Revolutionary France had a black general. His name was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. He was born in Haiti, the son of a French nobleman and an African woman enslaved on his plantation. Haiti was a French colony then, and young Dumas was a slave under French law. In fact, his father actually sold the boy when he was

A little while ago, I wrote an op-ed for History News Network — on how to make history interesting. It’s particularly valuable for anyone teaching history. To read the article, please click here or on William the Conqueror below …  

Says Yoda things like: “Powerful have you become; the dark side I sense in you.” Sounds it like speaks he English from the olden days — Shakespeare’s English, maybe. Yet uses not Yoda “thou hast” or “erstwhile” or “thee” — or any other term found no longer in English. Old English does not speak Yoda,

A little while ago, I spoke at a TEDx conference — to an audience of smart, motivated high school students. My topic was the magic of history. I told the students many of my favorite short stories from past times. I wanted to reveal history’s endless well of fun, excitement, and humor, and to explain

How an Unusual Novel and an Ohio Teacher Are Repackaging History Education A high school teacher in Ohio has done some smart, creative instruction with my novel, The Jericho River. This post describes her lesson-building and offers ideas on teaching with the book — along with links to sample lesson plans — in high school and

During the early 400’s BC, an alliance of plucky little Greek city-states beat back an invading superpower. Athens, Sparta, and their allies defeated the Persian Empire twice, in fact. Westerners often see the Persians’ defeat as a victory for freedom. The Movie “300,” for instance, casts the Greeks as freedom-fighters who saved Europe from an Asiatic

This is how the world should work …

Some scientists think prehistoric people created the dog by adopting wolf pups and breeding the friendliest of them. But a more recent theory says humans were basically bystanders in dog domestication. WARNING: Do Not Pet the Wolf The Trouble with Adopting a Wolf Stone Age people domesticated the dog 10,000 years ago or more —

Welcome to the blog at DavidTollen.com! This blog offers: Ideas for teaching history at the high school and middle school levels, and sometimes in college; and Articles on history: tales from the past that I think will particularly appeal to students. All posts will be categorized by time period and by whether they’re meant for