Teaching history takes on a whole new meaning with the resources from ABookInTime.com.
The World History Reading List and American History Reading List give lots of ideas for fun reading about historical topics outside of the textbook. Choose between World or American History, then find book suggestions arranged by time period. Whether it’s historical fiction or nonfiction, you will find a selection of titles to choose from.
The World History crafts, American History Crafts, and internet games complement everything with hands-on learning. Kids love to make history projects, and they reinforce their learning by doing so. And playing games provides the icing on the cake.
Be sure to check out the Timeline recources. Timelines let kids see the progression of events, which is especially helpful for the visual learners.
Lastly are the historical maps. Use history maps to show the kids exactly where in the world events happen. They can see the globe how it used to be and compare it to today’s world.
If you take advantage of any of these, you may also want to look at the following resources to help you as you are teaching history.
Reading Logs Co-op/Classroom Ideas Notebooking Crafts Make Your Own Blank Timeline Book!
Reading Logs
We
offer several Reading Logs for you to choose from. Print these in color
(or on colorful paper) for each student to record his/her year’s
history reading. The students should three-hole-punch these and keep
them in their notebooks.
Reading Log — Ancient History
Reading Log — Middle Ages
Reading Log — Age of Discovery, Renaissance & Reformation
Reading Log — World History
Reading Log — America: The 1600’s
Reading Log — America: The 1700’s
Reading Log — America: The 1800’s
Reading Log — America: The 1900’s
Co-op/Classroom Ideas
If
you are using the recommended reading list as you are teaching history,
there are creative ways to encourage your students to read, and read as
much as they can! Use the Reading Logs for your students to record their books. Reward every 3 books or so with candy or a small toy from a Prize Box. If the book is long, every 50 pages can count as 1 book.
Have a “Book Share” at the beginning of your classtime.
Encourage your students to bring in their book(s) for “Show and Tell”.
They can show everyone a few pictures and tell why they liked that
particular book. For those students who participate, they can earn one
reading credit to count towards earning a prize.
Want to offer a little more structure for your students in choosing
their outside reading? On the one hand, you can be totally
structured–assigning your choice of reading throughout the year for all
your students. Another approach is to be partially structured. That is, assign a few of your favorites as required reading, and then allow your students to fill in the rest of their Reading Logs with their personal choices.
Notebooking
Notebooking simply means that your students journal, timeline, and
make/label maps and create other simple projects to keep in a notebook.
All this becomes something like a mini-scrapbook about the cultures and
time periods they have studied during the year. At the end of the year,
instead of having a few test grades to show, they have a meaningful
keepsake.
Learn more about notebooking . . . how to get started, what supplies you need, types of pages, and more at NotebookingPages.com.
She even gives information on how to bind your own Notebooks with a
Binding Tool (see Step #7 at same link) if you want to create some
really personalized & impressive books. Visit her History Notebooking page to see the historical themes offered.
Get Free History Notebooking Pages at this link!
Another great history Notebooking resource is a series put out by Evan-Moor called History Pockets.
The titles range from Ancient Civilizations
to Moving West.
The selections are offered in Grades 1-3 or Grades 4-6. History Pockets
offers a wide variety of projects while incorporating a little art in
the mix, and all of these can be stored in a Notebook.
See our Maps page for both Map ebooks and free resources for your Notebooking, and scroll below for help with Timeline ideas.
Notebook Covers
Print out these fabulous Notebook Covers to decorate the front of your History binder! Then use it to include things like Reading Logs, mapwork, pictures of your student with a completed craft, pictures of field trips, written reports, etc.
History Crafts
Make sure to visit our History Crafts pages for lots of ideas to complement your Social Studies Lesson Plan!
Make Your Own Blank Timeline Book
Blank Timeline Books are simply empty pages with dates. The
teacher gives students an illustration for a person or event in the
lesson, and the student glues this illustration in his/her Book on the
appropriate page. Illlustrations can come with captions, or the student
could be expected to write the date, a title, or possibly other
explanatory information on his/her own. Illustrations can be
pre-purchased, or teachers could find and print their own pictures from
the internet (see the Timeline information on this website!).
Blank timeline books can get expensive—especially if you have to
buy them for an entire class. And many times you don’t need the entire
scope of history–you may only need one section. The good news is that
we offer an eBook to help solve these problems!
How to Make Your Own Blank Timeline Book by Carol Henderson. A Book In Time, 2011.
Create an impressive Blank Timeline book out of cardstock and labels for much less than the cost of ready-made editions.
Make a complete book for each student that covers all eras, or print
just enough pages for the era you are currently studying to keep in the
back of your History notebook.
Includes attractive artwork for the front cover and 4 major time
divisions (Ancient World, Middle Ages, Age of Discovery, and Present
Era), as well as lists of headings and dates. Print, assemble, and fill
with your own Timeline Figures!
Also includes a planning chart and suggestions for Timeline Figures. See the Table of Contents and Sample Pages or click here for more information.
Available for immediate download!
