Quicklinks for Middle School Teachers

Middle School Intro Video >>

Teacher's Pick

Teaching with Textbooks

Allow students to see that history as we know it is interpretation, perspective[...] »
I have used this activity with Native Americans and slavery with great success. I have worked over the years to collect a variety of old textbooks from different time periods.
—Anonymous

6-8 Resources

Pre-1865

Charters of Freedom
Declaration of Independence, 1776, National Archives and Records Adminstration

Explore documents that helped to shape the history of our nation.


[...] »
Founding Mothers
wood engraving, Mrs. William S. Smith (Abigail Adams), Thomas Addis Emmet, NYPL

Sharp quills did the bidding of the even sharper intellects of the[...] »

Post-1865

What Does It Mean to Be an American?

An 8th-grade teacher asks: Was early 20th-century America a "melting pot" or[...] »

Television News of the Civil Rights Era
Image, Television News of the Civil Rights Era 1950-1970, 2005, UVa.

View contemporary coverage of the Civil Rights Movement from two Roanoke, VA[...] »

Classroom Tools

Historical Thinking & Literacy

Deciphering Primary Source Documents
Letter, Handwritten letter signed by Victor Séjour, Victor Séjour, NYPL Digital

Create scaffolding and careful preparation of documents to promote student[...] »

Using Technology

DocsTeach

Find primary sources and the tools to present them to students—in one place[...] »