Spotlight on Elementary Education

History has been shaped and influenced by the out come of ancient trials—such as the Trial of Socrates in 399B.C.—to Rosenberg Trial in the 1950s. This site offers a comprehensive look at 50 prominent court trials throughout history and its resources can be used to give young learners an introduction to the history of the modern judicial system.

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Website Reviews

Find quality websites & primary sources
A Brush With History: Paintings from the National Portrait Gallery

Compare changing artistic styles, or source images of famous individuals. [...] »

California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties
Jessie de Soto with her son Tommy, 1939

Sit back and enjoy folk and popular music recordings from 1930s California [...] »

Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast
Wood. . . , Nuxalk Sinaaxwmuxw (Headdress), c. 1860, Listening to. . . site

View more than 400 Native American objects selected and presented by the 11 [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Teaching the 20th

When does the past go from 'recent' to 'history?' Consider these questions [...] »

Black Days in the Market

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 opened the curtain on the Great Depression. [...] »

Potent Quotables: Every Vote Counts

After more than two centuries of citizenship, much has been said about [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
photographic print, Second atomic bombing of Nagasaki, 1945 August, LOC

Controversial issues are often simplified in textbooks. Discover the facts [...] »

Slavery
Photo, "An ex-slave," 1897, New York Public Library Digital Gallery

What was it like to be a slave in 19th-century America? Accounts contrast. [...] »

John Brown's Raid
Painting, John Brown, 1867, Thomas S. Noble, NYPL Digital Gallery

Did Northerners all respond the same way to Brown's infamous raid? [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
Central Intelligence Agency
Glass negative, "Belle Boyd," Confederate spy, Between 1855 and 1865, LoC

You've seen spy movies, but what is the real history of U.S. [...] »

Smithsonian
Negative, Dinsmore, Frances. Of Smithsonian. . . , 1915, Harris & Ewing, LoC

What can 19 museums, nine research centers, and the National Zoo offer your [...] »

Peace Corps

Explore world and U.S. history simultaneously through universal development [...] »

Ask a Historian

You Must Be This Old to Govern
Painting, "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States," 1940,

25, 30, 35. We all know these ages are part of the requirements for elected [...] »