Best Practices | TeachingHistory.org

Welcome to Best Practices

Educators tour the NMAAHC exhibit "Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty" and ask about approaches to presenting the lives of Thomas Jefferson and his enslaved workers.

Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty

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

How did people in the North feel about John Brown after his raid on Harpers Ferry?

Foundations of American History: John Brown Song

In Teaching in Action

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

A Close Look at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

Historian Christopher Hamner engages educators in close questioning of the [...] »

World War II Memorial

What meanings does the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, have? [...] »

Smithsonian American Art Museum: "Acehlous and Hercules"

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

Reading Place with the National Building Museum

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

Women's Suffrage Photographs

How did the women's suffrage movement use the rise of journalism to its [...] »

Teaching in Action

Teachers demonstrate promising teaching practices

Of the Student, For the Student, By the Student

Sixth graders in Prince William County film their interpretations of the [...] »

Causal Reasoning

The fictional Alphonse the Camel provides insight for one classroom.

Using Primary Sources

Strategies for analyzing primary sources

Thinking Like a Historian

Learn how to teach your students historical thinking with this informative [...] »

Scholars in Action: Analyzing 19th-Century Letters

Watch a scholar interpret letters from labor activist and reformer Sarah [...] »

Teaching with Textbooks

Techniques for promoting historical inquiry

Using Historiography to Analyze the Mexican-American War

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

Building a Conversation between Textbooks, Students, and Teachers

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

Opening Up the Textbook

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

The Grammar of History Textbooks Part II: Questioning the Text

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

Questioning Textbook Authority

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