Teachinghistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Elementary teacher Karen Eanes hooks her students with engaging historical fiction, art, and primary source excerpts on George Washington's crossing of the Delaware.

Integrating Language Arts and History

In Teaching in Action

One institution, two very different perspectives. An expert contrasts records.

Narratives of Slavery

In Examples of Historical Thinking

Donald A. Ritchie, Historian of the U.S. Senate, asks how a political cartoon captures a moment of change in the 1932 presidential campaign.

The Election of 1932: Clifford Berryman Cartoon

In Examples of Historical Thinking

Spotlight on Elementary Education

Oral histories and interviews are a unique form of historical documentation. This guide by Linda Shopes offers an overview of the various ways oral history can be integrated into classroom discussions. Though some of the techniques will have to be adapted for elementary students, the ideas Shopes presents are extremely useful. FIND OUT MORE »

Example of Historical Thinking

Scholars, students, and teachers model historical thinking

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

How does the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in Washington, DC, depict Grant and [...] »

A Close Look at the World War II Memorial

Historian Christopher Hamner introduces educators to the World War II [...] »

FDR's Fireside Chats

Historian Allida Black analyzes FDR's April 28, 1935 Fireside Chat. What [...] »

What do slave receipts reveal? Ever considered using similar documents to [...] »

An Introduction to Historical Thinking and Reading

Watch this flash movie for a peek at how historians read and question [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

How to Introduce Students to Primary Sources

Introducing your students to primary sources for the first time? Watch [...] »

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Teacher Bill Kendrat demonstrates the techniques he uses to draw students in [...] »

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Making Sense of Oral History

Work with oral history interviews as historical evidence.

Online Primary Source Collections

Check out these sites for excellent primary source material.

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

The Grammar of History Textbooks, Part I: Language Analysis

The language of history textbooks challenges English language learners and [...] »

Building a Conversation between Textbooks, Students, and Teachers

Class discussion and personal inquiry builds an interactive relationship [...] »

Questioning Textbook Authority

Show your students how to challenge the authority gap between the textbook [...] »

Children’s Voices from the Civil War

Help students identify with the past via children who lived through the [...] »

Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War

Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »