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
Theodore Roosevelt and the 1912 Election

Students learn more about the larger than life figure of Theodore Roosevelt [...] »

Jamestown: The Starving Time

Only 60 settlers out of 600 survived the winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown [...] »

View All »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
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 [...] »

Life, Liberty and Property: What’s the Big Idea?

Explore a lesson, designed especially for English Language Learners, that [...] »

View All »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Religion and the Civil War: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

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

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

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

The Research Paper: Developing Historical Questions

Research papers are not an archaic form of assessment. Learn how to help [...] »

Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

Looking for ways to use fiction in your elementary history curriculum? Read [...] »

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students

To engage with a source, ask, "What do I know, what do I want [...] »

View All »

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 [...] »

Browse Questions »