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
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting

How does an industrial past shape current work and play? How does it affect [...] »

Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964
Photo, Portrait of Martha Graham and Bertram Ross, faces..., June 27 1961, LoC.

View the mid-20th-century art scene through the photographs of music and [...] »

New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939
Color slide, Photographic Slide from Hartford..., March 22-24, 1939, LoC.

Learn about the New Deal through the Federal Theatre Project, designed to [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Carriages and Wagons

Trade in your old Cabriolet for a new 1876 Landau? Test your knowledge of [...] »

By the Numbers: Election Maps

What can historical election maps tell us? Take a look at the electoral vote [...] »

Early Telephone Etiquette

Should you leave your hat on when you talk on the telephone?

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Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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 [...] »

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 [...] »

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 [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
National Portrait Gallery

Allow students to "meet" their favorite historical figures.

[...] »
Indian Health Service
Photo, "Baby being weighed by nurse," IHS, 1887-1969, Dept. of Health

Disease ravaged colonial-era Native American populations. What health [...] »

Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Design embodies both artistic ingenuity and responses to everyday problems [...] »

Ask a Historian

Presidential Patent

How many presidents have applied for and received patents?

[...] »