Personalize history. Many people find it infinitely more interesting to learn the stories behind individual people than to learn facts. This is because, as humans, we are naturally intrigued by the stories of others. Encourage students to read biographies and autobiographies and to study their own family trees to see if they had relatives involved in any particular historic event.
Read historical fiction. While you cannot rely on fiction to provide a completely accurate representation of a time period or event, an interesting story can get your students excited about learning what really happened.
Use props. This can be particularly engaging for younger students. For example, dress up as Paul Revere and encourage students to dress up in the same way. Ask them to read their history textbook out loud in character.
Visit historic sites. When possible, take history out of the classroom and to an actual place where an event occurred. If an actual trip is not possible, consider a virtual field trip. Organizations like the Smithsonian Institute offer virtual tours of various sites for people to enjoy without leaving the classroom.
Teach students that it's okay to not be interested in a particular part of history. While one student may find war fascinating, another student may be more intrigued by what kind of clothing was worn during a time period. All parts of history are equally valuable.