Teaching Beyond the Timeline: Engaging Students in Thematic History is a practical guide for shifting the the way we teach history in the middle and high school classroom. In order for our students to be truly engaged, we need to help them see the relevance of events in the past, moving from simple rote memorization to requiring students to meaningfully connect historical concepts, people, and events using patterns of comparison, causation, and elements of continuity and change over time. Courses organized around central themes also help to ensure inclusive and relevant curriculum for all our diverse students, a challenge that is difficult to overcome with a traditional, chronological approach.