The History Channel Classroom: A Review

The History Channel is on of my favorites channels on cable. The programming is informative, innovative and interesting-quite a feat considering it covers a topic many consider a snore. The shows are often perfectly suited for classroom use and the channel’s accompanying website helps teachers make the most of this facility through its Classroom Section. The Classroom on history.com can stand alone as one of the best history websites on the Internet.

In Classroom, teachers will find helpful information about media literacy, creating a multimedia classroom, the National Council for History Education, conducting an Oral History interview and much more. The History Channel’s classroom page has games spanning from the serious-A Citizenship Quiz-to the silly-How Weird are you? There are also many interactive features such as Build your own Parthenon which can help bring history to life for students. The site boasts current and historical maps and teachers who register will have access to social studies lesson plans developed with the National Council for Social Studies and the National Historic Preservation Act.

Topics covered are wide and comprehensive ranging from cultural issues to US and World History. Holidays are designated as a separate topic and its breadth and depth of material justifies this distinction. The background of popular holidays is provided through articles, videos, and facts about symbols and holiday origins. Holidays should prove to be a helpful topic for teachers with Easter, Passover, and Cinco de Mayo approaching.

Merely browsing the data and analysis given for the history of Easter demonstrates how much the History Channel’s Classroom has to offer teachers. Easter symbols from the Easter Egg to Hot Cross Buns are discussed in detail. The history.com website goes beyond simple explanation and looks at the diverse roots of the holiday including Paganism and Easter’s association with Passover. Links to bible resources and related festivals such as Mardi-Gras will enable any educator to develop a quality lesson plan on Easter.

Contests for teachers and students are run by the History Channel through the Classroom Section. They are timely and deal with topical subject matter. For example, one contest revolved around the life and accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln; a fitting topic that coincided with the bicentennial celebration of his birth. Teachers and students are provided with ample resources to prepare entries for the contests. Among the many references and guides supplied at The History Channel’s website for the Lincoln Bicentennial Contests were:

• Eight lesson plans on the 16^th President for elementary students
• Detailed lessons to use in conjunction with shows aired on the History Channel.
• Transcripts of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.
• Historical letters and documents.
• A link to the webcast of the National Teach-In about Lincoln. Filmed on his birthday, three Lncoln scholars discuss the President and answer questions from students.

There are many other tools for educators at history.com, the History Channel Website. Newsletters about changes and updates are available. Lesson plans to be used with programs are free and there are quizzes and interactive geography games as well.

Daily emails describing historical events for each day can be used as a motivational device for beginning class. Put the information up on the board and have your students record it in their notebooks as a way of settling in and signaling the lesson is about to start.