Welcome to Teaching Materials

Building Background Knowledge for English Language Learners
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Resources for Units on Early American Government
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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 [...] »

The Cost of Industrialization

Use the Triangle Shirtwaist fire to examine the benefits and costs of [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Reframing English Language Development
The storming of Chapu[ltepec] Sept. 13th [1847]

Discover how to teach English learners history and historical thinking.

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Summarizing and Paraphrasing
Photo, Year 3~Day 106 +77/365 AND Day 837: U.S. History, Old Shoe Woman, Flickr

Paraphrasing and summarizing exercises help ELL students improve at [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
History of Education and Indigenous Americans: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students reflect on the purpose of learning history and of education in [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

Ticket stubs. Report cards. Photographs. All of these things have historical [...] »

Mormons and Westward Expansion: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Teachers guide students to create interactive digital maps detailing the [...] »

Housing and Houselessness: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the how policy and structural forces have shaped [...] »

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 [...] »