Spotlight on Elementary Education

History is made by those who are unafraid to push the envelope and redefine the society in which they live. Encourage your students to examine the men and women who worked to make America what it is today with this creative activity. FIND OUT MORE »

Lesson Plan Reviews

Evaluate key elements of effective teaching Watch the INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
The Road to Pearl Harbor

Explore the rise of animosity between the U.S. and Japan through primary [...] »

Declaration of Independence: Rough Draft to Proclamation

How did the final version of the Declaration differ from Jefferson's draft [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Supporting Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Using WordSift
screen shot-wordshift home page

Help English learners understand basic concepts with this interactive tool [...] »

Uncovering Human Agency
Photography, My Desk, 15 March 2006, Flickr CC

Use this strategy to help students discover historic actors—the people, [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Four Reads: Learning to Read Primary Documents

Teach your students to read like a historian with this guided four-step [...] »

Students Working in Local Historic Preservation

Engage your students in preserving local history! Use this teacher's [...] »

Rethinking "Westward Expansion": A Guide for Preservice Teachers

Help students reconsider the how the expansion of the United States from [...] »

Comanche Nation and "Manifest Destiny": A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students better understand the history behind the term "Manifest [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

Classroom discussions need not be argumentative and unproductive. Discover a [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Forming Lesson Plans Around State Mandates
Watercolor, Otto Dix, 1924, Assault under Gas, Deutsches Historisches Museum

How do you teach the effects of WWI on art and literature? Transforming a [...] »