History Lessons Using Creative Activities & Arts
A Complete History Lesson Plan Including Art, Drama and Craft Ideas
Sep 7, 2009
Students can glean insight into a past era if they focus on famous or infamous people belonging to a time period that is being taught in the history lessons, and use information they gained to understand history, and its effect on the present.
Themed Lesson Plans for History Teaching
The lesson plan ideas in this article have been divided into “Tasks”. Each task can be a complete lesson, a springboard for several, or just a small part of any given lesson. For ease, the teacher can look through the bulleted ideas and find suitable ones to use in classroom. The material can be adapted for, and suited to many age-groups, and class sizes.
Students Choose Their Own History Assignment
After the material from any given part of a history curriculum is completed by the teacher, and the students have discussed and understood the work, the following choices are presented to the students.
Task 1: Students can choose one of the characters below. This is the first part of what will become a presentation made by each student about his/her chosen persona.
- One specific famous or infamous person (that the students already discussed in the history lesson) from the period studied in the syllabus (Napoleon, Lincoln, Cleopatra).
- Open choice: An unknown person living at the time of that given historical era. Students would have to create the personality, name etc.
- Free choice: A famous person, not connected in any way to the history studied in class, but relevant to the historical period (Biology: Pasteur, History: The King of England, Art: Van Gogh).
Task 2: Take a trip with the students to the library or computer room to look up information on the person they choose. Give them this check list which ensures that they search for the information about their character:
- Name of famous person
- Country of focus
- Period of time
- Family Background
- Importance in the society
- What the person was famous for
- What clothing was worn at that time by women, men and children?
- What historical events occurred because of this person? What influence did he/she have?
- Other interesting information
Students should gather as much information as they can, print out pictures, peruse through books with data and illustrations.
Task 3: Writing Assignment:
With the information found at the library, a poster, essay or album with illustrations can be prepared by the students. This part of the lesson plan can make up one or a number of lessons.
Learning History in a Craft Lesson
Task 4: Students choose an item of clothing or an object they know was used for decoration during that given historical period. In a craft class, each student designs a costume or prop (hat, paper sword, robe of old fabric) that will be used for the presentation of his “famous person”. Useful material: aluminum foil, brown paper bags, sheets, old fabric. Further information about making props for costumes can be found on various websites.
History Presented in the Drama Classroom
Task 5: The students prepare their presentations, don their costumes, show their props, and each presents his or her monologue. This section can be called, “May I present myself” and the students will deliver their show. Encourage the students to use dramatic speech and bring other dramatic effects (background music, make-up) to enhance their presentations.
Videoing or Photographing the Presentations
The teacher, or a student interested in filming, can record the monologs. These will serve the teachers well for future classes, and add to their personal library of materials for other history lessons. The students will love seeing themselves on playback.
History Produced in the Art Class:
Task 6: Students create posters of the famous person they have undertaken to depict. For very young students, the teacher can read two or three stories about historical characters – Shakespeare, Beethoven, for example, and have students draw pictures or paint posters of an aspect of the time period, or other interesting things that were spoken about in the lessons.
Testing and Evaluation of Students
The presentation can also serve as an alternative method of testing the material, instead of the usual kind of “remember all the dates” test. After all the students have given their presentations, they will remember far more from their experiences, and have a little more understanding of the past, than any regular test could offer.
Any or all of the above ideas will provide a lot of learning, and the teacher will experience what works well and which aspects can be expanded upon or deleted for the next time the course is given.
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