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When high school history teacher Alex Brouhard mentions his job to other adults, he often hears a similar response: 鈥淚 disliked the subject in school, but now I find it interesting.鈥�

This left Brouhard with a nagging question: If people tend to enjoy history as adults, why do so many middle and high school students report feeling bored and uninterested in the topic?

Students often say that history lessons are full of 鈥渄ates, people, and places which often require rote memorization,鈥� Brouhard writes in an . But 鈥渋f taught with the intent to inspire and engage, history is far from boring or monotone.鈥�

Over time, Brouhard developed strategies in his high school classroom to connect his students more deeply to the topic鈥攕uch as starting units at dramatic moments in history and finding ways to bring family and local history into lessons.

Building on the approaches Brouhard lays out鈥攁nd several others shared by educators鈥攖hese subtle tweaks to existing lesson plans can help make your history classes more engaging to students.

FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS TO BUILD CONNECTION

History teachers too often focus on the big picture, says Brouhard, but the stories of individuals are typically more engrossing and 鈥渃an help students feel more emotionally invested in the history they鈥檙e learning.鈥�

For example, instead of lecturing students about military tactics used during World War I, have them read about it from the perspective of someone who was there: 鈥淒escribing what trench warfare entailed is one thing, but reading a firsthand account of a soldier who lived through it鈥攅xposed to rats and standing in frigid water amidst piled-up bodies鈥攊s another,鈥� Brouhard writes.

Making an effort to humanize historical figures鈥攚ithout shying away from discussing their mistakes and flaws鈥攃an help students relate to prominent individuals in our past and develop a better understanding of their decisions, says eighth-grade history teacher Lauren Brown in . 鈥淎ll the famous characters in history had key moments in their childhood or early adulthood that helped shape who they became鈥攖ell students about those moments.鈥�  

To incorporate more first-person accounts into history lessons, recommends presenting oral histories from witnesses of specific events or trends in the past鈥攐r even the present.

EXAMINE HISTORY FROM OTHER PERSPECTIVES

When covering a global historical event, showing students how other countries describe that same event鈥攖hrough old newspaper articles, textbooks, or other online sources鈥攃an help them broaden their perspective and discover that descriptions of the same event diverge widely depending on who is telling the story.

When teaching about the Vietnam War, John DeRose, a history teacher from Wisconsin, has students compare their textbook鈥檚 account of the war with that of a Vietnamese textbook or newspaper article. Students can be split into groups to discuss the differences between the accounts鈥攐r even debate which they think is more accurate and why, .

During a unit on the Spanish-American war, history teacher William Colglazier has students read excerpts from Cuban and Filipino textbooks, which suggest that the USS Maine was deliberately sunk by an explosion caused by American spies. The controversial claim鈥攕ort of like the conspiracy theories that kids may encounter online鈥攖ends to interest students, and Colglazier has them practice using the analytical skills of a historian to research the claim and attempt (unsuccessfully) to find credible sources that corroborate it.

START WITH THE JUICY PART

Many history teachers feel that it鈥檚 most natural to teach a historical era chronologically. But often, the most exciting part of the story is in the middle, or even at the end. So, why not start there?

For example, when teaching World War I, 鈥渞ather than explaining Balkan nationalism, start with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which provides an immediate point of interest and relevance for students,鈥� suggests Brouhard. Or, you could start a unit on the civil rights era with Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 famous March on Washington鈥攖hen work backward to explore why such a march was necessary in the first place. 

鈥淭his approach is similar to a TV crime show that reveals the body in the first minute and then spends the rest of the show assembling evidence,鈥� Brouhard writes.

TRY AI TO BRING HISTORY TO LIFE

If you鈥檝e ever wished you could bring Abraham Lincoln or Albert Einstein to class as a guest speaker, artificial intelligence may be able to offer the next best thing, edtech professor Maureen Yoder said in a .

AI chatbots like allow students to have text-based conversations with models trained to imitate historical figures. Students can grill Cleopatra about the specific challenges that women leaders face or ask Gandhi about what it felt like to go on a hunger strike. Hello History has dozens of figures to choose from, but the free version limits users to 20 messages per day. For longer conversations, students can turn to and prompt it: 鈥淔or the rest of this conversation, please role-play as [historical figure].鈥�

Given that AI-generated responses are far from reliable, drives students鈥� critical thinking by asking them to scrutinize history-related output from ChatGPT and look for 鈥渇actual errors and information that was missing crucial context.鈥�

GET INTO CHARACTER

To bring history to life, ask students to step in the shoes of the historical figures they鈥檙e learning about. (Use your best judgment, of course, as some figures and historical events may be inappropriate for classroom reenactment.)

One 鈥攄eveloped in conjunction with Lucas Education Research鈥攈as students serve as delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Through discussions and debates, students develop their understanding of the founders鈥� goals and intentions and how those intentions still shape our lives today.

These activities can be modified for use in individual lessons, too. For example, in one class period, students can take the role of federalists and anti-federalists and debate how much power should be concentrated in the hands of the federal government and how much in the state governments. They can even consider how this debate is still shaping current-day issues like immigration policy.

BRING HISTORY CLOSER TO HOME

When discussing global wars, Brouhard brings his great-grandfather鈥檚 World War I uniform into class (students are always fascinated by the dent in the metal helmet) and reads excerpts from his other great-grandfather鈥檚 journal detailing his time as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.

To connect his students to the history they鈥檙e learning about, Brouhard encourages them to bring historical artifacts from their own families to class for show and tell. This might include old photos, diaries, magazines and publications, or, according to educator Rebecca Alber, interesting keepsakes鈥攍ike an older relative鈥檚 quincea帽era invitation or a military lapel pin from the Vietnam War.

Educator and director of technology Kevin Brookhouser says students can also create their own oral histories by writing up questions and interviewing elders in their family or community to gain their perspective on important events and issues they might be studying in class. 鈥淭his is not just about sharing family stories; it鈥檚 the academic work of a historian, creating primary sources,鈥� Brookhouser writes.

Teaching students about the history in their own backyard can also make topics more personal, says high school history and government teacher Benjamin Barbour. There are a variety of local sites that can make for interesting history-oriented field trips, such as nonprofits and civic organizations, nearby colleges and universities, long-standing local businesses, and even cemeteries. Primary sources from the library or local historical societies are useful too. In a unit on slavery, in Wilton, Connecticut, visited the library to deepen their understanding of slavery in their town by 鈥渞eading letters from townspeople, looking at paintings and images, and piecing together the role townspeople played as both enslavers and abolitionists.鈥�

GAMIFY YOUR HISTORY LESSON

There are several free, online platforms that offer a wide variety of history and social studies games that can help enliven lessons.

: Mission US offers seven detailed, story-driven games based on different eras in American history. Each game takes an hour or two to finish, but they save players鈥� progress and can be completed in multiple sittings. For example, in 鈥溾�� students play as a printer鈥檚 apprentice in 1770 Boston and interact with both patriots and loyalists to decide where their loyalties lie. 鈥淎long the way, they engage in empathy and explore issues of liberty, equality, and perspective,鈥� writes educator Rebecca Rufo-Tepper.

: iCivics offers about 20 games with modern, animated graphics designed to teach kids about U.S. governance鈥攕uch as 鈥�,鈥� a game that simulates running a civil rights law firm, and 鈥�,鈥� which challenges students to craft a bill and try to get it through Congress.聽The games boost interest in subject matter 鈥渢hat might otherwise be boring to 12- and 13-year-olds,鈥� writes educator Matthew Farber.

SHARE YOUR STRATEGIES!

History teachers, if you have a method for bringing historical subjects to life and boosting classroom engagement, please let fellow educators know in the comments.