This textbook embeds the three strands of the Junior Cycle History course in an easy-to-follow chronological structure. Discovering History uses clear accessible language throughout to cater for students of varying levels of reading ability.

Each chapter opens with a double-page image to set the scene, followed by a double-page timeline showing when the event took place. This is aimed at helping students to get a sense of when the different historical periods they are studying actually occurred.

Important words or phrases appear at the beginning of each chapter. Recall and Looking at the evidence questions occur throughout chapters, as well as a 2-page Apply Your Learning assessment section at the end of each chapter. This section contains a wide variety of question types including:
Recall, Evaluate, Cause and Consequence, Viewpoints and Objectivity, Change and Continuity, Looking at the Evidence and Historical Empathy.
Contributions from members of the WHAI (Women’s History Association of Ireland) relating to women in history regularly appear throughout the textbook.