Reading a History Textbook

Maybe you're a teacher or a contract tutor, or maybe you're a student of history who just can't seem to get the most out of history textbooks. Believe me, you are not alone. History textbooks have the reputation of being some of the most notoriously dense books you will come across. However, teaching and learning history, especially at the high school level requires a lot of general world and United States history. It just isn't feasible to assign students several books on a single historical area at that age, when they are already so steeped in other disciplines. Chances are that you won't be able to escape history textbooks altogether, which is why I have devised this guide for reading and getting the most out of these intricate texts.

I am going to organize this tutorial in a series of pointers. These pointers are not steps, but I have designated each with a numeral in order to better organize them. You should try and incorporate all of these different techniques, regardless of the order in which they appear in this guide.

1. Do not approach reading a chapter in a history textbook as "reading a chapter in a history textbook." If you go about your reading as something that needs to be done start to finish, then you're going to run into problems immediately, not only with information retention, but also with your own sanity. Chapters in history texts contain a lot of information, and they are often very long. If you try to get all of the assignment done in one sitting, you won't be able to take much away from the reading.

2. Before you even begin reading, take a look at what you're studying. If the name of the Chapter is "Imperial China," then chances are you're going to be reading about China. I know it sounds painfully obvious, but if you place your reading into context, you'll make things a lot easier in the long run.

3. Before you begin reading, look at any and all maps that might be located in the chapter. It is of utmost importance that you know where the topic in question is situated geographically. When you're looking at the maps, take into account any major landforms. These include seas, oceans, mountain ranges, deserts, and major rivers. You don't need to memorize every little detail on the map, but you should know the major features. There's a very good reason for this. Since history is a discipline that studies human relationships, then you're going to want to know where a certain country or civilization is in relation to others.

4. Before you begin reading, take a look at any questions at the back of the chapter. Browse through a few of them and get a feel for what they are asking. By knowing what is expected of you to know BEFORE you read, then you will be able to more easily pick out the important stuff from the less-important stuff.

5. Know how your history textbook is organized. Chances are that a normal high school-level textbook will be organized according to headings and subheadings, which are often different colors. Flip through your assigned chapter and see how many main headings there are. Using the previous example of a chapter on Imperial China, a main heading in the chapter might be "The Qin Dynasty." There are usually three to five main headings, and of those, there are several subheadings. Pay attention to the section headings, and you will get a better feel for how the chapter is laid out.

6. When you are reading the chapter, read it in chunks. Break down the chapter according to main idea headings. Once you've finished one, then take a break. Put the book down, give yourself time to absorb what you just read, and most importantly, give your mind a time to catch its breath!

7. TAKE NOTES! History is a discipline that you can't afford not to take notes in. However, there is a right way to take notes and a wrong way to take notes. The wrong way involves writing down every little detail of the textbook as you read. The purpose of notes is to have a useful guide in your own writing that will help you organize thoughts and better prepare for essays and exams. If you write too much, you're essentially rewriting the textbook and that will not help you in the long run. When taking notes, read a section of text FIRST, and THEN go back and write down what you felt was important in that particular section.

8. Don't think of history as a collection of useless facts and dates that need to be memorized. History is a study of TRENDS and common themes. While you're reading, think to yourself, "why is this particular person or event important? How do they fit into larger themes and trends of this chapter?" If you think of history as fact-retention, then you're going to be in for a world of hurt. By thinking about the big picture instead, you will start to remember the information likely to appear on exams, and in general reading history will become much more enjoyable or at least tolerable.

Those are a few tips to help you in your quest for better reading of a history textbook. History is a fascinating field, but unfortunately it is what you make it. Although you may not like reading and studying history, by using the tips I outlined in this article, you can get through it a lot easier and take much more from it.