Welcome to Teaching Materials

What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving
In Lesson Plan Reviews

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 [...] »

Civilian Conservation Corps

Examine the role of African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Review, Recite

Learn about SQ3R, a note-taking system for English Language Learners to help [...] »

Why Did It Happen? Making Claims about Cause and Effect

A shift in writing is required, often using new language tools, when making [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Adapting Documents for the Classroom: Equity and Access

Documents are riddled with difficult vocabulary. Don't be afraid to adapt [...] »

Free Speech Teaching Guide 4: Mandel v. Kleindienst (1972): Censorship via Visa

This guide traces the history of ideological visa denial to explore [...] »

Internationalizing History

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

Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes

A pen or pencil in your student's hand is an excellent tool for teaching [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

Ask a Master Teacher

Understanding Civic Republicanism
Photography, Statue--Athena,  21 May 2007, Jeffrey Cuvilier, Flickr CC

In order for students to grasp the importance of American civic [...] »