Did you know that telling stories in social studies class will boost your students’ engagement and make them WANT to learn history?

Think about yourself: Would you rather learn about an important event by reading a textbook OR by hearing a story? 

Students enjoy listening to stories, so why not use stories to capture their attention and draw them into history?

My favorite way to start a social studies lesson is by telling a story because telling a story sparks students’ interest and provides a preview of what they are about to learn.

You don’t have to know all about an event to tell a story about it. Just learn the important stuff and look for some interesting details to throw in.

Before we dive in, I’d love for you to join my VIP email club just for upper elementary social studies teachers 🙂 No spam, just help, ideas, resources, and fun!

Tell the Story of the Boston Tea Party

If you want to start telling stories in social studies class, you can’t go wrong with the story of the Boston Tea Party.

I tell students about the secret meeting to plan the protest and about the desire of the Sons of Liberty to remain anonymous, which is why many of them painted their faces and wore disguises.

I describe the quiet, disciplined march that the men made on their way to Boston Harbor.

I explain that the men boarded the ships and hacked open the chests of tea and dumped the tea into the harbor.

Their purpose that night was to make the tea unusable, not to damage or destroy the ships. I tell them of the eyewitness reports that the men actually swept up the mess before they left the ships, careful to make the point that they were only out to destroy the tea.

This story mesmerizes my students every year. After telling this story or any other historical story, I introduce our lesson work for the day.

Like magic, my students are exponentially more engaged!

Telling Stories in Social Studies Class – Start Simple!

What if you’re not a good story teller?

It’s ok! Start simple…

Choose a historical event or person with which you are very comfortable. Tell your students the basics and include any details that you find interesting.

Chances are that if you enjoyed hearing about something, your students will enjoy it too.

Telling stories in your social studies classroom is not just about engaging students in content. If you enrich your students’ knowledge of a person, time period, or event, you can make history jump off the page.

My favorite example of this is when we talk about Patrick Henry’s fiery 1775 Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Speech to the House of Burgesses. I guarantee that your students will have no idea that his personal life was in shambles during this time period.

Talking about the personal lives of our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) helps students to see them as real humans and provides depth and dimension to students’ understanding of history.

Telling Stories in Social Studies Class – Start Tomorrow!

Try out a story on your students tomorrow!

It doesn’t matter if you are in the beginning, middle, or end of the school year, just do it!

If you need ready-to-go stories with accompanying questions, I have an entire series for you to check out. ⇩⇩⇩

This series includes some of the most interesting people, events, and cultural norms that I’ve studied during the Colonial and Revolutionary periods.

Teaching social studies? This free, week-long email course will help you get started!