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
Transportation: Past, Present and Future

What pushes and pulls people into new ways of life? In this lesson, students [...] »

American Tourists and the Holy Land, 1865-1900

Help students make connections between religion, technology, and [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Scaffolding with Graphic Organizers

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

The Struggle for Time: Using Persuasive Essays to Teach Elementary History

From chanting to formal essay framing—discover creative ways to frame ELL [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)

Are classroom discussions about winning the argument or about understanding [...] »

Religion and the Civil War: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the how religious beliefs shaped Americans' [...] »

Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom

Political cartoons are often conceptually complex, but offer valuable [...] »

Truth in Transit: Crafting Meaningful Field Trips

Leave your students with intellectually and emotionally significant memories [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

Ask a Master Teacher

Brain-based Research
Photography, My Brain and My Mind, 4 Dec 2006, D. Bjorn, Flickr CC

What's in a brain? Quite a lot actually! Discover how brain research relates [...] »