Traditionally, history textbooks have relied heavily on rote memorization, but homeschool parents are widely taking a different approach to teaching this subject. This is one of the great benefits of homeschooling: being able to meet your kids where they are and teach in a way they understand! And the Tuttle Twins history books are tapping into the trend of teaching history via a story-based approach instead of rote memorization!
The Problems with Rote Memorization of History
If you’ve been homeschooling for a while, you might have noticed the issues with traditional teaching methods for history. Cramming your kids’ heads full of isolated dates and events results in short-term retention. They forget everything almost as soon as they learn it!
Another issue with rote memorization of history is a lack of depth in comprehension. It doesn’t mean much if a student remembers when America was founded if they don’t understand the context of what was happening at the time that led up to it.
Many students also fail to engage when facts are simply being drilled into them. Instead, using stories to teach history enables them to connect the dots throughout history, understanding the complexities of the past.
Finally, kids lose the ability to apply the knowledge they learn to today’s world. Everything that happened in the past has had ripple effects that are still being felt today.
A Better Approach to Teaching History
For all these reasons, parents like Theresa H. are turning to homeschooling, where they can use the narrative or story approach to teaching history, like what’s found in the Tuttle Twins history books. She says public school standards in Oregon are very lax, although she knows that many thousands of homeschool families still have to take state-mandated standardized tests. Thus, Theresa believes homeschool kids will be the ones who lead the state in the future, and she might be right if homeschool kids are the ones who not only know about history but understand how it relates to today’s world.
The Tuttle Twins homeschool curriculum teaches American history as a series of stories that display cause and effect, explaining why things happened the way they did and giving kids the opportunity to consider alternate solutions that could have brought about better solutions for all.
There’s even a new entrant to the Tuttle Twins homeschool curriculum, which was released just in time for America 250. Volume 3 of the Tuttle Twins history books covers the years 1791 through 1849, teaching kids about the early years of the American republic, the War of 1812, the westward expansion, and the abolitionist movement.
The Tuttle Twins curriculum engages kids in a way traditional history textbooks can’t. By telling about historical figures in their historical contexts, the Tuttle Twins history books teach kids to think critically and relate the past to the present. Critical thinking is an essential part of landing a job in today’s world. In fact, it’s one of the most sought-after abilities among employers, so by teaching your kids to think critically, you’ll be setting them up for success over the long run!
