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
Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line

Experience selected artworks by African American artist Jacob Lawrence while [...] »

The Dick Thornburgh Papers
Photo, Kitten falling off the table. . . , 1983, Dick Thornburgh Papers

Explore the positions and words of a former PA Governor and Attorney General [...] »

CIA and the Vietnam Policy Makers: Three Episodes 1962-1968
Image, CIA: CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes 1962-1968.

A recently declassified study on the CIA's intelligence assessments [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
California or Bust

Who went west when? Answer questions about migration from 1935 to 2000.

[...] »
Spot the President: Presidential Campaign Ads

Decide whether these statements on the more-than-50-year-old tradition of [...] »

War of Invaders

What do these biased narratives of the French and Indian War tell us?

[...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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 [...] »

Causing the Civil War
Postcard, Train Load of Cotton for Export, South, 1902-1903, NYPL

Did King Cotton cause the Civil War? Or should you look further?

[...] »
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
Federal Aviation Administration

The FAA regulates air safety and influences the development of civil [...] »

National Center for Education Statistics
Marginalia, CHNM

Ever wondered about the numbers behind the latest teaching trends?

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

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

Ask a Historian

Typical in the 1930s
one of the official typical families at the 1939 NY World's Fair

A panel of judges enlisted by the New York World’s Fair Corporation looked [...] »