Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Jefferson, surprised by the Louisiana Purchase? Maybe not. Historian Leah Glaser looks at a letter from Jefferson requesting funding for the Corps of Discovery.

Jefferson's Confidential Letter to Congress

In Examples of Historical Thinking

Photo, George Gaskell and Colm Muircheartaigh, c1980s, LSE Library

Quantitative data, although seemingly daunting and impersonal, can help you understand the past.

Making Sense of Numbers

In Using Primary Sources

Photo, ". . . Texas-New Mexico Pipeline Company. . . ," 1972, Hiser, Flickr

Virginia Tech’s short video shows how to analyze primary sources and put them in context.

SCIM-C: Historical Source Analysis

In Using Primary Sources

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

Close Reading for Vocabulary, Context, and Tone

Analyzing a source requires context for a more complete understanding.

Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman

Can you trust a biography? Historian Tiya Miles analyzes an 1869 biography [...] »

Civil War Letters

Historian Chandra Manning analyzes Civil War letters from black and white [...] »

Intertextual Reading of Two Primary Documents

A student demonstrates thinking aloud reading two documents.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: "Inventing a Better Mousetrap"

Take a look at artifacts from the past—what might they be? Teachers model [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Integrating Language Arts and History

Elementary teacher Karen Eanes hooks her students with engaging historical [...] »

Students in the Community

Is a school an island? James Liou talks about working to integrate schools [...] »

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Teaching with Museum Collections

National Park Service lesson plans, teaching materials, and vibrant images [...] »

Document Analysis Worksheets

Find the National Archive's worksheets for analyzing a variety of primary [...] »

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks Part II: Questioning the Text

Turn your textbook into a conversation by scanning its language for biases [...] »

Learning Menus: Textbooks a la Carte

Turn your students into 'master chefs' by using learning menus that allow [...] »

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 [...] »