One of the subjects that students fear the most is history. It is filled with facts and most students find it boring. In today’s time, there goes a constant debate worldwide as to whether one should read history at all. History is a very interesting subject. It should be studied properly as well. One needs to study the subject of history because it teaches how one’s country came to be. One finds out about the different types of people that ruled the country. Learning history in school or college, therefore, is a good thing.
History is a part of the humanities stream. There should be storytelling involved in History. Teachers should make efforts to make the subject with the help of stories. They should relate important events in a narrative format. This will make the class engaging and full of knowledge. The simple narration of dates is going to be plain and boring. Students are likely to lose interest in such a case. Therefore, narratives and storytelling should be used for longer retention and knowledge.
There are many methods or ways in which the subject can be made interesting. Teachers and students both should make efforts in the right direction.
Contents
Dramatization
Teachers should make sure to use drama-type narration for making the subject interesting. History should be seen as a collection of lots of interesting stories. Teachers must not teach solely from the books, but make a circle and tell stories in class. One should use props if needed. They can be cheap or unreal. One can use whatever is available in the classroom. Students who have great imagination power will be immersed in the world of narration and storytelling. Students will love this make-believe session.
Field Trips
Field trips are said to enhance the critical thinking skills and capacity of students. It gives them a chance to think about a particular topic or theme from a different type of perspective. Most children don’t get to experience the field trip locations with their families, because they might not be interested. A school trip however gives the chance to experience new places.
Going to a historical place is likely to make a student better understand the changes and glory of a particular place. This will help them remember the history of a place for a long period.
Using Audio-Visuals
Audio-visual aids are important tools for teaching difficult subjects. It helps the teacher present the lesson efficiently and make students learn and retain the concepts better and for a longer period. It also helps in removing abstract concepts through the visual aid as well.
Audio and visuals are a great way to understand a topic in a much better way. The retention is better and the class also becomes interesting. One can take the help of eLearning classes where resources such as history notes are easily available. This saves time as they won’t have to make notes from scratch. Online learning platforms, therefore, come with great learning opportunities.
Connecting the dots for better retention
History textbooks are filled with dates and events. Memorizing them is a difficult task. One can make a timeline that covers all the different events and then learn by relating the topics. When one makes connections to parts of the text, it makes them reach a point and summarize things.
One can prepare flowcharts and outlines to fit the entire syllabus together. This will help them in quick revision before the examination. This will avoid last-minute tension before the exam and make a student relaxed. Stories and narratives will also be imbibed in their minds.
Conclusion
Studying history helps us to develop a better understanding of the world that is around us. When we build knowledge and understanding of events and changes, that have taken place over the past century, it enables us to have a much greater appreciation for the current events. We start to respect what we have now.
If the right approach is taken, one can easily ace the subject of history. It might seem tough in the starting but with the right approach, one learns it well eventually. One can apply for Graduation or Post-Graduation in the subject as well.
