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
American Tourists and the Holy Land, 1865-1900

Help students make connections between religion, technology, and [...] »

Organizing History Through Images

In this lesson, students will organize photographs both chronologically and [...] »

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 [...] »

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 [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Comanche Nation and "Manifest Destiny": A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students better understand the history behind the term "Manifest [...] »

Religion and the Civil War: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

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

Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom

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

Free Speech Teaching Guide 2: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): Defining and Arguing Hate Speech

This teaching guide includes a structured guide to explaining the case [...] »

Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements Effectively

Thesis statements form the backbone of history essays and DBQs.

[...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Building Background Knowledge for English Language Learners
Photography, foreign language books at martin luther king memorial library in wa

How can we help our 5th-grade ELL students build background and make [...] »