I have said several times that I prefer teaching history in the order that it happened (as in the classical homeschooling model). In addition, I think that it would help children to remember important dates better if they took a Today in History approach. The two approaches however are not easy to integrate and teaching them concurrently could cause confusion, so I opt for the first choice while making children aware of very important historic events on the date that it happened.
To keep yourself up to date with events that happened today in years past, you can visit any number of websites:
The History Channel has This Day in History http://www.history.com/tdih.do that gives interesting, informational videos about events that happened in the past. The videos are short and concise and provoke discussion. This could be a great tool to spend ½ hour every day (or periodically with the day in History without disturbing the classical approach.
AnyDay-in-History is a website that gives an exhaustive list of things that happened on “today” from birthdays, to deaths, to history (scroll down to the bottom of the page for historic events. Some of this history includes pop culture. For example, did you know that on today, May 21, (in 1966) “‘Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen reentered the chart and hits at #97?”
The Library of Congress also has a website that provides information on Today in History. While this list is not as exhaustive as the previous list, it gives important and factual information on American History with links to more information, should you seek it.
Yahoo News also has a Today in History web page. It tells you how many days are left in the year, historic events that happened on this date, current events as well. Using this website, you will be able to keep up with what happened ten years ago, five years ago, and even one year ago, today. This site also reveals the birthdays of the rich and famous.
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