Bringing history to life
When I was in school, history was boring. It meant textbook after textbook of dry facts compiled for the purpose of memorization. I didn’t hate the subject, but I barely stayed awake through my semester of Ancient World History. Yikes! There were a bunch of wars, but why? There were a bunch of explorers, but why? There were a bunch of laws, but why? Without knowing the motivation and the personalities behind these historical events, the events themselves became meaningless to me. It wasn’t until I was an adult and began to read living history books such as The Light and the Glory series by Peter Marshall that it became interesting for me. That’s when I decided the best approach to teaching history in our homeschool was through living books.
What is a living book? It’s a book, in this case about history, written by someone who has a passion for the subject and who writes in an engaging, storytelling style. It’s not a series of random dates. It’s the real story behind the history. It can be historically accurate fiction or non-fiction. The idea is that it incites enthusiasm and interest in the reader to learn more. History did not happen in a vacuum. Incidents triggered other incidents which motivated other people to take certain actions which set into motion other events. Some people were motivated by altruistic or Christian ideals. Some people, like Hitler, were motivated by evil. Without discussing this, you miss the point of studying history at all.
The idea of studying living books goes back to the Charlotte Mason method of teaching. I am not a strict Charlotte Mason-only teacher, but I do appreciate her ideas and incorporate many of them into our learning, such as narration. When Big Sis reads a living history book on her own or we read one aloud together, we always have some lively discussions about it. This builds on her enthusiasm for the topic and also strengthens her comprehension and critical thinking skills.
If you would like to learn more about this method of study, I recommend the following websites:
As Big Sis has been reading through the Little House on the Prairie series and books like The Wright Brothers and their Sister, she has exclaimed, “Wow, I’m learning so much history from these books!” She’s enjoying it, to boot. We are working on a timeline so she can have a visual aid to historical events. What was happening in Europe during the Civil War? Which was invented first, the light bulb or the telegraph? These are questions that she asks and we can then plot on our timeline.
I am also a big fan of field trips for history lessons. Even if no “major” historical events took place near your home, there is history all around you. Take a trip to your city hall and odds are they’ll have information about the founding of your city. How did it get its name? What year did your state enter the union? What is the major industry of your hometown? Of course if you get to travel, there are countless historical landmarks to visit and learn more about the real people who lived before us. It’s one thing to read about the Statue of Liberty, but it’s quite another thing to see it in person.
Another fun resource to add depth to our history studies is the Draw and Write through History series. Using a multi-sensory approach to learning generally cements the lessons more firmly in our memory. With this series, kids draw a picture to correspond to their history lesson, as well as complete some copywork (historical facts or quotes) for handwriting practice. Big Sis loves almost anything that involves making art, so this is a good combination for her.
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I never understood the concept of a living book, but was thrilled to realize that I have a collection of these in our home library. We own about 50 Landmark books and love them!
we’re not Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, but I like a lot of her ideas. I love history, and try to make it a story and connect what happened “way back then” to our own daily lives. Thanks for sharing how you do it!