Historian James T. Patterson discusses his book Restless Giant: The United States From Watergate to Bush v. Gore. He looks at the United States during the final quarter of the 20th century, from the 1970s to the election of 2000. This is part two of a two-part lecture.
Do you celebrate Flag Day? Though not an official federal holiday, June 14 (one week from today) memorializes the day when the Second Continental Congress approved the first version of what evolved into our modern national flag.
Since 1777, the flag has gained 37 stars and exact specifications for color and design, but it's always been recognizable. Red, white, and blue, it has waved over people, places, and events throughout U.S. history. How much do your students know about the flag and its history? If you ask them to share what they know, do they offer stories about Betsy Ross or the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner"? Use these stories as starting points or explore other pieces of flag history with free online resources.
Looking for resources for other holidays? How about heritage months? Check out Teachinghistory.org's spotlight pages! Spotlight pages are available all year long and update constantly.
Do not publish; quality of resources not high enough
George Mason University's History News Network (HNN) recently debuted Teacher's Editions for grades 36 and grades 912. "Our mission is to help put current events into historical perspective," says the HNN, which invites historians to comment on hot topics in the news.
With the new Teacher's Edition sections, HNN plans to release two lesson plans for each section each month. All lessons will focus on current events. Current lesson plans focus on Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party, the economic downturn, presidential campaigning, North Korea, Iran, and Syria. You can also find background articles on news topics in the "News Backgrounders" sections and links to useful resources in the "Teacher's Lounge" sections, and subscribe to a twice-monthly newsletter.
Lesson plans like these can help students understand contemporary events well enough to trace them back through history.
Answering these questions and other can help students critically analyze the headlines in today's news and learn how to form their own questions. HNN's lesson plans can be used as-is or you can use them inspire your own lesson plans or adaptations.
Looking for more lesson plans? Browse Teachinghistory.org's Lesson Plan Reviews! We break lesson plans down using our custom rubric and show you what makes each lesson plan top-notch (or not).
Political or editorial cartoons make a good "hook" for snagging students at the start of a lesson. High school teacher Joe Jelen suggests where to find cartoons, how to analyze them, and how to make your own in his blog entry. Whether contemporary or historical, there are cartoons out there on thousands of topics!
In this lecture from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Professor Cornell examines the three distinct phases of the Constitution. "The first is the Constitution in the 18th century as imagined by the Founding Fathers. The Constitution went through another incarnation after the Civil War. Professor Cornell will then look at the Constitution in the decades after the New Deal to the present."
This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 16. Created and first observed in the 1980s, this holiday honors the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the philosophy of nonviolent protest. Do you teach the day in your classroom? How do you teach it? Do you focus on King's life and work? Do you look at the Civil Rights Movement as a whole? Do you talk about citizenship and social action? Do you encourage students to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service?
No matter how you approach the day, our Martin Luther King Jr. Day spotlight page can help. Browse the page to find teaching strategies, quizzes, website reviews, online lectures, and more on Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights Movement, and active citizenship.
Explore materials on other websites as well:
National Air and Space Museum curator Paul Cerruzi describes the Saturn V Instrument Unit, used in manned space missions from 1967 to 1973, including the Apollo 11 mission, the first moon landing. A Saturn V Instrument Unit is on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
National Air and Space Museum curator Allan Needell describes the sea landing and recovery process for the Apollo 11 command module, from the first manned landing on the moon. He looks at the boilerplate command module now displayed in the Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, once used by the Apollo 11 team to practice module egress, and the flotation spheres and collar displayed with the boilerplate.
The manager of African American history interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg, Harvey Bakari, talks about how interpretation of African American history has changed at Colonial Williamsburg over the past three decades.
Ed Chappell, director of architectural research at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the research required to restore buildings to their colonial-era state, and how perception of how a building should be restored and presented changes over time and with the appearance of new information.
Harvey Bakari, manager of African American history interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the history of the African American interpretation program there, and the roles of African Americans in the Revolutionary War.