Spotlight on Elementary Education

History has been shaped and influenced by the out come of ancient trials—such as the Trial of Socrates in 399B.C.—to Rosenberg Trial in the 1950s. This site offers a comprehensive look at 50 prominent court trials throughout history and its resources can be used to give young learners an introduction to the history of the modern judicial system.

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Website Reviews

Find quality websites & primary sources
Readex Digital Collections

This site offers a cornucopia of documents spanning four centuries of [...] »

Benjamin Franklin: In His Own Words
Lithograph, Franklin's Reception at the. . . , c. 1860, Anton Hohenstein, LoC

Get to know Benjamin Franklin through his own writings, cartoons, and [...] »

North American Slave Narratives, Beginnings to 1920
Illustration, THE QUIET, DIM-LIGHTED ROOM..., 1914, Grace E. King, L. Graham Co.

Explore all of the known published slave narratives, to better understand [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Advice for Beachgoers

Long before sunblock, boogie boards, or bikinis...did ladies wear corsets to [...] »

Monuments to a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorials

Answer these questions about memorials to the life and ideals of MLK.

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Presidents Day: Growing Up to Be President

Even American presidents were babies once!

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Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
The Modern Civil Rights Movement: A River of Purposeful Anger
Dynamics of Idealism- Volunteers for Civil Rights, 1965-1982 432x240

Textbooks are silent about defining race and racism, even though the modern [...] »

Causing the Civil War
Postcard, Train Load of Cotton for Export, South, 1902-1903, NYPL

Did King Cotton cause the Civil War? Or should you look further?

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Labor and Trade in Colonial America
Photo, Weavers at Colonial Williamsburg, May 29, 2010, animalvegetable, Flickr

Was colonial trade really triangular? What kinds of work did colonists do, [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
U.S. Marine Corps

Why are the Marines known as "America's 911 Force"? Explore this division of [...] »

National Institute for Literacy
Photo, "Artis struisvogel leest krant van oppasser,"1951, Flickr Commons

Do you have struggling readers in your class? Try incorporating literacy [...] »

National Endowment for the Humanities

Meet the largest governmental funder of humanities programs in the U.S.

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Ask a Historian

John Adams: Great or Not?
Coin, Presidential $1 Coin for John Adams, 2007, United States Mint

What does historical "greatness" mean, anyway?

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