When it comes to American history for kids, there’s so much more to learn than just what happened! Most history textbooks teach what happened and then stop there, but the Tuttle Twins history books go beyond that — teaching why things happened the way they did and helping kids figure out some better solutions that could’ve brought about improved results for everyone. Here are three things kids can learn from history beyond just past events.
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Critical Thinking
If you’re wondering how to raise independent thinkers, American history for kids is the perfect lens for this. The best history books help kids learn how to think critically about the past, analyzing the evidence presented, assessing the source materials for trustworthiness, and considering alternative interpretations of events.
Books that teach critical thinking like the Tuttle Twins history books enable kids to connect the past to current events, analyzing what’s happening now through an understanding of how things evolved from past events.
Some Tuttle Twins history books that teach critical thinking include the America’s History curriculum, which explains why things happened the way they did, encouraging kids to come up with better solutions to historical events.
The Tuttle Twins series also offers a number of history titles for teens, including The Tuttle Twins’ Guide to Inspiring Entrepreneurs, The Tuttle Twins’ Guide to Modern Villains, The Tuttle Twins’ Guide to Courageous Heroes, and The Tuttle Twins’ Guide to the World’s Worst Ideas.
Ethics and Civic Responsibility
As The Tuttle Twins’ Guide to the World’s Worst Ideas demonstrates, history is full of bad decisions and outright mistakes, and kids with a foundation of critical thinking can learn a lot from those bad decisions. By analyzing what happened, they can not only come up with alternative choices but also determine what the consequences of those decisions would’ve been. This will enable them to see better ways of doing things than simply accepting the status quo.
Learning about events like the civil rights movement not only teaches about freedom but also about the ethical responsibility they have to make positive changes when things go wrong.
Emotional Intelligence
When kids study the struggles experienced by people in the past, they develop emotional intelligence in the form of compassion and empathy. Emotionally intelligent kids can not only understand, manage, and use their own emotions but also recognize, understand, and even have an impact on others’ emotions.
Compassion and empathy are both critical emotions when it comes to understanding where others are coming from and being able to analyze what’s happening in real time. Kids with emotional intelligence are more self-aware and better able to regulate their emotions. They’re also more capable of feeling empathy and compassion for their fellow humans.
How the Tuttle Twins Series Sets Kids Up for Success
American history for kids offers some excellent lessons to set kids up for success in the long run — when taught the right way. The Tuttle Twins series offers multiple history books that do exactly that. And they also teach without obviously teaching, meaning your kids will be engaged and learn and retain more than they would with other types of books.
The Tuttle Twins history books wrap every lesson in a historical event, making learning fun for even the most challenged student!