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
Transportation: Past, Present and Future

What pushes and pulls people into new ways of life? In this lesson, students [...] »

Abraham Lincoln

This lesson leads students to see how Lincoln's life in Springfield [...] »

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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 [...] »

Increasing Participation in Whole-Class Discussions

English Language Learners often have difficulty contributing to class [...] »

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Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

Looking for ways to use fiction in your elementary history curriculum? Read [...] »

Well-behaved Women [and Men] Seldom Make History

Help your elementary school students get more out of historical biographies [...] »

Rethinking "Westward Expansion": A Guide for Preservice Teachers

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

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 [...] »

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Ask a Master Teacher

The iPad: A Digital History Gateway

Can iPads open an exciting new world filled with digital textbooks and [...] »

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