Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

photography, Statue of Captain Parker, 1902, Detroit Photographic Co, LOC

See this Flash movie for a peek at how historians read and question sources.

Why Historical Thinking Matters

In Using Primary Sources

What meanings does the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, have? Historians Christopher Hamner and Michael O'Malley try to answer this question.

World War II Memorial

In Examples of Historical Thinking

What can an inventory tell you about daily life in Delaware in 1804? Curator Barbara Clark Smith asks this document four questions.

1804 Inventory

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

An Introduction to Historical Thinking and Reading

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

FDR's Fireside Chats

Historian Allida Black analyzes FDR's April 28, 1935 Fireside Chat. What [...] »

Piscataway Park and Tobacco Farming

What was it like being a small farmer in the 1700s? Follow a tour group [...] »

What can an inventory tell you about daily life in Delaware in 1804? Curator [...] »

Narratives of Slavery

One institution, two very different perspectives. An expert contrasts [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Historical Context and Roleplaying

A 5th-grade teacher teaches historical context through roleplaying [...] »

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

Making Sense of Films

Work with early twentieth-century film as historical evidence. What [...] »

SCIM-C: Historical Source Analysis

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

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Children’s Voices from the Civil War

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

Opening Up the Textbook

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

Questioning Textbook Authority

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks, Part I: Language Analysis

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

Learning Menus: Textbooks a la Carte

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