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
Decoding U.S. Foreign Policy: The Iran-Contra Affair

Through the lens of documents concerning the Iran-Contra Affair, this lesson [...] »

Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment

Relive the dream of the women's vote through roleplay or interfacing with [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Responding to English Learners’ Writing with the 3 P’s
Middle school student, VA

Use the three P’s (Preparation, Purpose, and Proficiency) to provide [...] »

World Digital Library
World Digital Library home page

Use this tool to translate primary source material!

[...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"?

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

Four Reads: Learning to Read Primary Documents

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

Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the K-5 Classroom

This guide consists of curated primary and secondary sources to help [...] »

Webquest, Inquiry, and Lincoln’s Views on Technology

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

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 [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Stop and Source!
Photographic print, Johnie William Bumgarden and his family, May 1912, Lewis Wic

Students get more out of historical photographs when they take the time to [...] »