So, I teach 7th grade Texas History. Let that sink in.
 Except for one year, I have taught it every year for the past 14. When I taught only 8th grade, I was the proverbially fish out of water.  One of the greatest gifts of my teaching career was being returned to 7th graders. Knowing your gifts and passions will allow you to find that niche subject if you are a teacher.  
More about me later.
I get to teach a History class, which for most of my students, is their very first exposure to the subject.  No offense 6th grade Geography teachers, but our 7th grade subject matter is much more specific, and to be honest, much more History-like.  Thanks to all of my 6th grade counterparts who got their students through Geography, only to have to take it again in 9th grade.
Every year, I meet parents who tell me one of two things.  Either, they loved History, and they still enjoy it.  Or, they hated History in middle school, and really love it now.  Therefore, my first statement to my students is:
There is something in History for EVERYONE.
I don't expect my 12 and 13 year old students to leave my classroom as some sort of know-it-all History expert.  But, I expect them to embrace our past, and appreciate what people have been through to get us to this point.  They may find these famous dead people to very boring, but their lives were usually anything but.
Sidenote:  expect to discuss currently alive, supposedly famous people.  This brings the dead ones to life.
Also,  while reading is an inherent part of our studies, I find the use of the words used by the dead folk to be the best for learning about them.  These Primary Source documents tend to bring History alive.
Peace.

"We are not makers of History.  We are made by History." - Martin Luther King, Jr.