Bringing History to Life

When American high school kids were asked what their favorite subjects were, history
came in second place, so all you history teachers out there are doing something right!
One of the reasons students think history is cool is because teachers are increasingly taking
a multi-perspective approach to its teaching. They are encouraging their classes to research
the information in their textbooks, to do projects, and to discuss historical events in class,
based on the information they have found.
So, how are young people today finding out more about the past than what is in their school
textbooks? We spoke to four people about their favorite way of getting into the past.
“Dickens is amazing at showing the way of life of the poor . . .” We were studying the
French Revolution and I found it pretty difficult. That’s when my mom said it would be a
good idea to read a historical novel. I asked the teacher and she recommended A Tale of
Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It’s set partly in the years just before the Revolution and
Dickens is amazing at showing the way of life of the poor in France at that time and how
the aristocracy treated them. It made me understand why the peasants were so cruel to the
aristocracy when the Revolution began. Sami, 16
“. . . it was good to read this biography and get a different perspective . . .” We had to
research a famous historical character and I chose a woman, Mary, Queen of Scots. I read a
biography about her and found out that most of the stuff you read is in favor of her
enemies, so it was good to get a different perspective on the story. Luisa, 15
“It’s a great film . . . and you really get an idea of the people, . . .” We were studying pre-
Columbian civilizations in Central America, so a group of us watched the Mel Gibson film,
Apocalypto, at a friend’s house. In my point of view, it’s a great film anyway and you
really get an idea of the people, the way they dressed and decorated their bodies—and you
get to see some cool architecture, too. Paul, 17
“It’s amazing how much stuff you can find.” The problem with textbooks is that they don’t
go into enough detail and that makes it really hard to understand and learn. But if I go
online, I can find some really useful websites. Just recently we were studying ancient
Egypt. I found videos, documentaries, and online tutorials about the period. It really takes
you back to the time of the Pharaohs! Joanna, 18
 Questions
1. How are teachers making history more interesting?
2. What are the four “tools” the students recommend for bringing history to life?
3. What did Sami learn from A Tale of Two Cities?
4. What did Luisa learn from the biography about Mary, Queen of Scots?
5. What information did Paul get from Apocalypto?
6. Why does Joanna recommend looking for material online?
7. Which of the four “tools” do you think you can most trust?

solution
1. Teachers increasingly adopt a multi-perspective approach to their teaching. They
are encouraging their classes to research the information in their textbooks, do
projects, and discuss historical events in class based on the information they have
found.

2. the tools are novels, biographies, movies, the Internet.

3. Sami learned how they lived in France at the time of the aristocracy

4. learned that the queen was not only in favor of her enemies.

5. had information about how they dressed and ate their bodies

6. because the online material is much more complete.

7. I trust history more because teachers increasingly adopt a multi-perspective

approach to their teaching. They are encouraging their classes to research the
information in their textbooks, do projects, and discuss historical events in class
based on the information they have found.