Saturday, 3 October 2009

Essay 04 (History at school)


You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some children find learning history at school very exciting, but many others think it is very boring. In what ways can history be brought to life for all school children.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Although history forms a significant portion of the school curriculum, many students find it not very interesting either because they need to remember many dates and facts or they believe that it is not relevant to their life. Teachers can adopt a number of ways to make history alive and interesting to students.

One of the best ways to make history exciting to students is to take them to historical sites and museums where they can have a direct experience of the objects of history. For instance, when teaching about the rulers of the past, they can be taken to ancient palaces and similar archaeological sites. This can increase the curiosity of students in history and make it attractive for them. Subsequently, students would show greater interest in gaining such information.

Another important method to attract student’s attention is to encourage them to conduct research in history, using the internet and other resource materials. Historical movies and documentaries also can generate interest among students about history. This will help them to familiarise with events and figures of yesteryears.

Students can also be asked to do projects on specific areas of history by producing posters and information booklets. Teachers can help students to interpret the events of today using similar happenings from history, which would make them understand the relevance of history in their daily lives.

If teachers take a special interest in engaging students in such activities, I believe that history will never be a boring subject for them.

Written by George Andrews Moolekary

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