February 11, 2026 – History and Geography through Literature

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

The Grand Adventure!

My children have learned exponentially more through good literature than I could ever expose them to in real life. They learned science, history, geography, and strong moral character through many living books, missionary stories, and classic literature. 

The world and all its history and geography and anthropology and human emotion has been opened up to them through the literature they have read. Parents, make sure it is worthy literature! Don’t know where to start? Here are five life-giving book titles for every age and stage.

The books they have read have taken them on grand adventures through time, space, and Creation. In reading biographies, they have “lived” with missionaries abroad while facing dangers of many kinds. They have seen what it is to have courage and perseverance. They have read what evil does and have seen good win. 

Besides all of that, they have learned new vocabulary, observed proper grammar, and increased their spelling capabilities just by reading good literature—whether that is in paper form, on an electronic device, or through an audio presentation.

If you can’t add one more thing to a busy schedule, just look at what you are already studying and add the geography layer! If you are reading any literature mentioning places of interest, create a blank map of the world, and write the names and dates of the people mentioned on the respective states or countries. 

Obviously, the best literature including history and geography is Scripture. Many good books will penetrate a reader’s mind, his perspective on life, or even move his feelings. But the Book containing the very words of the Most High God Himself will change the inner man of the heart and will impart what no man has words to teach. 

“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

~Deborah Wuehler

Five Ways History and Geography Can Be Fun by Cole Austin
How to Use Historical Fiction in Every Subject by Meredith Curtis
Life Lessons from Literature by Jennifer Courtney
History and Geography Bring the World to Life! A Study of the War of 1812 by Libby McNamee 

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Access real writing tips and classroom activities from the New York Times bestselling author, Stuart Gibbs! https://stuartgibbsmissionwrite.com/ 

Danika Cooley

Hit the Books!

When our family first started our homeschool journey, I didn’t want to employ a strictly textbook- and worksheet-style approach to education. I remembered how laborious I found that educational method when I had been a child myself. So, after going over all our options, my husband and I settled on a literature-based approach. To our reading, we added the disciplines of notebooking and hands-on projects. 

It was a great fit for us!

We studied history on a four-year cycle, using a spine curriculum that helped me organize each unit. Each week, our family read age-appropriate biographies, nonfiction history books, and historical fiction that focused on the time period and culture we were studying. Our boys particularly liked the books we read about countries very different from our own.

As we learned, we incorporated fun activities. For instance, when we studied ancient Egypt, the kids made paper mâché death masks. When we studied the Puritan colonists in New England, we made “Indian pudding,” just like the Pilgrims learned to make. We also kept a timeline notebook, a map notebook, and a notebooking journal about the books the kids read. 

Literature-based learning is a fun way to learn. It can help kids broaden their critical thinking skills and their context for understanding their current world. Check out my best tips for using this valuable educational method! 

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About the author

Danika Cooley is an award-winning children’s author who blogs about Bible and Christian history books, crafts, and activities at Thinking Kids. Her books include 60 Scriptures You Can Pray, Help Your Kids Learn  and Love the Bible, puzzle-based study with Bible Investigators, and the Who What Why Series, Christian history for 7-12 year olds. Grab your free three-week sample of her popular Bible Road Trip™ curriculum here. 

Help your child build a solid, faith-filled foundation for the road ahead with BJU Press Homeschool. bjupresshomeschool.com

Alexandria Letkeman

Fictional Reading as “Real” History

Hands down, the best way to teach history and geography at the high school level is through literature. Most of us didn’t fall in love with history because of timelines and maps. We remember history when it felt real. Books have emotional connection and memory anchors that dates and maps just don’t provide.

When I read All Quiet on the Western Front, World War I wasn’t a list of causes, dates, and treaties. It was muddy trenches, exhausted soldiers, and the very real consequences of war. The Western Front mattered to me because I understood where it was and why it mattered to the characters trapped there. 

The same thing happens with books like Things Fall Apart. Instead of a vague idea of “colonial Africa,” you step into Nigeria and see how land, climate, and tradition shaped daily life way before European influence. Geography becomes personal. Culture makes sense. History sticks.

Even novels we don’t always label as “history books” do this perfectly. A Tale of Two Cities makes the differences between London and Paris feel lived-in, not theoretical.

This is why stories work so well, especially in homeschool. They naturally weave together reading, history, geography, and critical thinking, without feeling like a lesson. When we follow characters through real places and real moments in time, learning feels less like memorizing and more like understanding.

And that’s what we’re all hoping for anyway. 

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About the author

Alexandria Letkeman began homeschooling with her family in middle school and has recently graduated with honors in 2020. Together with her husband, she has developed a passion for financial literacy, classical writing, and the freedom that homeschooling provides. In pursuit of those passions, she and her husband aim to continue the legacy of The HomeScholar and continue helping homeschool parents homeschool with confidence. One day, Alex plans to start a homesteading farm in Texas featuring mini cows.

Christine Weller

When Books Become Time Machines

History and geography come alive when they’re experienced through story. Rather than memorizing dates, maps, and place names in isolation, literature invites students to step inside another time and land to walk its roads, hear its conflicts, and understand its people.

When children read historical fiction, biographies, or classic novels set in specific regions, they begin to grasp history as a lived experience. A story set during the American Revolution reveals not just what happened, but how it felt to live through uncertainty and change. A novel set in Africa, Asia, or Eastern Europe introduces landscapes, customs, and worldviews that no map alone can convey.

Geography, too, becomes meaningful through literature. Rivers, mountains, climate, and distance all shape a story’s events and characters. As students follow a character’s journey, they naturally develop spatial awareness as they learn where places are, why they matter, and how geography influences culture and history.

For homeschool families, this approach encourages rich connections. A single book can spark map work, timeline entries, cultural studies, and thoughtful discussion. It also nurtures empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper love of learning.

By weaving history and geography into literature, we move beyond facts to understanding. Stories remind us that history is not just about where and when but about people, purpose, and the world God has placed them in.

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About the author

Christine Weller has been homeschooling her two boys, 10 and 6, since birth in the lovely province of Ontario, Canada. She is also a mom blogger and children’s book author. She is currently working to support homeschoolers everywhere through various roles at The Old Schoolhouse®.

Turn your history and geography lessons into living stories! Combine place and time with literature to bring the past and the world to life. Courses like Everyday Explorers: USA, Living Geography, and Ancient History for Elementary interlink people, places, and narratives, a perfect way to spark curiosity and deep understanding.