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
Envisaging the West: Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Lewis and Clark
Map, A map of the British and French dominions in..., 1755, J. Mitchell, LoC.

Follows Jefferson's life, political participation, and accumulation of [...] »

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Illustration, The American Rattle Snake, 1782, New-York Historical Society.

Designed for historians and educators, this site provides high-quality [...] »

New York Public Library Picture Collection Online
Photographic print, Tennis skirts, 1919, Picture Collection Online.

Support visual learners with a selection of more than 30,000 historical [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Mapping the Past

A map can tell you more than east, west, north, and south.

[...] »
Drafting Music

Both the North and South instituted drafts during the Civil War. Popular [...] »

In Our Own Time: Native American Timekeeping

Pre-Columbian calendars were very different from the ones we use today. Are [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
Labor and Trade in Colonial America
Photo, Weavers at Colonial Williamsburg, May 29, 2010, animalvegetable, Flickr

Was colonial trade really triangular? What kinds of work did colonists do, [...] »

The Early Conservation Movement
photographic print, Quentin Roosevelt Planting a Tree, c1904, Edward S. Curtis,

The "go-green" movement is rampant in modern America. However, support for [...] »

Causes of the American Revolution
Broadside, A card, New York, 1774, LoC, rbpe 10700100

What were the causes of the American Revolution? They were more complicated [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
Federal Reserve Board

The economy's on everyone's mind. Take advantage of that fact to teach a bit [...] »

U.S. Secret Service

How did the Secret Service begin protecting our leaders and solving crimes [...] »

National Institute for Literacy
Photo, "Artis struisvogel leest krant van oppasser,"1951, Flickr Commons

Do you have struggling readers in your class? Try incorporating literacy [...] »

Ask a Historian

Selling a Slave
Receipt for sale of a slave boy named George, November 6, 1833.  National Archiv

The obstacles and restraints on disposing of one's human "property."

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