Timeline Lesson Ideas for Homeschool History
How Best to Use Timelines in Social Studies Homeschooling Programs
Aug 24, 2009
Drawing out a timeline is a common way for parents to begin a unit in Social Studies homeschooling programs. Using a pictorial representation of a chain of events helps homeschoolers grasp a History unit’s big picture. But, instead of the mechanical, fill-in-the-blank method of creating a timeline, why not involve some higher level thinking and tie in skills from other content areas?
Ideas to Familiarize Homeschoolers With a Timeline
Before involving higher-level thinking, parents will want to make sure their students are extremely comfortable with a timeline’s format. There are a number of fun ways to do this.
One introductory assignment could be to make a personal timeline. Parents can create their own chart as an example. Families are bound to enjoy learning about the most meaningful events in each other’s lives.
A second idea could involve clipping pictures of technology such as a calculator, computer, TV, watch, or radio, from a catalogue. Parents can help children use a ruler to draw their line then make marks from 1850 on in ten year increments. They can work together to search an encyclopedia or the internet to find when each picture they cut out was invented and glue it in place.
Finally, children might enjoy selecting one of their favorite characters from history and using an encyclopedia article to fill in a timeline beginning with their birth and ending with their death. Other relevant events of the day can be included for perspective.
Ideas for Math Skills in Social Studies Homeschooling Programs
If homeschoolers are asked to fill out a timeline in the traditional way, no computation skills are required. Plotting out markers for events such as, “America’s Revolutionary War began in 1775,” or “The British surrendered in 1783,” involves the lowest level of learning.
On the other hand, if parents find a text or create one of their own which challenges students to dig a little for their dates, comprehension and retention are far more likely. An example would read something like: “The British army surrendered to General Washington eight long years after the Revolutionary War began, with the first shot fired at Lexington and Concord on April 19th, 1775.”
Math skills will be challenged further with timelines which incorporate larger periods of time. This text, for example spans nearly 100 years:
“The Aztec Empire was born as Itzcoatl defeated the Tepanecs in 1427. This great empire thrived until it was brought down by the Spanish conquistadors exactly 94 years later.”
Perhaps the most challenging computation is involved with timelines charting broad expanses of history. Switching from BC. To AD. Can be tricky. An example of a text which takes a bit of thinking to map would read:
“The Olmec Indians lived in what is now Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Their civilization began around 3,700 years ago and ended around 800 years ago.”
Ideas for Reading Comprehension in Social Studies Homeschooling Programs
A timeline provides an opportunity to get students into the Social Studies curriculum. Homeschoolers can search out portions of text containing dates they need and share their findings in a meaningful way.
But students don’t need to be limited to their History text. Encyclopedias, books, almanacs, and the internet are all excellent resources. Being able to locate information is a valuable literacy skill all students need to cultivate.
It doesn’t take a whole lot of planning to incorporate this timeless lesson into a homeschool Social Studies unit. For the parents who haven’t tried it, isn’t it about time?
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