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Teaching History in the Homeschool.
I love history, although I only learnt it as I taught my children. I presumably had lessons in primary school but I don’t remember (I was a bit of a chatterbox). I wanted more for my children’s history lessons.
I wanted history to be interesting, enjoyable and memorable.
Textbooks were easy to use, they had all the facts, but they were boring and forgettable.
I was aiming for real learning, when a child gets enthusiastic for history and maybe the person we were reading about.
“As I have said elsewhere, the ideas required for the sustenance of children are to be found mainly in books of literary quality; given these the mind does for itself the sorting, arranging, selecting, rejecting, classifying...it seems to be necessary to present ideas with a great deal of padding, as they reach us in a novel or poem or history book written with literary power.” Charlotte Mason
Living Booklist IndexCharlotte Mason believed that history should be taught using living books and not sketchy outlines of facts and dates. She wanted the children to become familiar with the time period they were studying. This was accomplished using historical fiction, biographies and narrative style history books. |
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Our History CycleUp to grade three, history is mostly taught using narrative style story books that have good illustrations. Portions of Australian history are taught every year and we also follow a history cycle rotation. |
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When Teaching Multiple AgesSlot each new child into the period of history you are already studying. As you rotate through the history cycle they will eventually cover all ages. |
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Top Ten Australian History Ideas
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History SpinesA spine is a well written book with strong literary power that gives an overview of the topic you are studying. It weaves history into a rich tapestry and can be a springboard to build other subjects into your study. These books take awhile to read. |
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Read Aloudthrough the chapters of your history spine and linger if you want to. Engage the children with the narratives and don’t read too much in one sitting. Have them begging for more. In the primary years it is not necessary to delve too deeply into topics but rather give a good overview. This will help the student make the connections necessary for later in-depth study. |
Our Sunburnt Country - An Illustrated History of Australia
Australian History Spine |
Notebooking and Lapbookingis an excellent way to keep a record of your child's history study, place written narrations,sketches and any other information relevant to the topic. Book of Centuries A Book of Centuries is a giant timeline notebook that records people and events in history chronologically. It is helpful in seeing where things fit into history. Family trees and biographies also trace history in a way children can often understand. |
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