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
The Short-Handled Hoe

History is imbedded in the smallest objects. In this lesson, students [...] »

Marbury v. Madison

Constitutional or not? Read about this 1803 landmark court case deciding [...] »

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Life, Liberty and Property: What’s the Big Idea?

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

Using Visuals to Build Interest and Understanding

Using primary source images to help English Language Learners build [...] »

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Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
1916 Children's Code of Morality: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

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

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

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

Teaching with Timelines
Image, Squared Circles-Clocks, 25 Oct 2006, Leo Reynolds, Flickr CC

Construct an ongoing, shared classroom timeline in middle and elementary [...] »

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students

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

Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom

Political cartoons are often conceptually complex, but offer valuable [...] »

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Ask a Master Teacher

Realizing the Value of Primary Sources
Lithograph, "Charles Frohman presents. . . ," 1900, Metropolitan Printing, LoC

When you just can't get your students to care what the Founders, or anyone [...] »

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