In this study we wanted to compare how history teachers working in various stages in the compulsory school and high school bring history to life through artifacts and narrations and how it differed based on the students’ cognitive maturity. We also studied how the combination of artifacts, role-playing games and stories can affect students’ learning of history. Semi-structured interviews with five teachers ranging from middle school up to high school were implemented and we coded the results through materialistic and narrative theories. Our findings conclude that authentic artifacts are rarely used because teachers do not have the resources to administer them. Instead photographs and generated artifacts are most used. Narrations in the form of stories and role-playing games are used to help students understand how history is used today and to help the students understand past actors in their own contexts. Our research also shows that popular history is present in history education because teachers believe it is engaging for the students. Popular themes such as the Viking-age and the World Wars are easier for the students to engage with. Therefore, narratives from popular historical themes are easier to bring to life in history education. The higher the education, the more abstract use of history brought to life. In our findings we concluded that when history was brought to life in middle school education it was to make learning more entertaining. In the higher stages it was used to bring actual artifacts as tools to work with abstract didactical themes such as uses of history and critical analysis of sources. This correlates with the cognitive maturity of the students’ ages. Combined, artifacts and narrations give a more holistic view of the past since it provided multimodal teaching opportunities for the students regarding their historical empathy and historical understanding.