History

A/N and methods to make history fun and memorable

Hi history lovers! Or other people who are here just for the sake of it! This is for people who want more history lessons, or to read for what ever reason they're doing it for. And for those of you who hate history and just can't stand it, don't worry. I used to loathe this subject too. History was introduced to me in year 5, when I transferred schools to Clarendon. And, believe it or not, I hated it. I would bang my head against the wall whenever someone said that we had the subject next, try to be as late as I can, without actually being too late... need i go on? 

My first grade for the first term was C+, the worse grade that I've ever got.

But then I realized, history's not that bad. You just need to push past the negatives and start seeing the positives, you can't enjoy something if you say you can't enjoy it. Simple as that. Over the years, I've been creating some "techniques" to help me enjoy and remember the knowledge that's taught.

-History isn't history anymore

Think of history as an extremely realistic novel that just happened to occur in the past. I know that all, or at least most, of us here like/love reading books. 'Cause wattpad is a literal website for books. You'll find that if you think of nonfiction as fiction, you'll find remembering them a hell lot easier. Like, would you rather read a textbook on the Vietnam war, or would you rather read a historical fiction on it. The answer's kinda obvious. The point is, it works. Don't ask me why.

-Don't use the same colour all the time

Ever found taking or reading notes boring? If yes, then congrats! You are officially like 90% of the people in the world! However, doing so is essential since it keeps you awake, helps you remember stuff better, blah blah. But, sometimes *cough* all the time *cough* seeing a page full of black, grey or blue just makes you want to continuously bang your head against the table or find a cave in the Arctic and stay there for the rest of your life. But don't do that. It isn't beneficial. Try using different colours instead. I personally like to colour-code my work eg: purple for the learning intention and important bits, light blue for the new words, pink for extra information etc. That way, it helps you see clearly what part you want to revise with an added bonus of your brain not falling asleep. The constant switching between colours helps your brain stay active, plus, doesn't everyone prefer to open a book to be met with a rainbow of colours rather than mere shades? If you want to use a highlighter for that purpose and that purpose only, go ahead, but I don't recommend it. Firstly, the ink/lead will mix with the colour of the highlighter, leaving you with a grey-ish colour, and the fact that it doesn't look nearly as nice in my opinion. So? What are you waiting for? Go and buy yourself a set of multicoloured pens!

-Have a random debate or write an essay

Yes, history is a lot about debating. Otherwise it'll hardly be of use in life since we can search up anytime about some stuff that we're interested about. The internet now can tell you every fact that you want, but it can't have a debate or use the info that it has to write an essay. Debates are really fun, whether it's between you and your friends, you and your teacher or a competitive one. You can put that information to use, helping it to stick in your brain even more because you're saying it aloud, it also tests your understanding on the topic because if you are really passionate and have a deep understanding on this, the facts will naturally come to you without you even thinking and you'll have really great rebuttals. It you stutter, that means you can still do a bit more work on the facts, it doesn't always mean you're nervous because you could be debating with your friends or someone familiar, through the debates, you can learn a lot more on the topic. I did this with my year five teacher Mr Hulse, about how we should either print or get rid of money. I could never beat him, but I learnt of a time after WW2 when Germany was suffering from economic depression since they spent so much on the war, they started printing money which just led to money being worthless eg: spending a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread. Writing an essay is more for people who prefer to finish things alone, you can write one about everything that you know on a topic in detail, then compare it to your notes, seeing which details, minor or major, you missed, or ask a teacher to check it. I did this once when I just really loved learning about the Vietnam war, and tried writing a diary entry from the point of view of an ex-soldier after the war. If any of you want to read it, I've published it on wattpad called "the refugee". Both these methods are great ways to revise, they're both enjoyable and can helps a lot when you want the facts to stick. Also, if any of you want to write an essay and want someone to read it, private message me and I'll be happy to.