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
Jamestown: The Starving Time

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

Watergate and the Constitution

To indict or not to indict? Watergate raised complicated questions [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Using Visuals to Build Interest and Understanding

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

Summarizing and Paraphrasing
Photo, Year 3~Day 106 +77/365 AND Day 837: U.S. History, Old Shoe Woman, Flickr

Paraphrasing and summarizing exercises help ELL students improve at [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Rethinking "Westward Expansion": A Guide for Preservice Teachers

Help students reconsider the how the expansion of the United States from [...] »

Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements Effectively

Thesis statements form the backbone of history essays and DBQs.

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Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom

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

Tramping Through History: Crafting Individual Field Trips

Go forth, and contextualize! Give students the opportunity for solo [...] »

Mormons and Westward Expansion: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Teachers guide students to create interactive digital maps detailing the [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Teaching the Declaration without Overwhelming Students
Lithograph, Portraits & autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independ

Is the Declaration of Independence challenging for your students? Check out [...] »