Many kids have trouble learning about history because they can’t relate it to current events.
But history is so much more than a list of events and dates that must be memorized. As Patricia discovered from using the Tuttle Twins series, history is a story that teaches critical-thinking skills alongside other important topics like individual rights, love of country, and respect.
As a survivor of communism in Europe, Patricia sought books that would help her kids explain it in a way that enables her kids to fully comprehend the problems. The Tuttle Twins series became a critical tool in her toolbox.
Here’s how history teaches critical thinking and other important topics beyond just what happened.
Telling the Story of History
History is a series of causes and effects, and when kids begin to understand this, they can learn to analyze what happened, think critically about it, and relate it to today’s world.
The best history books tell history as the story it is rather than a list of events. For example, the Tuttle Twins history books transform the past into an analytical puzzle.
Through resources like the Tuttle Twins history books, kids start to question biases and learn to make judgements based on evidence rather than what they were told. The best history textbooks teach kids to evaluate sources, considering who wrote something and why so that they can spot biases.
Instead of relying on just a single account, kids learn to cross-reference multiple documents to unearth what really happened. Kids also learn about the complexity of history and that major events are usually not the result of a single occurrence or factor.
History textbooks should teach them to understand events within their political, social, and economic environments, which will keep them from judging the past based on today’s moral standards.
This further helps kids relate the past to the present, enabling them to evaluate current events objectively.
Join a Movement that’s Sweeping the Nation
America 250 has left many people feeling more patriotic than they’ve felt in a long time, so they’re going out in search of new history books that tell the story of the past instead of sharing a list of events and dates. This movement mostly stems from Charlotte Mason’s classical approach to teaching history.
Books that teach critical thinking through American history for kids, like the Tuttle Twins series, are a natural part of this movement.
The approach involves the use of living books, biographies and even oral storytelling. Kids begin to connect personally with people of the past and understand cause and effect.
The Tuttle Twins series includes many books that teach critical thinking, including the Tuttle Twins history books that teach American history for kids. The Tuttle Twins series includes three history volumes, including one that was released just recently to celebrate America 250.
The fact that the word “history” includes the word “story” means something, and it’s the parents who understand this who will set their kids up for success!