History Course Ideas

Ancient Civilizations

This free online course on World History should keep you busy for a while. Not all the links work, but a lot do.

Or search for specific Ancient Civilizations

Historical Maps

Studying ancient historical maps as you study ancient civilizations and history, can help give you the perspective of people who lived before us.

Family Tree

Try this for a fresh approch to studying history. Make it personal. Are you related to the vikings or Napolean? Make a list of all your family names as far back as you can. You might need some help from parents and grandparents, family bibles, or the department responsible for birth certificates in your area.

You could quickly have 6 names:

1) Dad's family name

2) Dad's Mom's maiden name

3) Dad's Mom's Mom's maiden name

4) Mom's maiden name

5) Mom's Mom's maiden name6) Mom's Mom's Mom's maiden name

Study history based on what you start to discover.

Did your family move from Britain to the United States. Why? For religious freedom, financial advancement or owning their own land?

Did they move to Canada as loyalists when the United States separated from Britain?

Did they move because of a famine in their part of the world? Did they move because they were captured and relocated as slaves.

Did they then relocate after being freed?

Did your family come from a world that has experienced a great deal of war? What were the underlying causes for the disagreements?

In tring to understand the world, try not to limit yourself to your family's perspective and the history recorded in your area. Do a search to find how the other side saw matters and what they had been experiencing that may lead you to understand their views and actions.See what I mean? Instead of simply memorizing the names of Presidents and the years that Kings ruled, and battles were fought, go deeper. Try to grasp what life was like for both royalty and common people in different parts of the world during different time periods.

As you've probably heard before: "Those that don't understand history are doomed to repeat it."