How To Make U.S History Curriculum Come Alive At Home

History has received a bad reputation for being a boring, stale subject that most kids and teenagers just aren’t interested in learning about. But we honestly can’t believe it! When taught correctly, the U.S history curriculum can blow your mind whilst being fun, engaging, and exciting to study. 

The key is to teach this subject in a way that teenagers find interesting and this can be done through gamification and hands-on activities. So if you’ve been searching for a unique way to teach homeschool history curriculum to your kids, you’ve certainly come to the right place. We’re going to discuss Professor Larry’s top tips on how to make U.S history come to life!

U.S History Curriculum Top Tips

Reading from a textbook and writing basic comprehensions gets boring pretty fast, not to mention that your kids won’t click with the information now that they have technology 24/7. So, exciting and captivating world history curriculum lessons should use gamification to keep young minds engaged. This means challenging your students with quizzes and ‘spin the wheel’ games. For example, in our lesson on The Industrial Revolution we ask students to;

Find a wheel on a wagon, a bike, or somewhere else. Transport something just a few yards with a wheeled device. Now take your wheel off and try to move your load. What do you learn about the power of wheels?

Activities like this seamlessly blend fun and education, as well as giving the kids a well-earned break away from a more structured classroom environment. And in years to come, they’re way more likely to remember these activities than the random facts they read from the pages of a textbook.

Vary the Curriculum to Keep Things Fresh

While some topics are essential to study, you may also have the opportunity to incorporate some original, offbeat ideas into your homeschool high school curriculum. We’ve found from personal experience that this is effective – every chapter of A Patriot’s History of the United States is filled with ‘wild facts’ you wouldn’t normally hear in a typical history class but will spark your teenager’s interest nonetheless.

Furthermore, we also make sure that our U.S history curriculum resources include video clips, maps, links, quizzes, and other fun content to make the past seem vivid and full of life.

Don’t Limit Yourself to Your Textbook

Textbooks are useful for a reason – they’ll be your comprehensive guide to the U.S history curriculum and offer everything you need to know before an exam. But teaching history isn’t just about that pass or fail, it’s about sparking joy and sharing tales from the past that help young minds understand how far we’ve come as a species. 

By encouraging your kids to read other history books, they’ll develop a much deeper interest in U.S history topics and find interesting information that has been neglected from the syllabus. We have a recommended reading list with each lesson to start this journey and save homeschool parents precious time too.

Documentaries, videos, and podcasts are also a great avenue to explore to break the cycle of constant reading and visually/audibly bring history to life in your home.

U.S History Curriculum On Your Doorstep

The beauty of teaching U.S history at home is that you can literally step outside to take your lessons to the next level. If you’re in the United States, you can plan field trips to the exact locations of major historical events. By taking lessons on the road, you can help students to connect U.S history facts and information to fond memories of exploring the city or state you live in.

Teaching U.S history curriculum at home shouldn’t be a daunting or dull task – by incorporating these fun activities and ideas, you should be well on your way to creating a homeschool high school curriculum that’ll rock your kid’s world!

Our homeschool resources are designed to make your history lessons fun and engaging, making them number one with students and parents across the country. We’ve included everything needed to make history come alive at home, so the stress is out of your hands. Check out our offers and start your history homeschooling journey today.