Welcome to Best Practices
Spotlight on Elementary Education
Example of Historical Thinking
Professor Meredith Lair examines a 1971 political cartoon and what it says [...] »
Jefferson, surprised by the Louisiana Purchase? Maybe not. Historian Leah [...] »
Use autobiographies to deconstruct views of slavery and historical heroes. [...] »
Donald A. Ritchie, Historian of the U.S. Senate, asks how a political [...] »
Take a look at artifacts from the past—what might they be? Teachers model [...] »
Teaching in Action
Ninth-grade teacher Jamie Kimbrough asked her students to stand in Kennedy's [...] »
A 5th-grade teacher teaches historical context through roleplaying [...] »
Using Primary Sources
Textbook illustrations are often overlooked as historical evidence.
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So you don't live near Gettysburg or the Alamo—can you still teach with [...] »
Teaching with Textbooks
Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »
Show your students how to challenge the authority gap between the textbook [...] »
Help students identify with the past via children who lived through the [...] »
The language of history textbooks challenges English language learners and [...] »
Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »