Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Detail, The Thomas Jefferson Building homepage

What messages are hidden in art and architecture? Explore the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building in this online activity.

The Thomas Jefferson Building: Secret Messages

In Using Primary Sources

Ford's Theatre Society's Sarah Jencks leads teachers through Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and follow-up activities, in this example of on-site TAH professional development.

Ford's Theatre: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

In Examples of Historical Thinking

graphic, detective, 13 Nov 2008, Flickr CC

Learn how to teach your students historical thinking with this informative video from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Thinking Like a Historian

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

An Introduction to Historical Thinking and Reading

Watch this flash movie for a peek at how historians read and question [...] »

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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

Civil War Letters

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

Reading Place with the National Building Museum

What does architecture say about the past and the present? TAH teachers [...] »

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Close Observation

Close observation and an inquisitive mind are all the tools you need to [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Teacher Bill Kendrat demonstrates the techniques he uses to draw students in [...] »

Teaching the Bill of Rights

Daunted by teaching the Bill of Rights and its complex vocabulary to [...] »

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Teaching with Museum Collections

National Park Service lesson plans, teaching materials, and vibrant images [...] »

Interactive Exercises—Analyzing Artifacts

In this series of exercises, students are presented with Native American [...] »

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

The Grammar of History Textbooks, Part I: Language Analysis

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

Opening Up the Textbook

Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »

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 [...] »

Children’s Voices from the Civil War

Help students identify with the past via children who lived through the [...] »