How to Master History Class

History class can be daunting. So many students struggle with it. They get lost in a sea of names and dates that all seem to run together. Making sense of it, let alone doing well on tests and quizzes, seems like an elusive quest. Well, as a former full-time and now part-time high school history teacher, I think I can offer you some tips to help you master the subject of history.

1. See History as a Story

You absolutely MUST approach history class as if you were studying a story. History is, when all is said and done, a story. Sure, it's a long story. A very long story if you're taking World History. But it's still a story. And what elements does a story have? That's right: Characters and Conflicts. History is a long train of characters caught up in various conflicts from ancient Greece to the Protestant Reformation and from the Renaissance to the Modern Age.

Take, for instance, the saga of the American Revolution. If you're an American student, the protagonists are George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Sam Adams, John Adams, and so forth. The antagonists: King George III, Lord North, Lord Cornwallis, and so on. What motivated these characters? What were their goals and objectives? How did they move and shape the events happening around them?

If you're studying history from a more egalitarian, grassroots perspective (such as with Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States), this is a bit more challenging. In such a case, you won't be able to seize on as many individual characters, but rather will have to put together composite personifications of the groups you examine.

2. Break the Story into Episodes

Take the history you are studying and break it into episodes. If you're taking US history, consider each chapter a series or miniseries and then break each chapter into individual, bite-sized episodes. For example, with the American Civil War, one "episode" might be the debates taking place in Congress in the 1850s that led to civil conflict. Who were the main characters? What were their motivations? Can you identify the storyline? Don't let yourself confuse this "episode" (the one on Congress) with, say, the "episode" on the Underground Railroad on the "episode" on the battles of the western theater of the Civil War.

It's important that you find a way to distingiush and compartmentalize the various aspects and dimensions of the historical periods and events you study.

3. Practice Character Association

When you zero in on your periods - or your "episodes" - and then begin to study the principal characters accordingly, you might want to associate them with characters you are already familiar with. For example, who does Abraham Lincoln remind you of? What about Robert E. Lee? If you can fix a known celebrity or character with a historical figure, it may help you recall the names of the pertinent characters better come test time. Of course, don't put the names of Hollywood stars when asked about the generals at certain battles.

4. Don't forget cause-and-effect

History should not be seen as a long, tedious, meandering list of dates and names. Instead, you need to understand and appreciate how some events led to others. For example, you can better remember details about the Versailles Conference if you can fully appreciate why and how the close of World War I (the so-called Great War) directly contributed to the origins of World War II. Never forget cause-and-effect. That's what history is all about.

5. Try to personalize history

Find a way to personally "connect" with history. Hanging on my office wall is a framed parole signed by Confederate prisoner Lewis Jones, stating that he would not again take up arms against the United States. Based on his signature, he was allowed to return home. Lewis Jones was my great-great grandfather, and having his parole helps me "connect" with Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

Likewise, my maternal grandfather is a veteran of World War II. One day, when I was a kid, I was watching (with him) the movie Bridge at Remagen. He off-handedly remarked to me and the others present that he had crossed that bridge. This really put World War II Europe in a whole new light for me.

Find a way to make history real and personal. The more you can do that, the more of an imprint the information will make in your mind.

The above five tips should get you started, but most of all, learn to appreciate (even love) history. Many teenagers don't do well in history, because they won't allow themselves to enjoy it. There's nothing wrong with liking history. In fact, it's to your credit that you can appreciate a world larger than just yourself - and that there were people (with hopes and dreams like you) who lived before you. They deserve to be remembered, as will you one day. So, learn to appreciate history. And you will see yourself better positioned to then master it.