Welcome to Teaching Materials

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
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Fact, Fiction, and Artistic License

Did Revere's ride really look like that? Use historical documents to analyze [...] »

Prequel to Independence

Teach your students about causality with this useful activity.

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Historical Thinking Matters
Historical Thinking Matters

Primary sources in both English and Spanish on the Spanish American War, [...] »

Scaffolding with Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are helpful for students with limited English proficiency [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
9/11 and Commemoration: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the events of 9/11 and how such events are [...] »

Free Speech Teaching Guide 3: The Problem of National Security Secrets

This guide explores the relationship between secrecy and the First Amendment [...] »

Religion and the Labor Movement: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Engaging Library of Congress primary sources that connect religion and [...] »

Free Speech Teaching Guide 2: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): Defining and Arguing Hate Speech

This teaching guide includes a structured guide to explaining the case [...] »

Using Old Maps as Tools to Explore Our World

Maps show far more than how to go from point A to point B! Discover how to [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Building Background Knowledge for English Language Learners
Photography, foreign language books at martin luther king memorial library in wa

How can we help our 5th-grade ELL students build background and make [...] »