Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Educators tour the NMAAHC exhibit "Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty" and ask about approaches to presenting the lives of Thomas Jefferson and his enslaved workers.

Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty

In Examples of Historical Thinking

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

Prologue to Studying the Emancipation Proclamation

In Teaching in Action

Photo, V-mail, February 1943, U.S. Office of War Information, LoC

Source and approach letters and diaries with historical thinking.

Making Sense of Letters and Diaries

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

Ford's Theatre: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Ford's Theatre Society's Sarah Jencks leads teachers through Abraham Lincoln [...] »

Women's Suffrage Photographs

How did the women's suffrage movement use the rise of journalism to its [...] »

Jefferson's Confidential Letter to Congress

Jefferson, surprised by the Louisiana Purchase? Maybe not. Historian Leah [...] »

Thomas Nast Cartoon

Today, we accept paper—and electronic—money as a fact of life. Historian [...] »

The Election of 1932: Clifford Berryman Cartoon

Donald A. Ritchie, Historian of the U.S. Senate, asks how a political [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Teaching Strategies for Museums: Graphic Organizers

Eighth-grade teacher Amy Trenkle keeps students on-task before, during, and [...] »

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

Bringing History Home’s SOCC Analysis Technique

Explore the SOCC analysis technique with this great website.

Teaching with Monuments and Memorials

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

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 [...] »

Learning Menus: Textbooks a la Carte

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

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 I: Language Analysis

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks Part II: Questioning the Text

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