5 Ways To Make a History Lesson Fun

Does this sound familiar? You're in history class, and you think the topic's about Napoleon, but you're not sure because you've been flicking pieces of paper at Jake while the teacher's monotonous drone provides an uninteresting background noise. If this is true, there are three things that could be happening:

• You're easily distracted
• Jake's head is a perfect target
• The lesson is boring

Time and time again, I've gotten history teachers who were so uninterested in their topic that they'd punish the students by making each lesson more boring than the last, which ultimately led to half of the class not learning about an era of history and flunking the Unit test (I, of course, paid attention and, while I received a good grade, also became clinically depressed). It wasn't until high school that I even had a history teacher who seemed to like what they were teaching about, and I figured out it had something to do with how they did the same lesson plan year after year. Repeating something really can get boring.

So, after years of hearing lecture after lecture, I finally devised 5 ways to make history fun to teach- not just for the teachers, but also the students.

5. Make The Lesson Interactive

History lectures (really any lecture in general) can become bland after about 10 minutes. When a teacher continually talks and talks about an event that happened hundreds of years ago, students can start getting bored. Taking all those notes while trying to keep up with that Tudor PowerPoint can be really hard on a student's brain and hand, and most will usually give up and space off. The best solution to this problem? Interactive lesson plan. When a teacher does something new, even something as small as walking around, students WILL pay attention; much like a T-Rex, their senses are based on movement. Asking questions to the class also keeps minds focused, and changes in mood and voice level will either shock or amuse them into listening (I should know; Mrs. Smith always had the best Pirate Day). For those really distracting students, calling them out in front of the class usually solves the problem swiftly.

4. Care About Your Subject

When a teacher doesn't really care about their lesson, the student won't either. This is especially true in history, where so many events and names and places can cause one to blur the line between what they studied in college and what they're teaching; this leads to disinterest and as a result makes a bland lesson. SO, the night before your lecture, try re-learning the event, seeing it from new angles, or simply Google it to find others' opinions on the subject. When you think you've done enough, you'll find that the subject as a whole may seem more interesting, and that could change the way your students learn about it too (tip: don't share opinions from the Internet. Simply use them to put emotion into the lecture.

3. SPEAK WITH A PURPOSE

I cannot stress this one enough. When a teacher stays at the same level and tone of voice, you will put your students to sleep! Use emotion, speak eloquently, but don't use a monotone! The purpose of your lesson is to teach the students something they'll need to know in the future, and if you can't remember what your subject was about a day later, neither will they. Not only will purpose and emotion put life into your lesson, it may put a little life into you.

2. Use Humor

Let's face it: history is often times not interesting. I didn't want to learn all of the names of the Founding Fathers, but I did (of course, that was 5 years ago). But humor can go a long way in allowing someone to remember specific historical facts and terms. Perhaps making a joke about Henry VIII will suffice; students will laugh, and suddenly they're paying attention again. Even corny jokes will do, because as long as the students are paying attention, they're learning. Using a humorous acronym can also lead to better memory when it comes to tests (like BAGPIPE in AP US History), and the best part is that you'll be having fun too. And don't just do one joke; try and fit a whole bunch of them in a lecture (tip: don't become too distracted with jokes. They still need to learn).

1. Finally, Make it a Show!

When a teacher calls on a student, it's usually associated with trouble. But in history class, it could mean assigning them a historic role for a presentation. Yes, I said it: use the students as your tools to teach the lesson to them! When a student becomes involved, all sorts of things can happen, and it combines all of the previous points into one. Who won't remember how Jake played a really skinny Ben Franklin, or Sally got to be Marie Antoinette but said "let them eat pie"? It turns the boring lesson into a fun activity, and students will definitely be happy to not have to do quite as many notes as much as live the history (however, they still need to take notes!).

In conclusion, lessons can be boring to a teacher, especially ones they've done multiple times a day, and history is no exception. But by making history fun for the students, some teachers may actually make it fun for themselves!

-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep