Welcome to Best Practices
Spotlight on Elementary Education
Example of Historical Thinking
Historian Chandra Manning analyzes Civil War letters from black and white [...] »
Historian Christopher Hamner engages educators in close questioning of the [...] »
Watch Smithsonian curator Barbara Clark Smith discuss John Smith’s Map of [...] »
Diaries give a personal view of historical events. Historian Peter Hahn [...] »
On the website Historical Thinking Matters, a student reads aloud a [...] »
Teaching in Action
An 8th-grade teacher asks: Was early 20th-century America a "melting pot" or [...] »
Sixth graders in Prince William County film their interpretations of the [...] »
Using Primary Sources
Every town has a scattering of historical markers and statues. Discover what [...] »
Advertisements have surrounded us for years. How can you interpret them? [...] »
Teaching with Textbooks
Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »
Turn your students into 'master chefs' by using learning menus that allow [...] »
Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »
The language of history textbooks challenges English language learners and [...] »
Turn your textbook into a conversation by scanning its language for biases [...] »