Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Who was Jane Addams, and how is her article "Why Women Should Vote" still relevant today?

Women's Suffrage: Jane Addams's Article

In Examples of Historical Thinking

What is the key line in Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inaugural address? Historian David Kennedy gives his answer.

FDR's Second Inaugural Address

In Examples of Historical Thinking

Is a school an island? James Liou talks about working to integrate schools into the community, as practiced at Boston Community Leadership Academy, Boston, MA.

Students in the Community

In Teaching in Action

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

Seeing (and Engaging in) Historical Thinking: A Tutorial

This interactive tutorial models a four-step process for analyzing [...] »

Creative Memo on Lay's Products

Potato chip marketing—how a luxury item became an everyday U.S. food.

FDR's Second Inaugural Address

What is the key line in Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inaugural address? [...] »

What can an inventory tell you about daily life in Delaware in 1804? Curator [...] »

A Close Look at the FDR Memorial

Historian Christopher Hamner visits the original Franklin D. [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Teaching the Bill of Rights

Daunted by teaching the Bill of Rights and its complex vocabulary to [...] »

Causal Reasoning

The fictional Alphonse the Camel provides insight for one classroom.

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Thinking Like a Historian

Learn how to teach your students historical thinking with this informative [...] »

Online Primary Source Collections

Check out these sites for excellent primary source material.

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Building a Conversation between Textbooks, Students, and Teachers

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks Part II: Questioning the Text

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

Questioning Textbook Authority

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

Opening Up the Textbook

Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »

Children’s Voices from the Civil War

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