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How Can We Help Young Children Learn About History?
Imagine that you wake up one morning to find out you have no memory! You’re not able to remember who you are or what happened in your life yesterday or the day before that. You’re unable to recognize your children, and you can’t communicate with neighbors and other people because you no longer know how to greet them, and you can’t understand what they are saying. You don’t remember what the words "elections," "wars," or "movies" mean.
Just as having no personal memory deprives us of a sense of our own identity, having no historical memory deprives us of a sense of our national identity and, in the words of Mrs. Lynne V. Cheney, noted author and wife of the vice president of the United States, of "a perspective on human existence." Knowledge of U. S. history enables us to understand our nation’s traditions, its conflicts, and its central ideas, values and organizing principles. Knowledge of world history enables us to understand other cultures. In addition, without historical memory, we miss a great source of enjoyment that comes from piecing together the story of the past—our own, our nation’s and the world’s. Our historical memory is enriched by our understanding of geography, which lets us better see the physical context of cultures and environments around the world and across time.
This article provides families with the latest research and practical information that can help them to support their children’s learning at home. By showing interest in their children’s education, families can spark enthusiasm in them and lead them to a very important understanding—that learning can be enjoyable as well as rewarding and is well worth the effort required. We hope that you find this article a valuable tool for developing and reinforcing your child’s interest in and knowledge of history — and that you and your family may increase your appreciation for why such knowledge is important.
Children are born into history. They have no memory of it, yet they find themselves in the middle of a story that began before they became one of its characters. Children also want to have a place in history—their first historical questions are: "Where did I come from?" and "Was I always here?" These two questions contain the two main meanings of history: It’s the story of people and events, and it’s the record of times past. And because it’s to us that they address these questions, we are in the best position to help prepare our children to achieve the lifelong task of finding their place in history by helping them learn what shaped the world into which they were born. Without information about their history, children don’t "get" a lot of what they hear and see around them.
Although parents can be a positive force in helping their children develop an interest in history, they also can undermine their children’s attitudes by saying things such as: "History is boring," or "I hated history class when I was in school." Although you can’t make your child like history, you can encourage her to do so, and you can take steps to ensure that she learns to appreciate its value.
To begin, you can develop some of the following "history habits" that show your child that history is important not only as a school subject but also in everyday life.
History Habits
Habits are activities that we do on a regular basis. We acquire habits by choosing to make them a part of our life. It’s worth the time and effort to develop good habits because they enhance our well-being. The following history habits can enrich your life experiences and those of your child.
Share family history with your child, particularly your own memories of the people and places of your childhood. Encourage your parents and other relatives to talk with your child about family history.
Read with your child about people and events that have made a difference in the world and discuss the readings together. (The list of publications in the Resources section at the end of this booklet can serve as a starting point for choosing materials.)
Help your child know that the people who make history are real people just like her, and that they have ideas and dreams, work hard and experience failure and success. Introduce your child to local community leaders in person if possible and to national and world leaders (both current and those of the past) by means of newspapers, books, TV and the Internet.
Watch TV programs about important historical topics with your family and encourage discussion about the program as you watch. Check out library books on the same topic and learn more about it. See if the books and TV programs agree on significant issues and discuss any differences.
Please note: This article refers to a child as "she" in some places and "he" in others. This makes the article easier to read. Please understand, however, that every point that we make is the same for boys and girls.
Make globes, maps and encyclopedias (both print and online versions) available to your child and find ways to use them often. You can use a reference to Africa in your child’s favorite story as an opportunity to point out the continent on a globe. You can use the red, white and green stripes on a box of spaghetti to help her find Italy on a map and to learn more about its culture by looking it up in the encyclopedia.
Check out from your library or buy a collection of great speeches and other written documents to read with your child from time to time. As you read, pause frequently and try to restate the key points in these documents in language that your child can understand.
Enjoying History With Your Child
As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s success, and, of course, enjoyment is an important motivator for learning. As you choose activities to do with your child, remember that helping her to learn history doesn’t mean that you can’t have a good time. In fact, you can teach your child a lot through play. Here are some things to do to make history both fun and productive for you and your child:
1. Use conversation to give your child confidence to learn. Encouraging your child to talk with you about a topic, no matter how off the mark he may seem, lets him know that you take his ideas seriously and value his efforts to learn. The ability to have conversations with your child profoundly affects what and how he learns.
2. Let your child know it’s OK to ask you questions. If you can’t answer all of her questions, that’s all right—no one has all the answers. Some of the best answers you can give are, "Good question. How can we find the answer?" and "Let’s find out together." Together, you and your child can propose possible answers and then check them by using reference books and the Internet, or by asking someone who is likely to know the correct answers.
3. Make the most of everyday opportunities. Take advantage of visits from grandparents to encourage storytelling about their lives—What was school like for them? What was happening in the country and the world? What games or songs did they like? What were the fads of the day? Who are their heroes? On holidays, talk with your child about why the holiday is observed, who (or what) it honors and how and whether it’s observed in places other than the United States. At ball games, talk about the flag and the national anthem and what they mean to the country.
4. Recognize that children have their own ideas and interests. By letting your child choose some activities that he wants to do, you let him know that his ideas and interests have value. You can further reinforce this interest by asking your child to teach you what he learns.
Some Basics...
What Is History?
"Once upon a time..." That opening for many favorite children’s tales captures the two main meanings of history — it’s the story of people and events, and it’s the record of times past. To better understand what history is, let’s look closer at each of these two meanings.
The Story in History
Unlike studying science, we study history without being able to directly observe events—they simply are no longer in our presence. "Doing" history is a way of bringing the past to life, in the best tradition of the storyteller. We do this by weaving together various pieces of information to create a story that gives shape to an event.
There are many possible stories about the same event, and there are good storytellers and less good storytellers. Very rarely does one story say it all or any one storyteller "get it right." A good student of history, therefore, tries to determine the true story by looking to see if a storyteller has backed up her story with solid evidence and facts.
The history with which we are most familiar is political history—the story of war and peace, important leaders and changes of government. But history is more than that. Anything that has a past has a history, including ideas, such as the idea of freedom, and cultural activities, such as music, art or architecture.
Time in History
Time in history is a kind of relationship. We can look at several events that all happened at the same time and that together tell a story about a particular part of the past. Or we can look at the development of an idea over time and learn how and why it changed. We can consider the relationship between the past and the present, or the future and the past (which is today!). The present is the result of choices that people made and the beliefs they held in the past.
As they prepare to study history, children first need basic knowledge about time and its relationship to change. They need to learn the measures of time, such as year, decade, generation and century. And they need to learn and think about sequences of events as they occurred in time. They need to be able to ask, "About when did that happen?" and to know how to find the answer.
The main focus of history is the relationship between continuity and change. It’s important, therefore, that our children understand the difference between them. For example, the population of the United States has changed greatly over time with each wave of immigration. As new groups of immigrants entered American society, they brought along ideas, beliefs and traditions from their native lands. These new cultures and traditions were woven into existing American culture, contributing to its pattern of diversity and making our democratic system of government even stronger. That system continues to evolve to better realize its original purpose of safeguarding our basic human rights of freedom and equal opportunity.
A New Look at the Study of History
Studying history is more than memorizing names and dates. Although it’s important for citizens to know about great people and events, the enjoyment of history is often found in a "story well told." Here are some suggestions to make the study of history more enjoyable:
Original sources make history come alive. Reading the actual words that changed the course of history and stories that focus on the details of time and place helps children know that history is about real people in real places who made real choices that had some real consequences, and that these people could have made different choices.
Less can mean more. An old proverb tells us that, "A well-formed mind is better than a well-stuffed mind." Trying to learn the entire history of the world is not only impossible, it discourages children and reduces their enthusiasm for history. In-depth study of a few important events gives them a chance to understand the many sides of a story. They can always add new facts.
History is hands-on work. Learning history is best done in the same way that we learn to use a new language, or to play basketball: we do it as well as read about it.
"Doing history" means asking questions about events, people and places; searching our towns for signs of its history; talking with others about current events and issues; and writing our own stories about the past
Children do well to ask "So what?" Much that we take for granted is not so obvious to children. We need to clarify for them the reasons we ask them to remember certain things. They need to know why it’s important to get the facts right. Encouraging children to ask, "So what?" can help them understand what’s worth knowing — and why — and so help build critical thinking skills. Being able to think critically prepares children to
- judge the value of historical evidence;
- judge claims about what is true or good;
- be curious enough to look further into an event or topic;
- be skeptical enough to look for more than one account of an event or life; and
- be aware that how we look at and think about things are often shaped by our own biases and opinions.
Geography: An Important Tool for Learning and Understanding History
Geography affects history—just look at the dramatic changes in world geography over recent years. Governments change, and new countries are born. Many countries no longer have the same names they did even five years ago. Climate changes bring about events such as droughts and floods that cause massive loss of life and migrations of people from one place to another in search of safety. Environmental changes can change the entire history of a community or region.
As with history, children have a natural interest in geography. Watch a group of children playing in the sand. One child makes streets for his cars, while a second child builds houses along the street. A third scoops out a hole and uses the dirt to make a hill, then pours water in the hole to make a lake, using sticks for bridges. The children name the streets, and they may even use a watering can to make rain that washes away a house. They may not realize it, but these children are learning some core features of geography—how people interact with the Earth, how climate affects land, and how places relate to each other through the movement of things from one place to another. When we turn to maps or globes as we talk with our children about vacation plans, events happening around the world or historical events, we teach them a great deal about geography. Not only can such activities help our children learn how to use key reference tools, but over time, they help them form their own mental maps of the world, which allows children to better organize and understand information about other people, places, times and events.
Working With Teachers and Schools
Research has shown that children at all grade levels do better in school, feel more confident about themselves as learners and have higher expectations for themselves when their parents are supportive of and involved with their education1. Here are some ways that you can stay involved in your child’s school life and support his learning of history:
Become familiar with your child’s school. During your visit, look for clues as to whether the school values history. For example, ask yourself:
- What do I see in my child’s school and classroom to show that history is valued? For example, are maps, globes, atlases, and history-related student work visible?
- Are newspapers, news magazines and other current events publications part of the history curriculum? Are videos, computer programs and collections of original source materials included in the study of history? Are textbooks and other resources up to date and accurate?
- Does the school library contain a range of history-related materials, including biographies and historical fiction as well as information about local, state, national and world history, culture, societies and geography? If so, are they recent publications?
Find out about the school’s history curriculum. Ask for a school handbook. If none is available, meet with the school’s principal and ask questions such as the following:
- What methods and materials does the school use for history instruction? Are these methods based on sound research evidence about what works best? Are the materials up to date? Can students do hands-on projects? Is the curriculum well coordinated across grades, from elementary school through middle school? Does the curriculum include both world history and American history?
- Are the history teachers highly qualified? Do they meet state certification and subject-area knowledge requirements?
- How much instructional time is spent on history?
- How does the school measure student progress in history? What tests does it use? Do the tests assess what students are actually taught in their classes?
- How do the students at the school score on state assessments of history?
- Are activities available that parents can use at home to supplement and support instruction?
- If you feel dissatisfied with the history curriculum, talk to your child’s teacher first, and then to the principal, the head of the history curriculum division, the school superintendent and, finally, members of the school board. Also ask other parents for their opinions and suggestions.
- If you have not seen it, ask to look at the No Child Left Behind report card for your school. These report cards show how your school compares to others in the district and indicate how well it is succeeding.
Meet with your child’s teacher. Schedule an appointment and ask how your child approaches history. Does she enjoy it? Does she participate actively? Does she understand assignments and do them accurately? If the teacher indicates that your child has problems, ask for specific things that you can do to help her. In addition, you can do the following:
- Attend parent-teacher conferences early in the school year. Listen to what the teacher says during these conferences and take notes.
- Let the teacher know that you expect your child to gain a knowledge of history, and that you appreciate his efforts toward this goal.
- Ask the teacher what his expectations are for the class and your child.
- Agree on a system of communication with the teacher for the year, either by phone, e-mail or through letters.
- Keep an open mind in discussing your child’s education with the teacher; ask questions about anything you don’t understand; and be frank with him about your concerns.
- Compliment the teacher’s efforts with your child. Let her know how much you appreciate her commitment to all the children she teaches.
Visit your child’s classroom. In the classroom, look for the following:
- Do teachers display a thorough knowledge of their subjects? Do they relay this knowledge to students in ways that students can understand?
- Do students discuss their ideas and offer explanations? Do they have opportunities to talk and work with each other as well as with the teacher? Are they encouraged to ask questions in class? Are they learning how to identify reliable sources of information and how to use them to find answers?
- Does the instruction show students how to connect historical information they’re learning to their personal experiences and to explore how past events affect their lives?
- Are students regularly assigned history homework? Do assignments involve history projects, including posters or displays, debates, mock trials and role playing?
- Does the class go on field trips that relate to history? For example, does the class visit historical sites, history museums, local historians or local elected officials?
- Does the teacher expect—and help—all students to succeed? Does she encourage them to set high goals for themselves? Does she listen to their explanations and ideas?
- Do classroom tests and assessments match national, state and local history standards? The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires annual assessments of students in grades 3–8 according to state-defined standards and the dissemination of the results to parents, teachers, principals and others. Curricula based on state standards should be taught in the classroom; thus assessment would be aligned with instruction. In addition to assessments required by NCLB, are teachers using many different ways to determine if children know and understand history, including asking open-ended questions that require thought and analysis? Do assessments match what has been taught? Are they used appropriately to plan instruction and evaluate student understanding?
Find out if the school has a website. School websites can provide you with ready access to all kinds of information, including homework assignments, class schedules, lesson plans and dates for school district and state tests.
Get actively involved. Attend meetings of parent-teacher organizations. If you’re unable to attend, ask that the minutes of the meetings be sent to you, or that they be made available on the school’s Web site. If your schedule permits, volunteer to help with the history program. Teachers often send home lists of ways in which parents can get involved, including the following:
- Assisting with classroom projects;
- Chaperoning field trips;
- Offering to set up a history display in the school’s front hallway or in your child’s classroom;
- Leading hands-on lessons (if you have a good history background yourself);
- Helping in a computer laboratory or other area requiring adult supervision; and
- Starting a drive to raise money for computers, books or field trips.
Even if you can’t volunteer for work at the school, you can help your child learn when you’re at home. The key question is, "What can I do at home, easily and every day, to reinforce and extend what the school is teaching?" This is the involvement that every parent can and must provide.
Click here for some activities to help children learn about history.
Below are some helpful books to help children learn about history. Use Amazon.com's secure server to order:
Visit the following Internet sites to help children learn about history:
Click here to read other articles by the U.S. Department of Education.
Copyright © U.S. Department of Education, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Helping Your Child Learn History, Washington, D.C., Sections of this article were adapted. Reprinted with permission.
1Ballen, J. and Oliver Moles, O. (1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Department of Education; Henderson, A. T. and Berla, N. (eds.) (1994). A New Generation of Evidence: The Family Is Critical to Student Achievement. Washington, D.C.: Center for Law and Education.
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