During my formative college years, I picked up the habit of drawing a line on a piece of paper and marking events in chronological order. This helped me see things more clearly, understand causes and consequences, see how events were linked and intertwined.
In addition, it helped me understand that some of the tectonic changes in the USA’s history were not the result of one single event, but the culmination of many.
The American Revolution did not come about solely because of the Sugar Act, just as slavery was among a multitude of causes that explained the US Civil War.
Timelines in History class 📚
Today, as a social studies teacher, I love timelines. Whatever historical period we cover, we work on both a physical timeline up on the classroom walls, that two designated students maintain, as well as a digital version that students work on individually. I create a template that students copy and gradually complete as we learn more and more as a group.
This individual timeline is personal for each student, I ask them to make it as fun or as boring as they like - they can add some fun facts, include educational TikToks, quizzes to approach content through a different angle - what matters is they understand the connections between the events and gain a general knowledge of the topic.
Teaching tip 💡
In an age where we obsess over grades, rubrics and teaching to the test, I often ponder how I can foster curiosity and critical thinking in my students. One way to achieve this is to encourage them to ask questions. So for example, as we uncover the causes that lead to, say, the Civil Rights Movement, I systematically ask them to go deeper and ask questions about what they learnt and would like to know.
The 3-2-1 Strategy is effective for this. There are many ways you can apply this, including getting students in pairs to work on this and present their partner’s views to the classroom:
- Give me 3 things you learned
- 2 things that made you curious or confused
- 1 connection you can make to today’s world
History timeline template examples 👍
Create a history timeline template yourself 🛠️
Head on over to Sutori’s history timeline template, click on “Create your own” and then you’ll be prompted to create a free Sutori account. You can then start working from the blank timeline template in a matter of minutes.
Some advantages with using Sutori for timelines:
- Easily add videos, images and audio files to your project
- Embed any file or web link
- Build interactive quizzes and polls for engagement
- Develop peer review skills with comments
- Export to PDF or else add it directly to your website
All that is required is an internet connection! Sutori works on all common web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and we offer a free tier so you can try it out for yourself.
Summary
For history and social studies teachers, timelines are a great way for students to understand historical events. Timelines provide the basis to go on and understand more while sparking students’ curiosity. They make the seemingly complex simple, when broken down into a succession of connected events.
Whether you create a common timeline for your students to study and interact with, or get them to create their own, the benefits are huge!
Sutori is the perfect companion to make this happen. Try it out now for free with your students 😊
