Welcome to Best Practices
Spotlight on Elementary Education
Example of Historical Thinking
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Can you trust a biography? Historian Tiya Miles analyzes an 1869 biography [...] »
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Textbooks describe segregation in a few pages, but these artists share [...] »
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Use autobiographies to deconstruct views of slavery and historical heroes. [...] »
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How can you get teachers thinking about monuments and memorials as secondary [...] »
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Ford's Theatre Society's Sarah Jencks leads teachers through Abraham Lincoln [...] »
Teaching in Action
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Watch this 9th-grade teacher lead his class in planning, writing, and [...] »
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High school teacher Joe Jelen combines roleplaying and critical analysis—by [...] »
Using Primary Sources
![Screencap, Native American mask detail, 18 Jul 2012, American's History in the Making--Analyzing Artifacts site Screencap, Native American mask detail, 18 Jul 2012, American's History in the M](/sites/default/files/styles/splash_thumb_images/public/maskssplash.jpg?itok=XMHCTuHc)
In this series of exercises, students are presented with Native American [...] »
![Photo, Final Day, April 11, 2005, *styler, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellipse/9084106/ Photo, Final Day, April 11, 2005, *styler, Flickr](/sites/default/files/styles/splash_thumb_images/public/Splash-UPS-Secondary.jpg?itok=wkLUqIwy)
National History Day identifies secondary sources along with [...] »
Teaching with Textbooks
![Negative, "Schoolroom. Concho, Arizona," Russell Lee, Oct. 1940, Library of Congress Negative, "Schoolroom. Concho, Arizona," Russell Lee, Oct. 1940, LoC](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail1/public/OpeningUpSplash.jpg?itok=fdiWKOhR)
Make the most of your textbook—engage students in close reading and analysis [...] »
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Class discussion and personal inquiry builds an interactive relationship [...] »
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Turn your students into 'master chefs' by using learning menus that allow [...] »
![Print, "Bombardment of Vera Cruz," 1893-1896, J. Andre Castaigne, New York Public Library Print, "Bombardment of Vera Cruz," 1893-1896, J. Andre Castaigne, NYPL](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail1/public/ph_16splash.jpg?itok=ibJKGSG7)
Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, [...] »
![Marginalia, CHNM Marginalia, CHNM](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail1/public/GrammarHistIISplash3.jpg?itok=iEed4BmM)
Turn your textbook into a conversation by scanning its language for biases [...] »