Drive Through History is a video series that takes students to real historical sites. Hosted by Dave Stotts, it makes learning engaging and fun.
Most homeschool families report completing core academic subjects in 3-4 hours per day for elementary students, compared to the 6-7 hours typical of traditional schools, due to the one-on-one instruction and absence of classroom management overhead (NHERI, 2024). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), approximately 3.3 million students were homeschooled in the United States as of 2023, representing roughly 6% of the school-age population.
What is drive through history?
Drive Through History is a fun educational video series from ColdWater Media in Dallas, Texas. It's hosted by Dave Stotts, a documentary filmmaker with 20 years of experience in around 30 countries. What makes this series unique is that it films on location. Instead of just seeing a teacher at a whiteboard, students join Stotts at historical sites. He walks through places like the Roman Forum, stands on Mars Hill in Athens, explores colonial Williamsburg, and drives through historical landscapes. His narration is engaging and packed with facts.
Available series and content
Drive Through History offers several different series. The Bible series includes The Gospels, Acts to Revelation, Bible Backroads, and Excavating the Evidence for Jesus. The Ancient series covers the rise of Christianity and Western civilization in places like Rome, Greece, Turkey, and Byzantium. For American history, there’s Columbus to the Constitution (almost six hours of content), American Holidays, and Discovering America's Founders. The production quality is impressive, on par with the History Channel, making it enjoyable to watch.
How families use it
Many homeschool families use Drive Through History as their main history curriculum or as a supplement to traditional programs. The Adventures platform subscription costs $119.95 per year. It gives you unlimited access to all courses and full curriculum materials, like lesson plans, primary source documents, discussion questions, and worksheets. Individual DVDs are priced between $19.99 and $29.95 and can often be found at discounts on sites like Christianbook.com. Families usually watch episodes together during their weekly history time. Then, older kids can complete the worksheets on their own. The videos are great for visual and auditory learners who may struggle with traditional textbooks.
Grade levels and content considerations
The curriculum is designed for ages 12 and up, with reading levels suitable for grades 7-9. This makes it a good fit for middle and high school students. However, the videos are family-friendly and younger kids can watch too, with activities for different age groups. One thing to keep in mind is that the Ancient History series has some graphic battle scenes. Parents might want to preview these before showing them to younger kids. The content is from a Christian perspective, especially in the biblical series, which many homeschool families appreciate, but it’s good to know ahead of time.
The bottom line
Drive Through History hits the mark where many educational videos miss. It’s entertaining and still offers valuable information. Dave Stotts’ enthusiasm and the on-location filming make history come alive, much more than reading a textbook. If you’re looking to add visual learning to your history lessons or have kids who resist traditional methods, Drive Through History is worth considering. The subscription model keeps it affordable, and the included curriculum materials save you planning time.
