I am just beginning "The Story of the World" by Susan Wise Bauer and came across a paragraph that I think displays how the opening paragraph of any new era or topic ought to begin!
It says "While Ieyasu Tokugawa was establishing his Shogunate in Japan, Henry Hudson was searching for the Northwest Passage in Canada, and the Jamestown colonists were struggling for survival in Virginia. And in England, a young man names William Bradford was making a difficult decision: to leave his home country forever."
Always connect history to events and people around the world. If it is old enough to be during the Bible times, Bible people and stories should ALWAYS be connected to secular history. I feel so strongly about this.