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Harry S. Truman once said, “There is nothing new in the
world, except the History you do not know.” That senti-
ment echoes the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes
1:9 and 10, “...and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there
any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been
already of old time, which was before us.”
There is so much history to study, how do you know where to
start? What to focus on? What to study? Fortunately, there are
several good resources to start with.
Where to start: There are two primary methods of teaching
history, the first is to study history chronologically - beginning
by studying prehistoric civilizations and moving forward into
modern times building your knowledge of history by starting
from the beginning and working your way forward. The second
is to start with local history and work your way out - usually el-
ementary students who learn history this way are introduced to
Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims first, then continue on
to learn more about the colonization of the United States, the
War for Independence, the Civil War and then move on to study
world history. These students will usually bounce back and forth
between United States history and World history, each year
learning more and going more in-depth in their studies.
A third method of teaching history starts with learning fam-
ily history and expanding from there. This method has children
learn about their grandparents and their lives, then their great-
grandparents, and on out, building on their own family’s heri-
tage and studying world events as they affected your family.
Keep history interesting: If you focus on stories, experiences
and interestingbits of trivia your studentswill bemore interested
in learning that if you focus on simply memorizing dates, names,
and places. Understanding why the year 1792 is important and
how it fits into the whole story of history makes it much more
likely that your
children will
retain the date
as well as the
story of Christo-
pher Columbus
crossing the
ocean and what
happened with
the expedition
once he got to
the Americas.
Another tip is to use historical fiction in your studies. Well writ-
ten novels can help your children understand the culture of the
period of time you are studying. An example that has been in
the news this year are the Little House on the Prairie books. Laura
Ingalls Wilder wrote about life as it was when she grew up. Her
stories have transported generations of children back to a time
when the United States was still growing and expanding. When
evening entertainment was singing around the fireplace while
Pa played his fiddle. When some new mittens, or a cloth doll, or
a tin cup, penny, and a peppermint stick was an exciting gift at
Christmas.
Make history hands-on: To keep the study of history inter-
esting, relevant and engaging; make learning history hands-on.
Study maps and navigational charts. Seek out primary sources
of important historical documents and view them online or
in person when you can. Build models of pyramids, airplanes,
skyscrapers and Indian villages. Visit museums. Recreate a meal
that was served on the Titanic. Go to a living history site. Visit a
re-enactment store and try on period clothing. Don’t just read
about history - but make it personal and relevant to you and
your children.
On Teaching History
Iowa State History:
Looking for a great way to teach Iowa
history? A treasure trove of primary
sources from the State Historical Society
of Iowa and Library of Congress is avail-
able online. There are now 40 Primary
Source Sets of photos, videos, maps and
documents ranging from the Iowa Ter-
ritory to the Civil War to 20th century
achievements in women’s suffrage and
civil rights. Teaching toolkits and discus-
sion questions accompany all of the K-12
resources, which are searchable by sub-
ject, time period, and Iowa Core social
studies standards. Visit the website here:
www.iowaculture.gov/history.
:
is a website full of
free teaching resources for K-12 teachers
This secular website was originally fund-
ed by a 2007 U.S. Department of Educa-
tion contract. While the majority of users
are K-12 teachers, the site is also used
by librarians, social studies methods in-
structors, homeschoolers, and public
historians. Visit the website here: www.
Where to browse a variety of “ready to
use” curriculum choices:
Rainbow Resource Center offers cur-
riculum from several different publishers
and is a regular participant in the Exhibit
Hall at our annual conference. Visit the
website here:
Christian Book Distributors has a wide
selection of homeschool materials for
all subjects from a variety of publishers,
including history. Visit the website here:
Homeschool Curriculum Reviews:
Bloggers are constantly reviewing
homeschool curriculum. It can be help-
ful to read through the perspective of
multiple people when determining
what curriculum resources will work for
your family. A simple Google search will
bring up several of these options for you.
We recommend also visiting the website
of Cathy Duffy, a long-standing and rep-
utable curriculum reviewer. has been re-
viewing curriculum since 1984. Visit her
website here:
Resources:
Lunch hour at a country school in Grundy Center, Iowa, Oct. 1939