learning about US History challenges, students even learn how different wars began and progressed. 

Medieval Times Challenges 

Medieval Times STEM Activities

There is so much fascinating information to learn about Medieval Times! Students are always eager to learn more from the Renaissance to the Reformation. This includes learning about how people built transportation in Early Islam, and how people searched for gold in West Africa. Likewise, it includes learning about treasure ships in Medieval China. The Medieval Times endured many challenges while people learned to explore and communicate. Ultimately, these challenges ensure students are interested in every lesson. 

Ancient Civilization STEM Bundle

Ancient Civilizations STEM

The bundle creates the perfect way to add so much excitement to lessons. As students learn about challenges during Ancient Civilizations, there are hands-on STEM projects for students to complete. Specifically, there are 15 STEM challenges. This is an incredible way to help students understand the course material. Additionally, the activities show students how difficult it can be to develop the right solution. For instance, there is a pyramid challenge when learning about Ancient Egypt and a Masada fortress challenge for Ancient Israel. Every STEM challenge has detailed directions, photo examples, a list of materials, and several worksheets. This includes options for brainstorming, trials, and reflection. 

U.S History STEM Bundle

Medieval times stem bundle .

Medieval Times STEM

The Medieval Times contains many incredible historical STEM activities and challenges for the classroom! For instance, students will build a Zen garden to understand its importance in Medieval Japan. Additionally, students will design a zipline apparatus for a Norimono vehicle to travel. They will even create a watermill like the ones used during Medieval Europe. Every STEM challenge has detailed directions, photo examples, a list of materials, and several worksheets. This includes options for brainstorming, trials, and reflection. 

There is so much to learn about in World History. Whether studying long ago or in the past twenty years, students will love learning about discoveries, advancements, and challenges. Best of all, the history STEM activities and challenges for the classroom ensure students have a hands-on way to learn the material.

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January 11, 2023 at 2:05 pm

Do you have any suggestions on incorporating these activities in a co-op class setting where we meet once a week?

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40 Black History Month Activities for February and Beyond

Celebrate and inspire with these Black history lesson ideas.

Examples of Black History Month activities including creating a history museum and discovering archaeological monuments

We know that Black history is American history and needs to be embedded into your classroom experiences year-round. At the same time, Black History Month provides the necessary opportunity to dig deeper with students. Every February, we can support students as they learn more, discover cultural impacts, and follow social movements from the past to the present day. These Black History Month lessons and activities cannot be isolated or one-off classroom experiences. Think of how you can connect these topics to what you’re already doing and make it authentic. And most important, do not just focus on oppression: Focus on the joy too!

Since 1928, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History has provided a theme for Black History Month. In 2024, the theme is African Americans and the Arts .

1. Learn the basics about Black History Month

Watch an introductory video about Black History Month. Then ask students to write their questions about Black history and use those to curate your resources and lessons for the month.

2. Re-create civil rights freedom posters

Recreate Civil Rights Posters for black history month

The Civil Rights Movement Veterans site offers powerful examples of freedom movement posters, as does the Civil Rights Digital Library . Review them with your students, and then have them get into groups and create their own to share.

3. Explore Black history through primary sources from the National Archives

people playing basketball black history month

Primary sources are great discussion starters to talk about Black experiences. Choose from thousands of resources , including this 1970s photo series of Chicago.

4. Learn about famous Black artists

5 African-American Artists Who Inspire My Students' Creativity

Future Jacob Lawrences and Elizabeth Catletts will appreciate learning more about artists and expanding their own talents. Plus, check out these other Black artists .

5. Watch a Black History Month video

Get more specific information or do a deep dive into an area of Black history with a video about civil rights, slavery, accomplished Black Americans, and more.

Check out this list of Black history videos for students in every grade level.

Collage of video stills from videos for Black History Month

6. Learn about Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter group protesting

The Black Lives Matter site explains the group’s history while books like Dear Martin and  The Hate U Give explore the movement from a fictional perspective.

7. Learn about the inventor of the traffic light

Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light and patented the three-position traffic signal. Teach students about his achievements as an example of how Black Americans impact our everyday experiences. Watch a video about Morgan and talk about what inspired his invention and how being an African American impacted him as an inventor.

Buy it: Garrett Morgan Activity Pack at Amazon

8. Create a newsletter or magazine with content from Black authors

Have your students generate their own newsletter or literacy magazine to distribute to parents. Include poems and short stories by Black authors, as well as student-generated writings and images that center on Black History Month.

9. Read a Black History Month poem

To enhance our conversations this month, we’ve put together this list of powerful Black History Month poems for kids of all ages.

10. Listen to young poet Amanda Gorman

cover of Change Sings

Amanda Gorman is another accomplished Black American and a great introduction to Black poetry. Watch the poem she read at Barack Obama’s inauguration, read her book Change Sings , and learn about her at Poets.org.

Buy it: Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem at Amazon

11. Turn your classroom (or school!) into a history museum

student being simone biles for a school project for black history month

Have your students choose a notable Black pioneer they’d like to know more about, such as voting rights and women’s rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, dancer Alvin Ailey, or Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time national parks ranger . Then, host a living museum right in your classroom.

12. Decorate your classroom door for Black History Month

Turn your classroom door into an educational experience. Check out how these teachers decorated their classroom doors in amazing ways to showcase Black History Month, and review this video with ideas.

13. Read books with Black characters in honor of Marley Dias

Marley Dias lying atop books with Black female characters

Dias is a young activist who started the #1000blackgirlbooks campaign as a sixth grader. She has compiled an excellent guide to books with Black girl characters . Check out WeAreTeachers’ list of books with Black protagonists as well.

14. Learn the story of the Henrietta Marie

henrietta marie underwater memorial for black history month activity

The Henrietta Marie was a slave ship that sunk off the coast of Florida. Learn about the ship, its journey, and the underwater memorial that honors African slaves. Get more information about the Henrietta Marie at National Geographic.

15. Experience the I Have a Dream speech from multiple perspectives

a place to land cover

Read A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein. Then, watch the I Have a Dream Speech online, and explore resources about the speech at National Geographic . Engage students in discussing why this speech is so important in American history and why it continues to resonate today.

Buy it: A Place to Land at Amazon

16. Meet Oprah

Oprah Winfrey is a name every student knows, learn more about this influential Black American in this interview:

17. Read Black History Month books

Example of Black History Month books, including Young, Gifted and Black and The Undefeated.

If you’re looking for more reading activities, these picture books help celebrate Black History Month and educate your students on how these influential Black people helped shape history.

18. Learn the art of stepping

Black Women stepping

Stepping is a form of dancing in which the body itself is used to create unique rhythms and sounds. The website Step Afrika!  has videos and information about the history of stepping.

19. Take a virtual field trip to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Black and white photo from the Emmett Till Project

The digital collections of the Schomburg Center, located in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, feature some amazing online exhibits, interviews, and podcasts.

20. Virtually visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Photo of Black women from the Smithsonian collection

You can browse the collection online by topic, date, or place.

21. Host a poetry reading featuring works by Black poets

Have students choose a poem by a Black poet to learn and recite for the class. Choose a student to serve as the emcee, write up a program, and set the tone with dimmed lights and jazz music played between performances. The Poetry Foundation has excellent resources that can help get you started.

Here’s inspiration with Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise:

22. Check out online Black history exhibits

Online classroom exhibits for Black History Month

Educating yourself and your students with these shows is one more way to understand Black history and the current moment.

23. Dive into Georgia Stories: Black History Collection on PBS

As a state, Georgia played a huge role in the 2020 presidential election, and its Black history dates back to the earliest days of slavery in the colony.

24. Discuss implicit bias, systemic racism, and social justice

Classroom lessons on Race, Racism, and Police Violence

Start a much-needed discussion around implicit bias and systemic racism with these resources that can empower students to fight for justice in our society.

25. Read and discuss Freedom in Congo Square

Freedom in Congo Square book for Black History lessons

The award-winning picture book Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie is a nonfiction children’s book that describes the tyranny of slavery to help young readers understand how jubilant Sundays were for slaves.

Buy it: Freedom in Congo Square at Amazon

26. Watch Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History

Netflix website screenshot for Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History

Kevin Hart highlights the fascinating contributions of Black history’s unsung heroes in this entertaining—and educational—comedy special.

27. Recognize Black visionaries

African American Visionaries classroom poster

This great poster featuring activists, artists, authors, and revolutionaries will highlight Black changemakers in your classroom. Use companion activities to deepen understanding by researching several of the visionaries and asking students to write a story or create their own poster about what they’ve learned.

28. Review a timeline of Black history

Black History month timeline

Why is Black History Month in February? How long ago was it founded, and who started it? Find the answers to these questions and learn more with this timeline .

29. Explore the music of Black artists

The history of African American music lesson plans for classroom

This lesson traces the long history of how Black artists have used music as a vehicle for communicating beliefs, aspirations, observations, joy, despair, resistance, and more across U.S. history.

30. Sample Black-founded snack brands

Examples of a variety of black-founded snack foods

Honor Black History Month with delicious snacks from Black-founded brands delivered to your classroom—5% of proceeds are donated to the Equal Justice Initiative and one meal is donated to Feeding America for every box delivered.

31. Understand the role of Black women in NASA’s history

hidden figures movie poster

How much do your students know about Black contributions to space exploration? Rent the film Hidden Figures and watch with your students to remember, honor, and share the incredible accomplishments of three Black women working on NASA’s space flight program. Before watching the movie, research the liberties the film took in telling the story and discuss with your students the function of the choices. Did the filmmakers make the right choices?

Watch it: Hidden Figures at Amazon

32. Support local Black-owned businesses

Research your city’s Black-owned businesses and see if you can purchase a sample of their products, invite some of the entrepreneurs to speak to your class, or book a field trip!

33. Stream Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices on Netflix

illustrations of a diverse range of family structures and their kids with the title Bookmarks written across the front.

“ Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices is a live-action collection of 12 five-minute episodes featuring prominent Black celebrities and artists reading children’s books from Black authors that highlight the Black experience.”

34. Celebrate the “Black Lives Matter at School” movement

black lives matter at school banner

“Black Lives Matter at School” is a national coalition organized for racial justice in education. It encourages all educators, students, parents, unions, and community organizations to join an annual week of action during the first week of February each year.​ For a variety of Black History Month activities, visit their website to learn more about their campaign .

35. Watch a historic moment

barack and michelle obama at the inauguration

When Barack Obama was inaugurated in 2009, it was a monumental day for Black History. Watch his inauguration and discuss what this meant for American history.

36. Analyze Hair Love

You can approach the book Hair Love by Matthew Cherry in a few ways. Talk about the importance of representation in picture books and media, have students share their connections with the story, or analyze the book as a story about modern Black families.

Buy it: Hair Love at Amazon

37. Study the Underground Railroad

before she was harriet cover

Examine the Underground Railroad using various sources, like the picture book biography Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome. National Geographic has a collection of resources about the Underground Railroad . And you can take a virtual tour of the Harriet Tubman museum.

Buy it: Before She Was Harriet at Amazon

38. Research Juneteenth

African americans during a juneteenth celebration for black history month activities

Juneteenth is a holiday that celebrates the freedom of enslaved people. Learn about Juneteenth , how it came about, and what it means to Black Americans with these National Geographic resources.

39. Listen to musician Rhiannon Giddens

As she was trying to understand and make sense of violence against Black Americans in 2020, folk musician Rhiannon Giddens wrote and released the song “Build a House.” The song came out on the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. The song, which was made into a picture book, captures 400 years of Black history in a lyrical and thoughtful way. Use Giddens’ book either to introduce or wrap up a month on Black history.

Read an essay about the song , and watch the video.

Buy it: Build a House at Amazon

40. Study the pivotal court case Loving v. Virginia

Mildred and Richard Loving from the Loving v Virginia case

Loving v. Virginia, decided in 1967, made marriage between people of different races legal. Learn about the Loving decision and why it’s important at National Geographic.

Plus, get inspiration from these Black History Month bulletin boards for your classroom .

Want more articles like this subscribe to our newsletters to find out when they’re posted.

Celebrate the art, poetry, music, inventions, and contributions of Black Americans with these Black History Month activities.

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Teaching Innovations

Motivating Students by Active Learning in the History Classroom

Peter J. Frederick | Oct 1, 1993

Tell me, and I'll listen Show me, and I'll understand Involve me, and I'll learn —Lakota

The highest challenge we face as classroom teachers is to motivate our students to love history as we do, and to be joyously involved with the texts, themes, issues, and questions of history that interest and excite us. Although our students may seem less well motivated or prepared these days, ultimately the responsibility for their motivation rests with us. The purpose of this article is to suggest several practical strategies for involving students more actively in our history classrooms as a way of instilling in them more responsibility for their own learning, and, therefore, a greater love of history.

Every study of effective educational practices in recent years cites active and small-group cooperative learning, high expectations combined with frequent feedback, "hands-on" experiences practicing the skills of the discipline, and caring teachers as key elements in motivating students to learn. Students are engaged and more responsible for their own learning when teachers find ways of connecting significant course concepts and ideas with the personal concerns, issues, and prior experiences of students' lives. Moreover, it has become imperative to find ways of supporting and affirming the collaborative and contextualized learning styles of women and students of color. (See especially, to cite only two titles, Teaching for Diversity , ed. Laura B. Border and Nancy Van Note Chism, in New Directions for Teaching and Learning 49 [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, spring 1992]; and Mary Belenky, B. Clinchy, N. Goldberger, and J. Tarule, Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind [New York: Basic Books, 1986].)

Whether in lecture auditoriums with two hundred to three hundred students in fixed seats or in smaller rooms with movable chairs and fifteen to fifty students, there are many ways of involving students more actively in history courses. The teaching strategies that follow are divided into seven sections: brainstorming, visual representations, student questions, small groups in large classes, in-class practice in thinking historically, debates and role-playing, and the use of music, slides, and emotions.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an effective way of accomplishing several teaching/learning goals at the same time, especially on the first day of a new term or at the beginning of a new unit. Students bring to most courses both a degree of familiarity and considerable misinformation. To honor their prior knowledge (and discover their misconceptions), walk into class the first day and write the title of the course on the board: American History to 1877; The African American Experience; Women in the Middle Ages; Cultural Life in Ancient Athens; Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in America; or whatever. Take each key word in the title and invite students to free associate, saying whatever comes into their minds about that word. Write on the board (or on transparencies) what they say exactly as they say it.

If needed, I will prompt a group by suggesting that they respond in "words, images, or feelings" or in "political, social, economic, and cultural categories," or by challenging them "to double the list." Only occasionally will I offer a word or two of my own. The point is that hearing ideas, concepts, and words generates others. When the board (or a transparency) has been filled, I then sit among the students facing their list and ask: "What patterns, themes, or groupings do you see?" Rudimentary analysis follows. Themes, categories, and even metaphors or catchy phrases emerge which can create student ownership by becoming the operative organizing concepts of the course.

The only rules for brainstorming are that "anything goes" and that the teacher should acknowledge every comment by transcribing it, honoring student wording. To change the language or to ask students to explain what they mean interrupts the brainstorming, kills the energy, and intimidates. Only sparingly do I ask for clarification or permission to change the way a student said something.

Within five to ten minutes at the start of the course, then, brainstorming provides the teacher with a sense of what a new class of students knows (and doesn't know) about the topic. It is a kind of pretest; numerous students get to speak, and a tone of involvement and mutual responsibility has been set. Students share ownership for the course right at the start. To underline that I do indeed value their ideas, I save the list (using transparencies avoids having to copy the board) and bring it back from time to time during the term to remind students of the overarching course themes as well as to acknowledge again their part in setting the agenda—and even the language—for the course.

Brainstorming is also useful when beginning a new topic. Ask students to call out "everything you know or think you know about World War I" (or Darwinism, Japan, slavery, the Renaissance, the Constitutional Convention, or whatever). As recorded on an overhead transparency or chalkboard, a list will unfold of a mixture of specific names, dates, events, feelings, prejudices, and implicit interpretive judgments. To ask students to call out what they know about slavery, for example, elicits many images about the politics of the Civil War and the physical horrors of slavery but very little about slave culture and community. That tells us something. Another use of brainstorming that provides a quick profile of a group is to invite students to suggest words, images, and emotions they associate with terms such as romanticism , liberalism , feminism , imperialism , or multiculturalism .

Another way to introduce a new topic—or to get feedback on how well they are learning—is to ask students to make statements they believe to be true about an issue. "It is true about the Vietnam War that. . ."; "We have agreed that it is true about the New Deal that. . ."; "We know it to be true about the Middle Ages that. . ."; "It is true about Latin American politics that. . ."; and so on. Generate a list and analyze each claim, with some students presenting their truth statements and others raising questions about them. By examining each truth statement interactively, the class models a collaborative process of analytic thinking. This is especially useful for dealing with emotional or romanticized topics, such as race, gender, or Native Americans, where supportive demythologizing may be necessary. This strategy reveals the complexity of knowledge and generates questions and issues requiring further study, perhaps in a paper or examination question.

Visual Representations

Brainstorming is effective not only because lists are mutually generated and affirm students, but also because it is visual. Invite students to call out one concrete visual image that stands out from a particular reading, event, biography, or period of time. "From your reading about Columbus (or Frederick Douglass, the Pullman Strike, the 1920s, or women's lives during the French Revolution, etc.), what one specific scene, event, or moment stands out in your mind? What do you see?" The recall of concrete scenes prompts further recollections, and a flood of images flows from the students. Listing the images on the chalkboard provides a visual backdrop to the lecture or discussion that follows. I do not usually ask individual students to explain their choices. First, the class, as a group, creates a collage of images; then, together, we analyze the list by looking for patterns and themes.

Students are motivated by visual reinforcements of their learning not only because as visual learners they can more easily understand and remember a concept if they see it, but also because of the emotions of visualization. Consider the evocative power of slides and other visual media as a way of involving students actively in the interpretation of a single visual image. For example, show an emotionally powerful slide (or transparency) of a Thomas Nast or Herblock cartoon, a photograph of a family or famous scene (Pearl Harbor, Kent State, or Tienanmen Square), a presidential campaign poster, or a painting (Hogarth for English social history or an American genre painting). Ask students first to "describe what you see" and then to analyze what it means, perhaps even to suggest a title or caption. In this approach, facts precede analysis, and the learning moves from lower order "what happened" and "what do you see" questions to higher order "why" and "what do you think about it" questions (making sure to differentiate between "think" and "feel" questions and answers). Working with concrete visual imagery at the beginning of a class (or in the middle of a lecture) activates student energy and enhances the vividness of the content for the day. Imagery is both fun and motivating.

My favorite cartoon is John Gast's "Westward-Ho" (also known as "American Progress," 1872), which shows a classically dressed Miss Liberty, carrying a schoolbook and stringing telegraph wire as she brings light and "civilization" to the "savage" West, represented by dark mountains and fleeing Indians, buffalo, and other wild animals. Floating high above the Great Plains, she leads miners, farmers, ranchers, stagecoaches, wagon trains, and railroads across the country. There are many details to describe. The analysis includes noting the various stages of westward "development" as well as a lively debate over whose perspective with which to title the painting. This one painting also leads to a discussion of the male use of female imagery to support aggressive expansionism.

Students can create their own visual representations as well as interpret well-known ones. Imagery can be used to represent complex concepts. In a historiography course I recently asked students, in small groups, to draw an image or logo (either literal or symbolic) to represent the ideas of historians such as Van Ranke, Macaulay, Marx, Michelet, and Carlyle. The task forced students into the text (Fritz Stern's Varieties of History ) to find important (and evocative) passages that suggested an appropriate visual representation. There is, I believe, no historical concept, idea, person, or event which does not lend itself to this strategy.

Student Questions

James Baldwin observed, while teaching at the University of Massachusetts, that "a young person doesn't really want you to answer his question, he wants you to hear it, then he or she can deal with it. ... If you hear it, the question is real." How, then, do we show students that we take their questions seriously in order to empower them and motivate their learning? There are many ways of generating student questions. Ask the students ahead of time to prepare questions about their reading or a topic and bring them to class. In small classes I appoint a student to read all the questions aloud first, and I invite all of us to listen for reiterated themes and patterns. With larger groups I collect and collate the questions before spending time discussing responses with the class.

One way to put the assignment to the student is as follows: "A question I still have about the immigrant experience (or feudalism, Puritanism, the sexuality of slavery, or whatever), but have been afraid to ask is... " Another variation is to ask students, as they enter the classroom, to call out questions about the text or topic they hope will be answered that day. At some point halfway through a period, divide the students into pairs or small groups and ask them to "take five minutes and agree on one question you would like to explore further." This will sort out fewer, more thoughtful questions, and will lead to some peer teaching and learning as one member of a group answers another's query in the course of the search for a consensus question.

At the end of the session ask students to note one or two still-unresolved questions they want explored during the next class. If combined with asking them also to state the one or two most significant things they learned that day, this becomes the highly successful strategy described by Pat Cross as the "one-minute paper." (See Richard J. Light, The Harvard Assessment Seminars: First Report , 1990, pp. 36–37.) Hearing students' questions is an excellent way for an instructor to get feedback on how well the students are learning. The quality and substance of their questions indicate their strengths (that is, what is working) as well as gaps in understanding.

Small Groups in Large Classes

No matter how large, a class can always be divided into groups of two, five, or eight, thus serving four primary purposes. The first is to provide energy shifts from lecturing, and the second to allow students to practice their understanding of key course concepts. The third is to empower more students (especially many women, students of color, and reticent white males, many of whom tend to do better in collaborative settings) to test how well they are learning by writing and talking about their ideas in a safe context. The fourth purpose is to give teachers an opportunity to assess learning as well as to establish personal contact with students as teachers move around listening to a sampling of the small group discussions.

There are three crucial points to consider in helping small groups work efficiently. First, the instructions should be clear, simple, and task oriented. For example: "What do you think was the crucial turning point in Malcolm X's life?" "Suggest three possible symbolic meanings of the green light at the end of Daisy's dock." "Which character in The Iliad best represents the qualities of a Greek hero?" "Which example of imperialism defines it best, and why?" "What opinions did slaves have to seek their freedom or assert their self-worth?" "Identify three positive and three negative features of Lyndon Johnson's administration." "Generate a list of restrictions on women's freedoms in the 1850s." "If you were Lincoln, what would you have done about Fort Sumter?"

The second necessity in providing instructions is to give the groups a sense of how much time they have to do their work. "Take ten minutes to define your group's position or decision." And third, it is crucial to make time for public reporting (debriefing) before class time is over (either orally or by writing each group's conclusions on the chalkboard or a transparency). Not only are groups understandably interested in what other groups have decided, but student learning is enhanced by hearing the range of similar and different arguments.

Teachers can energize even large auditorium lecture classes by separating them into small groups, first by asking students to write for a couple of minutes on a question and then by having them talk with two or three neighbors. "What's the most important point I've been making for the past ten minutes?" "Which explanation of the causes of the Thirty Years' War makes the most sense to you?" "How would you, as a woman, have asserted your autonomy in a Victorian marriage?" "Which aspect of Puritan theology bothers you the most, and why?" After as little as four or five minutes, invite volunteers to call out their conclusions and concerns. One needs only to hear a sampling of the trios to get a sense of the class, which then informs one what to do next. This active learning strategy not only provides feedback but also reenergizes (i.e., motivates) the group for, say, the lecture of assignment that follows.

In-Class Practice in Thinking Historically

Students can begin to learn how to think historically (by which I mean, for starters, decoding and interpreting a document or event) by being confronted with the dissonance of a powerfully evocative visual. "American Progress" is one, but also consider the photograph of five generations of a Lakota family in the 1890s dressed in traditional clothing as well as pants fashioned out of an American flag. Interpretive historical thinking is stimulated by a compelling unfinished human story. "What will happen to the confident Athenians in Sicily?" "What brought Captain Parker's men to Lexington Green that cold April morning?" "What will Lincoln do, and why?" "Will the freedmen on the Hammond plantation achieve their goals in those chaotic months of 1865?" "What will happen to this young immigrant woman as she arrives in New York?" As these examples suggest, it is best to tell a story that focuses clearly on a human decision or fate and ask, "Which outcome to this story makes the most sense to you?" The answer, no doubt a complex one involving both historical narrative and some flights of fancy, unfolds during the class hour in a mixture of interactive brainstorming, reasoning, and lecture. Differing causal interpretations are inevitable.

Perhaps the most important historical skill our students need is the ability to read. We can use an old-fashioned but woefully ignored technique, explication du texte , even in large lecture classes, to teach our students how to read and interpret texts. Depending on the level and size of the class, the instructor might demonstrate how to read a passage, with students following along on handouts or an overhead. And then it is their turn to practice thinking like historians. There are many ways to select appropriate passages and to structure such a class. Invite students, either ahead of time (preferably) or at the start of class, to "find one or two quotations from the text you found particularly significant and be prepared to justify your choice." Or, "find one quotation you especially liked and one you disliked." Or, "identify the passage which you think best illustrates the major thesis of the chapter or book, and explain why." (For more on interpreting texts, see Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr., "Demystifying Historical Authority: Critical Textual Analysis in the Classroom" in History Anew: Innovations in the Teaching of History Today , edited by Robert Blackey [Long Beach, CA: The University Press, California State University, Long Beach, 1993].)

Students are then ready to read these passages aloud and discuss them. Be sure to give them enough time to find the right spot in their book. Lively interaction is likely because not all students select the same quotations, nor do they all interpret them the same way. Upon reaching an especially ambiguous passage, small groups of three to four students could be asked to struggle with the meaning. "Three of you sitting next to each other, put your heads together and in your own words state what you think is the main point of the passage. What's happening here?" Invite a few groups to report their reflections, giving both you and the students an opportunity to react to the differing interpretations.

This process of modeling how to read analytically in large lectures can be done for other than just verbal texts. We can use class time as "history labs," training students how to do quantitative analysis of graphs, charts, and tables, how to interpret census data, and how to read maps. Many of us distribute short historical documents in class—a tax record, a household inventory, a diary entry, a folktale, a will, a ship's manifest, an old tool, a family photograph—and ask, "What do you see? What does the document say?" After teasing out the content of the document, then ask higher-order questions of significance: "What does it mean or tell us? What implications do you draw from the document on how people lived?" In summary, make sure students have a copy of the document or source in front of them (or have visual access), and then follow three steps: modeling by the teacher, practice by the students, and feedback between and among teacher and students.

Debates and Role-Playing

Although debates are an energizing way to motivate students, we must be sensitive to the aversion of some students (many women, for example) to confrontational learning, and that neither one of two polar sides of an issue obviously contains the whole truth. Nevertheless, it is sometimes pedagogically desirable to force students to choose one or the other side of a dichotomous question and to defend their choice. Consider, even in a large lecture setting, a debate on such questions as the following: "Was Burke or Paine more right about the French Revolution?" "Was Nat Turner's revolt justified?" "If you were a black sharecropper in 1905, would Booker T. Washington or W. E. B. Du Bois have the better plan for your progress?" "Should the United States have annexed the Philippines or not in 1898?" "The United States: 'Melting Pot,' 'Salad,' or 'Quilt'?"

By taking advantage of the central aisle dividing large lecture halls in half the logistics for structuring debates are quite simple. Students can either support the side of an issue assigned to the half of the hall where they happen to be sitting, or, as prearranged in conjunction with the stimulation of a film or reading assignment, they can come to class prepared to take a seat on one side or another. In an auditorium with two doors, post signs over the doors directing students to the two sides: "Burke" or "Paine." Once students have physically, as it were, put their bodies on the line, they are receptive to answering a simple question: "Why have you chosen to sit where you are?" That is usually enough to spark a rather lively debate.

In large classes, more structure is necessary: "From the right side of the room let's hear five statements on behalf of the 'Hawk' side of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, after which we will hear five statements from the left on the 'Dove' side." The process can be repeated, including rebuttals, before concluding by asking for two or three volunteers to make summary arguments for each side, and perhaps taking a final vote. But most important questions do not divide into halves. Our students would never settle for forced dichotomous choices. When some students (quite rightly) refuse to choose one side or the other, create a middle ground (and literal space). Some lecture halls have two central aisles, which makes legitimizing a third position both intellectually defensible and logically possible. "Those who repudiate both sides, sit in the middle." Now three groups are invited the state their positions, and the complexities of learning increase. Students in the middle, for example, might learn how difficult it is to try to remain neutral on heated emotional issues; those on the sides might hear the value of complexity.

Role-playing is another highly motivating active-learning strategy. One form is for the teacher to enter the class in the role of a historical figure (including dress and props) to give a speech or sermon and then to invite questions. Another is to give several students (or groups) time to research several well-known historical figures and to bring them together for a panel, press conference, debate, or dinner party. But the strategy can also be used to illuminate the experiences and difficult choices of ordinary people and social groups.

The process is not as complicated as one might think. First, a minilecture establishes the context and setting for the role-playing. Second, the class is divided into a number of small groups, each assigned a clearly delineated social role. Third, each group is given a specific, concrete task—usually to propose a position and course of action. The proposals emanating from different groups will inevitably conflict with each other in some way—racially, regionally, ideologically, tactically, or over scarce funds, land, jobs, power, or resources. Given these conflicts, closure is as difficult to achieve in a role-play as in history itself. The following examples will suggest others. Create a New England town meeting in 1779 in which a variety of groups (landed elite, yeoman farmers, Tory loyalists, militiamen and soldiers of the Continental Army, lawyers, ministers, and tradesmen, etc.) are charged with drafting instructions for delegates to a state constitutional convention. Or, challenge several groups in the summer of 1865—defeated Confederates, victorious northern Republicans, freedmen, moderate northerners, and southern unionists—to develop lists of their goals and the strategies for accomplishing them.

A variation is to put a whole class into the same situation, that of, say, emancipated slaves on a Texas plantation in 1865; unskilled and skilled immigrant steelworkers facing a lockout in Pennsylvania in 1892; female abolitionists in the 1830s; or civil rights activists in the 1960s, and ask the students to decide what to do to achieve their freedom. A political history variation is to make yourself a national leader facing a serious crisis, say, Napoleon in 1799, Lincoln in 1861, or Kennedy in 1961, and create "brain trust" groups on different issues to advise you. The role-playing process can be extended by structuring a meeting or convention to consider different group proposals. Students could prepare speeches and caucus to develop strategies, coalitions, and tactics for achieving their goals and to see the deliberations through to some conclusion. Neat, simple, clear closures are not easy (short of the class-ending buzzer), but this variation for large lecture classes has tremendous potential for experiential learning based on energy and interaction.

In a role-playing activity, the teacher plays an active role as moderator of the meetings or as chief executive, organizing and carefully monitoring the interactions. Because role-playing in conflicting groups can get heated and potentially out of control, it is necessary to wield a vigorous gavel and forcefully direct the process. This in itself models another point about leadership in history. Order can be restored by shifting to the discussion of what was learned. The cardinal rule of role-playing, on order to insure cognitive reinforcement of an emotional experience, is that even more time should be spent debriefing than was taken in the exercise itself. Given careful planning, clear directions, assertive leadership, thoughtful debriefing, and a lot of luck, role-playing is an effective strategy involving enormous energy and learning.

Music, Slides, Emotions—and Multiculturalism

No account of motivating students through active learning is complete without acknowledging the power of the use of media. Much has been written on historical films and videos, but here I focus only on the role of slides and music in evoking students' emotional learning about multicultural issues. Emotions have surely played an enormous role in history; therefore, they belong in the history classroom. Emotions arouse and focus attention, raise questions, and stimulate rethinking; in short, emotional experience leads to cognitive understanding and insight.

Here are a few examples. I often use a piece of music and a collage of visual images appropriate to the topic or text for the day as a way of setting the tone at the beginning of class. Imagine, for example, viewing images of slavery while listening to spirituals, or of scenes from the civil rights movement while hearing songs of the period. Or, imagine the dissonance of walking into the first day of a survey class in United States history listening to Dvorak's "New World Symphony" while looking at a collage of images of pre-Columbian life among various Indian cultures.

Or use the "music" of speech. To show the shift in the mood of the black liberation struggle in the mid-1960s, compare (with visuals) Malcolm X's "Message to the Grass Roots" of November 1963 with Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech of three months earlier. For an even more powerful effect, put slides together synchronized with the visual images suggested during the last five minutes of Dr. King's Memphis speech of April 3, 1968, "I See the Promised Land. . . I've Been to the Mountaintop," concluding with images of King's assassination and funeral. Next, ask students to write ("words, feelings, images") for a few moments, then to talk together in pairs or threes, before debriefing as a whole class the feelings, thoughts, and questions the experience evoked.

Whether experiencing the affective power of music, voice, and image; brainstorming; interpreting visuals and other "texts"; or doing debates, the presence of emotions engages students in an appreciation of the human drama of history. The problem, of course, is that these active-learning strategies take time, at the cost of "covering" the material. So what to do? There is no tougher teaching/learning question.

A couple of thoughts: it is inherent in being a historian to make content and interpretive selections in looking at the past, choices based on what we think are the essential questions and irreducibly significant facts and concepts of our field. Likewise, we make pedagogical choices; these depend on our goals, on who our students are and, to an extent, on our interpretive content goals as well. Just as I choose to emphasize a social and cultural view of American history or to spend more time on the dilemmas of the abolitionists than on Jacksonian economic policy, I also choose to incorporate the participatory strategies described here in my classes. Only rarely do I give an old-fashioned lecture, though it must be understood that a well-crafted oral presentation, with visuals, can be an "active learning" experience for students.

Active learning is therefore not necessarily incompatible with coverage. For example, one day I decided that my students needed to learn how to read a textbook chapter by looking in depth at the opening two to three pages. When the hour was over I realized that in the process of explicating a few paragraphs in depth, which involved a highly interactive and even heated discussion of significant issues, in this case the principles of revolutionary republicanism, we had in fact dealt with the major factual and conceptual issues of the entire chapter.

The choices I make as a teacher assume that motivation is enhanced to the extent that students' confidence and self-esteem are bolstered through successes. It is crucial that students have a sense that they are in fact acquiring historical facts, concepts, and skills and that they value the habits of mind and heart involved in the study of history. In addition, students need to be able to claim ownership and responsibility for their own learning as a result of having been actively involved in it. As an early advocate of active learning, Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote in his journal that a wise person "must feel and teach that the best wisdom cannot be communicated [but] must be acquired by every soul for itself."

Although usually at Wabash College in Indiana, Peter Frederick is currently the Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at Carleton College and first coordinator-director of the Learning and Teaching Center at Carleton. He is the author of numerous articles on teaching and learning, and a faculty development consultant for many colleges and universities. This paper is a revised version of an earlier article, "Active Learning in History Classes," Teaching History: A Journal of Methods , Vol. 16 (Fall 1991): 67–83.

Tags: Teaching Resources and Strategies

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Explore Muslim Holidays With Ramadan & Eid al-Fitr Activities

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Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is considered one of the holiest times of the year for Muslims. This month of fasting and reflection helps bring those who observe closer to their faith, friends, and family members. It ends with Eid al-Fitr, known as the Festival of Breaking Fast , where Muslims gather to celebrate with family, food, prayer, and other traditions.

To help you teach your students about these two important Islamic holidays, we’ve curated a group of resources to bring Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr activities into your classroom:

Explore Ramadan texts

Discover the history and traditions of ramadan and eid al-fitr.

Teach students about the Muslim holy month through literature and informational texts to help them see both real-life and fictionalized versions of Ramadan celebrations:

Watch an interactive video to build background knowledge about the holiday of Ramadan.

Read the fictional story “Gifts of Ramadan” by Kim Ellis and explore how the theme of self-control follows the main character, Asef, throughout the story.

Have students write a poem from Asef’s point of view that could take place during the story. Have them use details that they learned about Ramadan from the video and the story to enhance their poem.

Build students’ background knowledge about Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and other spring holidays, and start discussions about diverse perspectives with these social studies resources:

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Celebrating Ramadan

Explore the celebrations and sacrifices that take place during the ninth month of the Islamic year to help students better understand the significance of Ramadan:

Give students an introduction to the Islamic faith and the prophet Muhammad to build background knowledge about the holiday and its significance.

Read about how Muslim families balance their religious duties of fasting, prayer, and reflection with their daily schedules and routines during Ramadan.

See how one Michigan TikTok star’s Ramadan recipes videos were a hit on the app—and how he brought those viral dishes straight to the “Chopped” kitchen!

Celebrating Eid al-Fitr

Teach students about the joyous celebration of Eid al-Fitr and why Muslims celebrate this holiday after the month of Ramadan: 

Watch an interactive video that explains the history and significance of Eid al-Fitr.

Learn why the College Board expanded Advance Placement testing options for students in 2021 to respect the holy day of Eid al-Fitr.

Start a thoughtful discussion with students considering whether public schools in the United States should recognize and accommodate more Muslim and Jewish holidays in their calendars.

Religious celebrations in April

Give your students an overview of the histories and traditions of various religious celebrations that happen during April :

Discover the similarities and differences among Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holidays like Passover, Easter, Ramadan, and Eid al-Fitr . 

Break students into jigsaw groups and assign each group a holiday to study and create a presentation for the class.

Have students share their presentations with the class using the information they learned. Encourage the listeners to ask questions and take notes about information they find interesting.

Add more skills practice to your Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr activities

Did you know it’s easy to add additional skills practice to any Newsela lesson? With our updated skills search filter, you can select which skills you want to teach in the classroom and find articles that match your topic! Plus, with skill labels on each article, you get a snapshot of which ones fit your lesson best. Ready to give it a try? Log into your Newsela account to see how it works!

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COMMENTS

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