Helping Children Find Their Place in History

In order for history to appeal to elementary children, it has to be set in a context they understand. Children often see themselves as the center of the world in which they live. And, in many ways, this is very true. The vast span of centuries filled with people, places, and things, leads right up to them, living in this moment, now.

When studying past events with interest, many children begin to realize that they, too, must be brave. They have to be smart. They have to work hard, dream big, face challenges, cry tears, and find the hero deep within themselves. Most of all, they have to stay wise and faith-filled because life is a fragile, precious gift.

Making History Come Alive

Now, all of this is very nice. But the child who thinks history is dull will never believe any of it. They’re bored. Our job, as their guide through time, is to make history come alive, make it relatable, make it real.

I suggest starting with simple things. For example, hand your student a box of butter from the fridge. Have them think about what it feels like to hold a pound of something.

Maybe, when they read that the heaviest cannon Henry Knox and his men dragged three hundred miles from Ticonderoga to Boston weighed 5,000 pounds, they will be able to visualize that monumental task. And three hundred miles? Has your student thought about how long a mile really is? Or what it’s like to hike a mile on foot, maybe even without shoes? Take your student for a walk that lasts exactly a mile and have them think about the length.

Now, when they read distances in history books, they may grasp it better. Make sure they have a good sense of direction, too. Pull up Google Maps and travel with your student along old roads. Compare and contrast locations. See where they lie in relation to other places.

Follow winding rivers through the countryside. Zoom down, here and there, to look up places of interest. Fly back up again. Swoop into cities and towns, picking out historical details. When your student reads that Washington’s men marched south from White Plains to Yorktown, open the map and have them trace the route.

Feeling What They Felt

What about darkness or cold? With the comforts of our modern age, we rarely deal with these. Has your student ever been in complete darkness where they can’t just switch on a light? It might be easier to appreciate how patriots shivered at Valley Forge if your student deliberately squeezes a piece of ice in their hand to think about how it feels.

Have they ever seen a fire built without a lighter? Maybe even without a match? Can they imagine cooking outside on an open flame — a continental soldier’s only heat in the cold, only light in the dark, only means of melting iron bells into musket-balls?

Does your student know hunger? Maybe encourage them not to have that snack, just this once, and think about what a grumbly stomach might feel like for a Continental soldier left with meager rations.

Writing Like the Founders

What about measurements? Can they visualize a Revolutionary War musket? Five feet long, seven when clipped with a bayonet — taller than dad by far! Has your student ever dug a hole deeper than a foot? Can they picture digging trenches six feet deep?

Do they understand what it’s like to wait for something without knowing when the wait will actually end? History is wrought with waiting: waiting for letters, for food, for orders, for clothes, for news of loved ones far away. Do they know what the song Yankee Doodle sounds like? Have they ever seen loose-leaf tea? Smelled it? Tasted it? Picture smashing boxes filled with that tea and dumping it into Boston Harbor.

Can they imagine having to be brave? Really brave? Can they envision seven hundred enemy soldiers marching toward them? Count it out. Set seven hundred pennies on a table. Now, lay out seventy-seven dimes.

Your student is one of those minutemen-dimes. They are defending the town of Lexington in the very first Revolutionary War battle against seven hundred British-soldier-pennies marching right for them while playing Yankee Doodle on fife and drum.

What about writing? Has your student ever tried to write with a quill? A feather, cut with a little knife and dipped in ink? Can they picture doing their school work with a straw? Can they imagine Thomas Jefferson in candlelight, his writing desk balanced on his knees, scratching out the Declaration of Independence?

These are just a few suggestions to try to bring history to life. Likely, you have many other ideas, probably much better ones. Be creative. It’s pretty fun.

Next year is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, a country in which so many generations are interwoven. Your student is part of that grand sweep of history. Make sure they appreciate who came before them and how important they are in a story that is ever unfolding.

About Heather Hibl

Heather Hibl, Seton Elementary Counselor, lives in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia with her blue-eyed husband and her eight blue-eyed children. She is always missing the ocean and nearly always craving blueberry muffins. Obviously, her favorite color is blue. Oh, and she also likes to write.