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
Civil War Photos: What Do You See?

Analysis of photographs of Civil War artillery broadens students [...] »

New Jersey's Quakers and the American Revolution

Did you know the Quakers were pre-Revolution abolitionists?...

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Supporting Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Using WordSift
screen shot-wordshift home page

Help English learners understand basic concepts with this interactive tool [...] »

Increasing Participation in Whole-Class Discussions

English Language Learners often have difficulty contributing to class [...] »

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 [...] »

Crop It

Use this four-step learning routine to deeply explore visual primary sources [...] »

Webquest, Inquiry, and Lincoln’s Views on Technology

Searching for new, exciting ways to engage your students in the classroom? [...] »

1916 Children's Code of Morality: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Primary sources from the Library of Congress help students explore a [...] »

Students Working in Local Historic Preservation

Engage your students in preserving local history! Use this teacher's [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Deciphering Primary Source Documents
Letter, Handwritten letter signed by Victor Séjour, Victor Séjour, NYPL Digital

Create scaffolding and careful preparation of documents to promote student [...] »