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7 Things to Try When a Homeschool History Curriculum Isn’t Coming Together (Hint: Try a Primary Source or Two)

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Today, I’m sharing 7 things to try when a homeschool history curriculum isn’t coming together. Sometimes it’s just not working.

Besides, homeschool history is far from humdrum when the right hands-on learning tools are applied.

Primary sources have a way of not only stoking the imagination, but are crucial to understanding past events.

7 Things to Try When a Homeschool History Curriculum Isn't Coming Together (Hint: Try a Primary Source or Two)

Primary sources have a way of taking events from just being imagined to reality because your child is reading , interacting and interpreting real objects created by people who lived during a specific time.

Today, in sharing 7 things to try when a homeschool history curriculum isn’t coming together, I want to give you a list of some items that make history real to your child.

7 TIPS TO MAKE HOMESCHOOL HISTORY COME TO LIFE

1. MAPS

Maps are probably one of the most obvious primary sources.

Beyond just showing a geographical location, maps also give tell-tale signs about the political thinking of a time period and they can give a glimpse into the natural resources that existed at a particular time period.

For example, look at Documents of Freedom: History, Government and Economics Through Primary Sources which is free.

And look at Primary Sources Throughout History for more hands-on ideas.

2. PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs are one of my very favorite ways to learn history. When studying an old photo, it makes your child wonder who the people are in the photo? What kind of life did they lead? Photos provide many details as to the people or events of the time period.

It can also be one of the most mysterious piece of history evidence to explore because you question for what reasons were the photo taken? Was it staged by a creative photographer or was it a true depiction of the time period?

3. POLITICAL CARTOON CONVERSATIONS

Political cartoons are really a great example of the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Whether through exaggeration or humor, they give a glimpse into past feelings about the political word.

4. ORAL HISTORY/EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

A person’s eye witness account of an event is another fascinating topic that should be mulled over.

What makes this part of history so fascinating is that not are people’s memory fallible, but everyone interprets events differently.

5. FILMS

This is one primary source I would love to find more of to view.

6. ADS

Films from a time period are super helpful to sketch in our mind the way a place or event looked.

Just like ads today, they have a purpose and method and produced with a specific purpose in mind. Whether it’s to influence you to buy a certain product or to change your mind the way you view a product, ads are worthy our study.

7. SONGS & MUSIC

Songs and music have not only been part of history to invoke the present state of feeling among people during wartime, but it has been used as way to communicate ideas.

Certain political organizations have used certain parts of music to broadcast the spirit and purpose of their organization.

Studying the songs and music of the past helps us to relate world events of the time.

Pitching the curriculum to study hands-on objects of the past is key to keeping history alive.

7 Things to Try When a Homeschool History Curriculum Just Isn't Coming Together (hint try a primary source) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Have you tried one of the primary sources?

MORE HOMESCHOOL HISTORY TIPS

Free History Worksheets on Women Who Changed the World

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I have some free history worksheets on women who changed the world.

Through the years, influential women have changed the world in profound ways.

And I’m highlighting some of their legacies to inspire future scientists, artists and professional women in other fields.

Free History Worksheets on Women Who Changed the World

And these women didn’t let anything stop them, and their stories are filled with courage, creativity, and determination.

Although there are more, we’re focusing on five today.

The famous women in history we’re learning about today are Marie Curie, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo and Ada Lovelace.

BOOKS ABOUT FAMOUS WOMEN IN HISTORY

First, add some of these books to your reading list.

5 Women in History

Add some of these book about women in history who broke barriers and were trailblazers.

Also, look at some of these other activities to use with the free history worksheets.

ACTIVITIES ABOUT WOMEN TO PAIR WITH THE FREE HISTORY WORKSHEETS

Next, look at these 5 famous women in history and a few facts about each history maker.

WOMEN IN HISTORY FACTS

In the free printable there are 5 women as I mentioned with 1 page per history maker.

The first women is Marie Curie.

  • Curie discovered the elements polonium and radium.
  • The first woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1903.

Next is Rosa Parks.

  • Rosa Parks is known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
  • Parks was arrested, but her act of civil disobedience led to a Supreme Court ruling that declared bus segregation unconstitutional.

Then there is Amelia Earhart.

  • In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Earhart was a pioneering figure for women in aviation.

Also, Frida Kahlo is next.

  • Frida Kahlo is best known for her self-portraits that explored themes of pain and personal struggle.
  • She was a popular Mexican artist.

Finally, here a few facts about Ada Lovelace.

  • Ada Lovelace is often credited as the first computer programmer.
  • Lovelace recognized that computers could do more than just arithmetic.
Free History Worksheets on Women Who Changed the World

Finally, grab the printable pack.

HOW TO GET THE FREE WOMEN IN HISTORY PRINTABLE PACK

Now, how to grab the freebie. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Fun with History: Free 30-Day Challenge to Explore the Past

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The fun with history free 30-day challenge to explore the past is a journey into the past that is as exciting as it is enriching.

Let me help you to teach history for a month.

Today, I have a free printable to help you teach history.

It has fun facts, activity ideas and a clickable link to an educational video.

Fun with History: Free 30-Day Challenge to Explore the Past

Your child can do this independently or you can make each topic into a longer study.

Although I’m crazy passionate about covering history with our unit study approach, some kids struggle with any approach.

So this challenge mixes and matches various topics instead of staying too long on one topic.

Besides, one of these topics can be a hook for a longer unit study if you find one or two which interests your child.

My 30-cay challenge encourages kids to actively participate in the learning process.

LIVING HISTORY BOOKS FOR KIDS

Next, look at a few fun books you can incorporate into this challenge.

With a bit of reading and videos you’re sure to hook your kids on some of the topics.

Next look at more ideas to go with the history challenge.

MORE FUN HISTORY ACTIVITIES

Pair these activities with the daily history challenge for a fun day spent learning tidbits about history.

Fun with History: Free 30-Day Challenge to Explore the Past

Finally, look at how to get this free printable.

HOW TO GET THE FREE 30 DAY PRINTABLE HISTORY CHALLENGE

Now, how to grab the freebie. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie now.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

How to Create a Creditworthy American History Course (& resources)

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I’m showing you how to create a creditworthy American history course with resources. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

Whether you want to create a standalone creditworthy American history course for your teen or you want to enhance the interest level of your current American history curriculum, you’ll love these tips.

Here’s a seasoned veteran tip.

Use lower grade level resources to put important topics in a nutshell.

How to Create a Creditworthy American History Course (& resources)

To get a quick glimpse of major events, use what you have at the house or that you can get at a library to get a quick glimpse of major events.

Lower level resources can give you an easy starting point when teaching a new topic.

5 TIPS FOR CREATING A CREDITWORTHY HISTORY COURSE

Then, look at these 5 seasoned veteran tips that will make creating your own American History high school course easy.

1. KNOW YOUR STATE LAW.

Be familiar with your state homeschool laws so you can meet the requirements as you build an American history course.

A lot of states don’t have specific requirements, some do. Just be sure you know so that you can cover it.

2. TRACK YOUR TEEN’S TIME.

The rule of thumb is that one course credit is equal to 120 hours. Obviously one-half a credit is 60 hours.

What is not so obvious is deciding how to meet the hours requirement.

It also does not mean that all of the hours need to come from textbooks.

Also, look at my post Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School to give yourself time to learn more about how to truly count hours.

3. FOLLOW YOUR TEEN’S INTEREST. THINK OUT OF THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL BOX STANDARDS.

Don’t hem in your teen’s creative expression on how to meet the hour requirement.

If you have the control in your state to determine how to fill the credit requirement, then think beyond what public school dictates as traditional learning.

Look at this list of ideas to add to your course and ways to meet the time requirement.

Mix and match these activities to meet the needs of an American history credit.

  • Read a textbook
  • Read living books
  • Essays
  • Hands-on projects
  • Prepare a speech
  • Review primary resources
  • Learn history through art
  • Learn history through geography
  • Learn about fashion of the period
  • Apprenticeships
  • Watch movies
  • Cook a period recipe
How to Create a Creditworthy American History Course (& resources). You'll love these EZ steps for creating your own curriculum @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The fun part begins when you and your teen decide if he will cover only history for the whole 120 hours or if you’ll mix and match with other subjects.

4. DETERMINE IF THE COURSE WILL BE HALF-CREDIT, FULL YEAR CREDIT OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.

The beauty of homeschooling is that you can adjust a course to a teen’s likes and passions.

For example, if a teen is a writer, then he can focus on writing while learning history.

So history could be a .60 credit and creative writing about history a .60 credit.

Alternately, if you want to add a literature element, then history may be a full 1 credit and literature could be a one-half credit.

If your teen is a budding artist and doesn’t like history so much, then he can cover history while doing art. You and your teen determine how to divide up the hourly credit.

5. IF YOU BEGIN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL YOU CAN STILL COUNT IT AS HIGH SCHOOL AS LONG AS YOU USE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL RESOURCES.

By starting in middle school, your teen can go slower or take his time and dig deeper if there is a passion for history.

As long as the resource you’re using is high school level, then you can count the credit on the transcript.

American Homeschool History Outline

Although my teens had some say in the topics, they didn’t have the final say.

I wanted to be sure my teens were exposed to a wide variety of topics.

But it’s not necessary to cover all the events, people, or topics at the same depth.

I find that looking at the table of contents of any American History textbook can serve as a beginning point for an outline.

You can easily use it as a reference or make your own course outline.

AMERICAN HISTORY EVENTS AND PERIODS TO COVER

Look at one I created to get you started.

  • Columbus
  • The First People of America
  • The American Colonies
  • The American Revolution
  • Creating the Constitution
  • The Age of Jefferson
  • The Age of Jackson
  • Religion and Reform
  • Manifest Destiny
  • The Civil War
  • Reconstruction
  • Industrial Growth
  • The Gilded Age
  • World War I
  • The 1920s
  • The Great Depression
  • Truman and the Cold War
  • The Eisenhower Years
  • The 1960s and Vietnam
  • Present

5 American History Enhancements

As you can see you quickly can draft a diy American History course that your teen will be passionate about.

After doing American History several times with each of my grads, I mixed and match different resources.

Key to keeping it easy is to have a variety of resources at your fingertips.

Look at these 5 American history resources that you can use to enhance or flesh out your course. It’s not that hard, I promise.

I’ve listed living books, a hands-on history resource and even a book to us a spine in a story form which is how we prefer to learn.

5 History Resources for Teens

Laid out resources can help you put together an easy creditworthy American history course for teens.

In addition, hands-on games bring a different element to the day and keep teens from taking all so seriously.

Add in hands-on games and fun if your kid loves hands-on.

Hands-on history is not just for the young.

If your teen learns best by hands-on then assign one or two projects as a grade.

I used Home School in the Woods projects to help me come up with ideas for my teens.

Include your younger kids too and the day can be fun while your teen gets his credit hours.

I love this format because if you have to teach American History a few times over, there is always room for a unique slant or perspective.

How to Create a Creditworthy American History Course (& resources). You'll love these EZ steps for creating your own curriculum @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Avoid the boredom and blahs by using different resources.

What else do you like to include for your teen?

MORE CREDITWORTHY AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE ACTIVITIES

Hands-on Homeschool History Free Ancient Civilization Cards for O Ring

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have another set ready for the easy and interactive hands on homeschool history on an O ring series that I want to do. Also, look at my Ancient Civilizations page.

Adding the cards today, which are for Ancient Civilizations, I now have 4 sets of cards.

These cards have very general information and I made them so we can hit broad strokes when studying these topics and as a way to memorize some of our unit studies.

Hands-on Homeschool History Free Ancient Civilization Cards for O Ring

The four I have done so far are

And today, like I mentioned are the Ancient Civilizations.

Because I may study some of our history topics several times with each child, I have been wanting to make up these cards to allow my sons a way to study independently.

Too, through the years I have had one son interested in delving deeper into one topic that another son may not be so interested in.

A remedy to that problem is to make these O rings which they can grab, and do interactively.

This way if they are not as interested in a topic, at least they know some broad strokes about that topic.

Ancient Civilization Resources for Kids

Next, look at some of these fun resources for learning about Ancient Civilizations.

13 Ancient Civilization Hands-on Resources and Books

Add some of these fun resources to your unit study or study for the day of Ancient Civilizations.

Also, if you want to flesh out your study on these topics, then look at my pages, which match up with these history cards.

I plan to do another set soon, so hope you enjoy these.

How to Get the Free Ancient Civilization History Cards

Now, how to grab the free history o ring cards. It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

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Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


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Free History Cards. Put on an O ring and learn facts about Ancient Civilizations, Westward Ho, the Titanic and the French and Indian War. Grab them @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus