Teachinghistory.org

Welcome to Teaching Materials

Students shy or hesitant to speak up? Check out these tips to get students talking and sharing in class.

Talking History

In English Language Learners

Teach your students to read like a historian with this guided four-step reading process for primary documents.

Four Reads: Learning to Read Primary Documents

In Teaching Guides

A pen or pencil in your student's hand is an excellent tool for teaching historical analysis.

Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes

In Teaching Guides

Spotlight on Elementary Education

In this Lesson Plan Review, students analyze primary and secondary sources describing an encounter between the Lewis and Clark expedition and a Native American tribe. The lesson overall is a great way to encourage students to work collaboratively to analyze this important historical interaction from multiple perspectives.

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Lesson Plan Reviews

Evaluate key elements of effective teaching Watch the INTRODUCTORY VIDEO

Abraham Lincoln

This lesson leads students to see how Lincoln's life in Springfield [...] »

Building the Erie Canal

Cutting through New York from the ocean to the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL

Google Translate

Looking to translate documents or text? Google Translate can help.

Using Primary Sources with English Language Learners

Primary source analysis activities can help include English Language [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches

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 [...] »

Mystery Strategy for Elementary Students

Using the premise of a mystery, elementary students act as history [...] »

Internationalizing History

Discover the resources you need to "globalize" your U.S. history lesson [...] »

Using Blogs in a History Classroom

Setting up and maintaining a blog for your classroom is easy (and typically [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

Ask a Master Teacher

Seeking U.S. History Books for 9th and 11th Graders

Look for school districts and teachers' shared lists.

Browse Questions »