Welcome to Best Practices
Spotlight on Elementary Education
Example of Historical Thinking
Take a look at artifacts from the past—what might they be? Teachers model [...] »
What does architecture say about the past and the present? TAH teachers [...] »
Today, we accept paper—and electronic—money as a fact of life. Historian [...] »
Smithsonian Barbara Clark Smith looks at what a colonial newspaper article [...] »
With the advent of industry and western expansion, U.S. businesses mass [...] »
Teaching in Action
Did two bullets begin WWI? Explore causation in your classroom.
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A 3rd-grade teacher leads her students through analysis of child labor [...] »
Using Primary Sources
Textbook illustrations are often overlooked as historical evidence.
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What messages are hidden in art and architecture? Explore the Library of [...] »
Teaching with Textbooks
Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »
Class discussion and personal inquiry builds an interactive relationship [...] »
The language of history textbooks challenges English language learners and [...] »
Help students identify with the past via children who lived through the [...] »
Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »