Help With History

Appleseeds 800-821-0115 (www.cobblestonepub.com) Contains articles, activities and games that develop skills and interest in various content areas, including geography and U.S. history. (Ages 7 and up)... Continue reading "Children's History Magazines"

Preschool-Grade 2 Doherty, Gillian and Claybourne, Anna. The Usborne Book of Peoples of the World. Usborne Publishing.... Continue reading "Geography and Reference Books"

Preschool-Grade 2 Atwell, Debby. Pearl. Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin. Barnes, Peter. Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse: A Tail of the U. S. Supreme Court. Vacation Spot Publishing.... Continue reading "Historical Fiction, Drama, and Poetry Books"

Preschool-Grade 2 Bauer, Susan Wise. The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient Times. Peace Hill Press.... Continue reading "World History, Culture and Biography Books"

Preschool-Grade 2 Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Sacagawea. Holiday House. Bateman, Teresa. Red, White, Blue, and Uncle Who? The Stories Behind Some of America's Patriotic Symbols. Holiday House.... Continue reading "American History, Culture and Biography Books"

The following is only a sampling of the many excellent books about people, events, and issues in American and world history and geography that your child might enjoy.... Continue reading "History Books for Children"

American Federation of Teachers. (2001). Helping Your Child Succeed: How Parents & Families Can Communicate Better with Teachers and School Staff. Washington, D.C. (available online at www.aft.org/parentpage/communicating/index.html.) American Library Association. (2002). Libraries, Children and the Internet. Chicago, IL. (Available online... Continue reading "History Publications for Parents"

The following websites contain great links for both you and your child. Most provide you and your child with information about how to search for specific information and with links to other age-appropriate sites.... Continue reading "History Websites"

Educator's Reference Desk www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/res.cgi/Subjects/Social_Studies... Continue reading "History Resources: Federal Sources"

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,... Continue reading "Working With Teachers and Schools 2"

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 education. Here are some... Continue reading "Working With Teachers and Schools 1"

Grades 4-5 Many children don't like to study history in school because they are asked to memorize so many dates and names. Parents can help—and make learning more enjoyable—by using games to reinforce what their children are learning in history... Continue reading "It's in the Cards"

Grades 4-5 On quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies is written the phrase "E pluribus unum," which is Latin for "Out of many, one." It is an appropriate phrase to describe how our country has developed and the many different people... Continue reading "Time to Celebrate"

Grades 4-5 A history web is a way of connecting people and events.... Continue reading "Weave a Web"

Grades 3-5 Reenactments of historical battles or periods, such as colonial times, make our nation's history come alive—and get children involved.... Continue reading "The Past Anew"

Grades 2-5 The stories of history have beginnings, middles and ends that show events and suggest causes and effects. Making personal timelines can help children understand these elements. They allow children to use events in their own lives to gain... Continue reading "Time Marches On"

Grades 1-3 History depends on writing, and writing has changed over time from scratches on clay to digitalized codes and letters.... Continue reading "Quill Pens & Berry Ink"

Kindergarten-Grade 3 Collecting things from their lifetimes and putting them in a time capsule is a history lesson that children will never forget.... Continue reading "Put Time in a Bottle"

Kindergarten-Grade 3 A good way to introduce children to history is to let them know how school—a main focus of their lives—has changed over the years.... Continue reading "School Days"

The essential elements of history as time are chronology, empathy and context.... Continue reading "History as Time — Activities"

Grades 3-5 Visiting the historical places that children read about in their history books reinforces for them that history is about real people, places and events.... Continue reading "History on the Go"

Grades 3-5 What's new today really began in the past. Discussing the news is a way to help children gain a historical perspective on the events of the present.... Continue reading "What's News?"

Grades 3-5 In order to talk and learn about places, and to locate themselves and others in terms of place, children need to understand and be able to name geographic directions.... Continue reading "In the Right Direction"

Grades 3-5 A good place for children to begin to develop an interest in history is to find out the history of where they live.... Continue reading "All About Our Town"

Grades 3-5 Local newspapers, phone books and other handy resources can serve as guides to local history. Teaching children how to use them gives them a great tool for finding many sources of information.... Continue reading "Learning How to Learn"

Grades 3-5 Heroes are everywhere. Sharing stories about them with children can help them understand that heroes come from many different walks of life and that their courageous acts occur in many different places and times.... Continue reading "Our Heroes!"

Grades 1-3 Younger children find making rubbings great fun. Cornerstones and plaques are interesting, and even coins will do.... Continue reading "Rub Against History"

Kindergarten-Grade 5 Every culture has its version of bread. Children enjoy making this Native American fry bread. (Check the Resource sections of this website for books that contain other recipes from history.)... Continue reading "Cooking Up History"

Preschool-Grade 5 At living history museums children can see people doing the work of blacksmiths, tin workers, shoemakers, weavers and others. They can see how things used to be made and learn how work and daily life have changed over... Continue reading "History Lives"

Preschool-Grade 5 Good history is a story well told. Through storytelling, children are introduced to what's involved in writing the stories that make history. They begin to understand that different people may tell the same story in different ways.... Continue reading "What's the Story?"

Preschool-Grade 1 A great way for young children to develop an interest in history is for parents to make books with history themes a part of their reading-aloud routines.... Continue reading "Listen My Children"

The essential elements of history as story are records, narration and evidence.... Continue reading "History as Story — Activities"

Activities for children in preschool through grade 5 The activities in this section are arranged into two groups that reflect the meanings of history as story and time. Each group is preceded by a review of three elements of story... Continue reading "History Activities"

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... Continue reading "Basics: Geography: An Important Tool for Learning and Understanding 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... Continue reading "Basics: A New Look at the Study of 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... Continue reading "Basics: What Is History?"

The major portion of this site is made up of activities that you can use with your child to strengthen his history knowledge and build strong positive attitudes toward history. And you don't have to be a historian or have... Continue reading "How to Use This History Website"

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... Continue reading "Enjoying History With Your Child"

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... Continue reading "History Habits"

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... Continue reading "Introduction to History 2"

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,... Continue reading "Introduction to History 1"