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
Powers of Persuasion: Poster Art from World War II
Poster, When You Ride Alone You Ride with Hitler. . . , 1941-1945, NARA

Explore American propaganda and advertising during the second world war.

[...] »
Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America

An assemblage of more than 80 photographs and postcards of lynchings, from [...] »

StoryCorps
Photo, MobileBooth West in Reno, StoryCorps blog

Connect 20th-century events and daily life with real human experiences [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Vaccinations: Rites of Passage

Have you had your shots? Which childhood diseases do these public [...] »

Paradise in a Breakfast Bowl

A morning meditation on flakes: Do your morals and values help you decide [...] »

The California Gold Rush

"Seeing the elephant" in California.

[...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
The Modern Civil Rights Movement: A River of Purposeful Anger
Dynamics of Idealism- Volunteers for Civil Rights, 1965-1982 432x240

Textbooks are silent about defining race and racism, even though the modern [...] »

20th-century Jewish Immigration
Dry plate negative, approx. 1920-1930, Jewish colonies and settlements, LOC

Divided into two waves of immigration by textbooks, the continuity of [...] »

Coal and the Industrial Revolution
Photo, At the close of the day, January 1911, Lewis Hine, Library of Congress

How can the story of coal help students understand the nature of today's [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
U.S. Postal Service
Photo, City Carrier, 1975, United States Postal Service

Come rain or shine, the mail must go through, bringing information and [...] »

National Park Service
Screencapture, FDR Memorial, National Park Service homepage

Lesson plans, essays, multimedia, activities, and artifacts of U.S. heritage [...] »

Students Abroad

If you're lucky enough to be able to arrange an international trip, know [...] »

Ask a Historian

Dissent in the Ranks
mech. print, c. Henry Mosler, 1913, George Washington Crossing Delaware, LOC

George Washington's military career and reputation were not pure successes [...] »