Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Daunted by teaching the Bill of Rights and its complex vocabulary to students? Middle-school teacher Christine Valenti explains how she introduces her students to the Amendments.

Teaching the Bill of Rights

In Teaching in Action

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

Narratives of Slavery

In Examples of Historical Thinking

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

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

Women's Suffrage Cartoon

How does a political cartoon use popular beliefs about women to make its [...] »

Massive Resistance Political Cartoons

Watch J. Douglas Smith discuss the Massive Resistance policy enacted by U.S [...] »

Daily Objects, 19th-century America

With the advent of industry and western expansion, U.S. businesses mass [...] »

Japanese American Internment: Ansel Adams Photos

If the U.S. interned you and your family, how would you respond?

Pockets from the Past: Daily Life at Monticello

What do the contents of pockets say about their owners? TAH teachers model [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Prologue to Studying the Emancipation Proclamation

An 8th-grade class analyzes letters about the Emancipation Proclamation.

Foundations of American History: John Brown Song

How did people in the North feel about John Brown after his raid on Harpers [...] »

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Teaching with Monuments and Memorials

Every town has a scattering of historical markers and statues. Discover what [...] »

Making Sense of Advertisements

Advertisements have surrounded us for years. How can you interpret them? [...] »

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Learning Menus: Textbooks a la Carte

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks, Part I: Language Analysis

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

Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War

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

Questioning Textbook Authority

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks Part II: Questioning the Text

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