How much do your students know about the War of 1812? Why was the war fought? Where did the battles take place? Who won? This year marks the bicentennial of this often-overlooked war, which helped shape the identities and boundaries of North American nations in the early years of U.S. independence from Great Britain. To commemorate the bicentennial and raise awareness of this period in U.S. (and Canadian) history, organizations across the country (and across the northern border) are creating teaching resources and planning events for 2012.

Interested in exploring maritime history with your students? The fledgling U.S. Navy played an important role in this war. Visit Ourflagwasstillthere.org, the official U.S. Navy hub for bicentennial events and resources. This website storehouses links to War of 1812 materials across the Internet, including performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner," essays on historical subjects, videos, archeology updates, educational resources, and more. Don't forget to check the dates when tall ships will visit 12 cities pivotal to the war. Will the ships sail anywhere near you?

While you may not be on the Navy's route, you may still teach near historic sites related to the War of 1812. Take a look! Many such sites have commemorative and educational events planned, and some offer online educational resources, as well. Here are some examples:

• The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail offers an educators resource guide and short essays on historical topics. A National Park System work in progress, this trail will unite War of 1812 historic sites throughout the Chesapeake region.
• Maryland's Bicentennial Commission has created a list of Maryland historic sites related to 1812. The commission's website also rounds up resources for teachers, including links to lesson plans and primary sources, and provides a downloadable Teacher Resource Guide. Maryland's Fort McHenry, the fort made famous by "The Star-Spangled Banner," also offers lesson plans. (Learn more about the fort on its official National Park Service website.)
• In Massachusetts, the USS Constitution Museum remembers the place of tall ships in the War of 1812 with on-site events and the online exhibit A Sailor's Life for Me!
• The Michigan Bicentennial Commission lists Michigan historical sites and links to War of 1812 lesson plans and teaching resources.
• The Ohio Bicentennial Commission website lists 1812 resources, events, and related Ohio historic sites. Apply for the Ohio Historical Society's National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored workshop, "The War of 1812 in the Great Lakes and Western Territories," and explore some of those sites while learning content and new teaching strategies!
• Virginia's Bicentennial Commission website lists War of 1812 historic sites in Virginia and provides information about historical figures and events from the war. Check out Colonial Williamsburg's lesson plan on the influence of economics on the war, as well.

Don't limit your search for resources to the U.S.! Online, you can find resources created by Canada for the bicentennial as well. How do the stories and viewpoints in these resources differ from those in resources created by organizations in the U.S.? Visit 1812, a bi-national U.S./Canadian effort, lists historic sites related to the War of 1812 and provides a starting point for exploring Canadian historic sites and resources. For instance, the bicentennial website of Amherstburg, Ontario, features an essay on the War of 1812, as well as an interactive map describing historic points in the town.

Earlier this year, we looked at what historic sites were doing to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. But how can you teach the bicentennial in your classroom?

Teachinghistory.org has gathered together lesson plans, teaching strategies, online videos, websites featuring primary sources, quizzes, and other valuable resources on our War of 1812 spotlight page. With these resources, you can introduce your students to the perspectives of Canada, the U.S., Great Britain, and Native American peoples on the war, trace the history of our national anthem, and investigate the early days of the U.S. Navy.

But we aren't the only organization collecting and creating resources for the bicentennial! Find more materials to enhance your curriculum with these ideas:

• Scour the Naval History and Heritage Command's collection of War of 1812 bicentennial resources. It may take a little exploration, but you'll find 19th-century artwork picturing the naval battles of the war, biographies of historical figures, event announcements, quick facts, and primary and secondary sources.
• Download lesson plans from Fort McHenry, site of the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry" (more often called "The Star-Spangled Banner").
• Find more lesson plans on the Friends of Fort McHenry website. Together with the National Park Service (NPS), the Friends developed curriculum for grades 4–8 on Fort McHenry and the War of 1812.
• Explore the fort with a NPS Teaching with Historic Places lesson plan.
• Peruse an 18-page guide to War of 1812-related teaching materials available on the Internet, collated by the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.
• Check out Maryland's downloadable War of 1812 resource guide, as well as their lesson plan directories featuring links to resources elsewhere on the Web.
• Browse curriculum sources collected together by the U.S. Navy's official bicentennial page, Ourflagwasstillthere.org.
• Head to sea with the USS Constitution Museum's A Sailor's Life for Me, an interactive experience for students set in the War of 1812. Enrich the experience with guidelines for teaching the war and more than 250 lesson plans.
• Make cross-curricular connections with the lesson plans from All Hands on Deck!, another resource from the USS Constitution museum.
• Read and analyze President James Madison's war message in a set of three lesson plans from EDSITEment.
• Enhance understanding of the many ways people perceived the war with PBS's lesson plans designed to accompany the documentary The War of 1812.
• Discover artifacts from the war at the Smithsonian Institution's History Explorer.
• Compare images of the Capitol, burned by the British in 1814, using a lesson idea from the Library of Congress.