Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Close observation and an inquisitive mind are all the tools you need to start analyzing primary sources! Teachers model analyzing works of art.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Close Observation

In Examples of Historical Thinking

High school teacher Joe Jelen combines roleplaying and critical analysis—by having students roleplay critics of the New Deal.

FDR's Fireside Chats

In Teaching in Action

Written primary sources only tell you so much. To learn about history that was never written down, listen to sources like these two songs.

Two Blues Songs

In Examples of Historical Thinking

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

Watch Smithsonian curator Barbara Clark Smith discuss John Smith’s Map of [...] »

Civil War Letters

Historian Chandra Manning analyzes Civil War letters from black and white [...] »

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Teaching the Reconstruction? Ford's Theatre's Sarah Jencks leads teachers [...] »

Ford's Theatre: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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

Close Reading for Vocabulary, Context, and Tone

Analyzing a source requires context for a more complete understanding.

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 [...] »

Foundations of American History: John Brown Song

How did people in the North feel about John Brown after his raid on Harpers [...] »

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

SCIM-C: Historical Source Analysis

Virginia Tech’s short video shows how to analyze primary sources and put [...] »

Making Sense of American Popular Songs

Don't overlook song as a way of understanding the past.

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Learning Menus: Textbooks a la Carte

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

Building a Conversation between Textbooks, Students, and Teachers

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

Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War

Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »

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 [...] »