Welcome to Best Practices
Spotlight on Elementary Education
Example of Historical Thinking

What can a photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 reveal? Donald A. [...] »

Use autobiographies to deconstruct views of slavery and historical heroes. [...] »

Excite students by introducing them to primary sources that answer questions [...] »

Analyzing a massive primary source? Divide it up! Teachers at the [...] »

What does an 1853 daguerreotype have to say? Plenty, says Frank Goodyear, [...] »
Teaching in Action

Discover the multiple strategies 5th-grade teacher Jennifer Brouhard uses in [...] »

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

What questions should you ask when viewing maps as historical evidence?
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Explore the SOCC analysis technique with this great website.
[...] »Teaching with Textbooks

Show your students how to challenge the authority gap between the textbook [...] »

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

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

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 [...] »