It can seem impossible to make history interesting to high school or college students, which are, I assume, the age groups you want some help with. They sometimes seem to approach history as a subject they intend to find boring. I have some thoughts to share on how this can be overcome.
First, as with all teaching, it helps a great deal to begin with the student. How does history affect them? What do they bring to the discussion before it even begins? Who has parents or grandparents or great-grandparents who fought in a war under discussion? Who has ancestors from a country the history of which is being discussed? Who lives near what was once a Civil War arsenal? (There is one in my city.) A connection can be made with each and every one of your students, believe it or not. It may be a question of the students' interests. I had a student who was obsessed with weaponry (not in a dangerous way, though.) He was quite lively in discussions about war. Student who are interested in fashion can be drawn to help find out what people wore in a particular time and place and to consider why. The music of an era can be compelling to students who are music aficionados. Art is an interest that can be built upon in discussion of history. We might ask how the music, art, and fashion of an era are connected. There is a wonderful book called The Timetables of History (Grun). It is a collection of tables from ancient times to the present, examining history in all its dimensions, for example, science, art, music, and governance. Any class discussion of history can be off to a good start by using this book as a resource. I have never had a class that didn't have students who found something of interest to them.
Second, I have found that the very best discussions of history have occurred, not when I assigned a dry textbook first, but when I assigned some fiction first. This could be a novel, a poem, a short story, or even fairy tales or mythology. History is simply the stories of what has happened in the past, and it is best brought to life in story form. There is literature for many historical periods, and a consultation with a colleague who teaches English or a librarian is a worthwhile investment of your time. A discussion of All the Light We Cannot See (Doerr) is a great way to cover the World War II era in Europe. John Steinbeck's novels are compelling portrayals of the Great Depression. Gone with the Wind (Mitchell) is of dubious historical value, but it would make a good jumping off point for a discussion of the Southerner's point of view at the time and a means of contrast with the realities of the times.
Third, I think that students can be primed with good assignments before some class discussions occur. They can be assigned to write letters to one another in the personae of various historical figures. They can write resumes for historical figures. They can do research to find out about some narrow facet of the time and place of interest to them. A field trip might be assigned, to go to a battlefield or a war memorial, or to see a play, probably not Hamilton, which is a shame, but it would cost a small fortune. If there is something that remains in a town from the era you are covering, that makes for the perfect field trip. It might be architecture or art or even a road. We have a major artery in my city that is a boulevard to commemorate World War I, the Boulevard of the Allies, dedicated in 1921. I tell all of my students about this. This is history of their very own!
Fourth, there are national organizations of social studies and history teachers, and they have many resources that can help you in your teaching. They offer books, journals, newsletters, and discussion boards. I encourage you to join one or more of these organizations. They are even tax-deductible, I believe, they are of great value, and when you list your membership on your resume, it adds to your credibility as a teacher.
As enthusiastic as you can see I am about history, I will confess that as a high school student, I was as disaffected as so many students are today. I lit the spark by myself, somehow, but you can light the spark for your students, making history as rich and exciting as it really is.
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