This week in 930 CE, the chieftains of Iceland established the Althing, which remains the country’s parliament. It’s the world’s oldest surviving legislature. Northmen (sometimes called Vikings) had arrived on the island about 60 years before, and now they set about to govern themselves – meeting outdoors at a place called Thingvellir, which means “assembly

This week in 537, eastern Roman emperor Justinian I completed the Hagia Sophia: the great cathedral of his capital, Constantinople. Upon completion and for centuries thereafter, it was the largest building in the world. Justinian’s realm was the eastern half of the original Roman Empire, and the Hagia Sophia became the central cathedral of the

The Jericho River just got a wonderful review/endorsement from Ancient History Encyclopedia! To read it, just click the headline or the image below … Get Your Kids Interested in World History!  

We’ve posted our first lesson plan for middle school classes — related to The Jericho River! You can see it at our Resources for Teachers page. Just scroll down to “DESIGN A LUMIN LESSON PLAN … Middle School Version” (next to the blue-gold picture of Jason and Zidu). The plan was written by Lisa Meyers,

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