As I read the book, A History of US by Joy Hakim, I thought why didn't we make history books like this before. As young person I never liked history. I always thought it was boring. It just seemed like random facts and dates that we were to memorize. It wasn't until college that I realized my love for history. As far as I am concerned that was way too late. We need to provide history in a manner that is interesting as well as informative. Some of the examples from Joy Hakims book was the fact that George Washington had slaves and James Madison was only 27 when he helped write the Virginia Constitution. I also liked how she wrote things from a historical perspective without trying to place her view on others. In order for our students to appreciate and understand history we need to provide them all aspects. Just because she reported that George Washington had slaves does not imply that he is a bad man. It does, however, explain the time frame and the need for change which many people of that time realized. As educators our job is to inform our students about everything and help them understand how we can learn from the mistakes of others.
I must say I also liked the layout of the book. It was easy to read. The pictures kept your interest. I also liked the maps and time lines. It was laid out in a manner that was easy to follow. We need interesting facts and quality pictures if you want to keep the attention of a 21st Century student.
4 comments:
I totally agree with you assessment of this book. It did make reading about history easier and fun. I too wish this was my textbook in grade school. It would have been a lot better.
This book was so enjoyable to read. I can hardly wait until I have more time to go back into the sections I just skimmed. I focused my reading on those chapters pertaining directly to the content I teach in 3rd grade. At my school we rotate our curriculum instruction among 4 different teachers. I do history/government which was my main reason for applying to this program!
You are so right that 21st century "screen agers" need more than a block of gray text to get and hold their attention. Unfortunately, too many students had the same response to history in their K-12 experiences as you did but were not as fortunate as you to realize the pull and fascination that history can provide.
I read this book to my husband on our trip to Florida in January. We had a wonderful time recalling a variety of historical events which in turn made for some great discussions.
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