Last month we discussed how to make history interesting for your student. This month I'd like to share some of my favorite history activities. All of these were done in a conventional Christian school classroom setting, but could be modified for the individual homeschooling family.

Oral history projects are great. I had my senior Economics students do either a history of a business or their family history. Go to genealogy.about.com/od/oral_history or dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html. Both websites take you step-by-step through the process. This is a great way to preserve memories from grandparents. I also did a modified version of this with my U.S. History students for the Great Depression and the New Deal eras. They wrote questions to interview someone who lived through that time period and make an audio recording /written transcript of their memories. This assignment is getting harder to accomplish as that generation passes away, but you could do a more recent era or event.

While studying the Age of Absolutism, my students role-played various absolute monarchs like Louis XIV of France and Catherine the Great of Russia. I acted as the moderator of this support group for powerful monarchs who wish to change their behavior. For instance, Louis XIV confessed to his fellow monarchs in the meeting that he almost bankrupted France by building the palace of Versailles . The moderator serves to pull additional information out of Louis by asking probing questions such as "Why did you do it?" or "What do you need to do to change this behavior in the future?" Or Catherine the Great may confide to the group that she has a longing to acquire warm-water ports on the Black Sea . Louis may tell the group that there's more; he's also taken to calling himself the Sun King, as if everything in France takes its life from him. Back and forth we would go between the monarchs that allegedly want to change their ways. This activity is a great way to review factual information about these rulers. A homeschool study group could have fun doing it, or siblings could role-play a couple of monarchs with Mom or Dad acting as moderator. Those students with drama talent really shine during this activity, with fake tears and fake remorse flowing freely during the session.

Want to get away? Try a talk-show host with famous explorers activity. Create a studio setting and get out the video camera. The host asks the role-playing student about things they experienced during their voyage. You could use siblings as the studio audience during this activity. Since the interviewee doesn't know what questions the interviewer is going to ask, he must do enough research to portray the explorer's thoughts and actions accurately.

Geography buffs might enjoy doing a one-week vacation to anywhere in the world. The Internet makes researching this assignment a snap, and local travel agents may be able to give you brochures and travel books. I encouraged students to choose a part of the world they want to visit someday; then when they're able to afford the trip, much of the planning is already done. Some years I've used this project as a final exam for Geography class. The students get started by imagining that they are travel agents needing to convince a group of wealthy audience members to take their trip. Students then prepare a written transcript, gather visual aids, polish the presentation through much practice, and videotape the final product. One student, trying to convince us to take his trip down the Nile River , dressed in Arab garb and rode a wooden camel unto the stage. Many students prepared a food item from that region of the world (extra credit!!!).

My junior-high Ohio History students prepared a Living History museum display every year. I gave them a list of famous Ohioans to research. The student had to learn as much as possible about their character because visitors to our museum (family members and other students in the school) were able to "animate" the character by putting a nickel in a coin container next to the student. The student then shared a 30- second piece of information about their character, and for this assignment, I didn't let them repeat the same information over and over. We set up the display for one afternoon in the school lunchroom. The students dressed in period costume, surrounded by a display board with pertinent information and miscellaneous visual aids. They're usually very nervous about this project, but calmed down once the museum opens. They even stand stock-still when their character wasn't "monetarily" animated. Of course, you could do this project as part of your state history curriculum, or you could coordinate this with the oral history project mentioned earlier in this article.

Government students should be required to outline the Constitution. This isn't necessarily a fun project (unless you love both English and history) but a valuable one for every United States citizen. Read the Constitution and summarize the important information it contains. A free people need to know what their government can and cannot do.

My personal all-time favorite was the in-house field trip to a WWII museum. Last summer I taught history at the local detention home, and since I couldn't take them from the facility, I brought the museum to them. My grandparents had left me various items from that time period such as a 1943 Sears catalog, their ration books with unused stamps, paperwork for purchasing tires during the war, receipts for scrap metal turned in during a scrap drive, and Victory Bond receipts purchased through Grandpa's work. I coupled these primary source materials with other World War II resources I've acquired over the years, such as a rock from the Eagle's Nest (Hitler's hangout in the German Alps near Berchtesgaden), and some original photos from a concentration camp given to me by my former principal. The display included a handout with a few brief questions for them to answer. All of the paperwork is preserved in acid-free clear plastic covers designed to be stored in a three-ring binder, while the bulkier items are kept in an archival-quality box while not on display. You can create a museum display about any historical era, or make one about your family history.

There are many more activity ideas that can be used to bring history to life for our kids. The key thing to remember is that the more involved and interactive we are with history, the more relevant and memorable it is - to all of us.