What are some good ways of teaching children history?

1. I've been very impressed with the new Tuttle Twins history book, America's History: A Series of Tuttle Twins Stories.

   1. 🟠Just wish they were as accessible as mainstream books ($10-15.00 on Audible, Google Play, Amazon, or Ebay)
      
      

   2. Encourage children and grandchildren to read history books and discuss. They may be borrowed from me.

      1. There is an intrinsic reward that comes from reading books (learning), but this reward is usually not enough to instigate the learning activity. Suggest lunch or a monetary bounty, after the child satisfies the requirements. - Rich
         
         

   3. Perhaps having children read a chapter from a selection of books, writing a short paper demonstrating understanding, discussing it with an adult would be useful.

      1. I like to offer dictation tools (e.g. the dictation tool on a Google Doc or MS Word doc) as an alternative to typing. I believe typing will be less and less valuable as dictation tools become more powerful. - Rich
         
         

   4. It's common for teachers to provide extra credit for written papers. Ask teachers if such a thing is open and help children earn some extra credit this way. Along the way they improve their writing skills and may pick up a little history.

      1. Extra credit is often perceived as unfair, especially if the course is curved. All classes are curved in one way or another... Better to just require kids to read books (and incentivize them to absorb the book's message) - Rich

      2. History is often perceived as boring. Better to study stories (fiction or non-fiction). I loved the alternative-history series For All Mankind. This series examines the race to the moon, but in a universe where Russia beat the US to the moon. - Rich
         

2. Create a list of questions children can choose to write about to get extra credit for home and/or school.

   1. Why did Christopher Columbus end up discovering what would later be called America?

   2. Why did the, "Silk Road" bring so much prosperity and what caused it to end?

   3. Discussion questions are awesome too. Some students prefer talking to writing - Rich
      

3. History has traditionally been taught with a focus on memorizing names and dates. A more interesting approach is to focus on interesting stories, learning why people did what they did, and how it relates to current challenges.

   1. Some of these lessons can be learned from fictional stories too.
      

4. Create a list of exceptional educational resources. Availability to such a list can make it easier for parents to teach their children important things.

   1. America's History: A Series of Tuttle Twins Stories

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