Welcome to Teaching Materials

Go forth, and contextualize! Give students the opportunity for solo connection to historical places.

Tramping Through History: Crafting Individual Field Trips
In Teaching Guides
Photo, Flowers for soldier in a tank, 1945, Nationaal Archief, Flickr Commons

Whichever lesson you pick, make sure it meets your learning goals.

Setting the Tone: Introducing Students to World War II
In Ask a Master Teacher

Make the Lewis and Clark expedition and life on the Oregon Trail come alive with these suggestions!

Exploring Historical Fiction
In Ask a Master Teacher

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
Propaganda and World War II

Help students understand wartime propaganda with this excellent lesson plan [...] »

Locate Yourself on a Map of the Americas

Young students locate themselves on a map and explore spatial relationships [...] »

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
World Digital Library
World Digital Library home page

Use this tool to translate primary source material!

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Targeting Content and English Language Objectives
Photo, English club First meeting Dover Library, Sept. 13, 2010, RTLibrary

Build your students' language skills and historical understanding by using [...] »

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Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Native Women and Suffrage - Beyond the 19th Amendment: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Using primary sources from the Library of Congress, help students reconsider [...] »

What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"?

Hypothesize, test, and acknowledge how sources form different "pictures of [...] »

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

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

Four Reads: Learning to Read Primary Documents

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

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

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

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Ask a Master Teacher

History is All Around Us
Photo, "The Browning school. . . ," March 1915, Lewis Wickes Hine, LoC

Looking for history right where you are. You'd be surprised how inspiring [...] »

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