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
A Look at Slavery through Posters and Broadsides

How to identify the author, audience, date, and message of historical [...] »

Prequel to Independence

Teach your students about causality with this useful activity.

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Reframing English Language Development
The storming of Chapu[ltepec] Sept. 13th [1847]

Discover how to teach English learners history and historical thinking.

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Scaffolding with Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are helpful for students with limited English proficiency [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the 6-12 Classroom

This guide consists of curated primary and secondary sources to help [...] »

Tramping Through History: Crafting Individual Field Trips

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

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

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

Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

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

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

Ticket stubs. Report cards. Photographs. All of these things have historical [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Researching for a Research Topic
Digital image, black and white, Spy Shadow, 2010

Paring down a larger idea to answer one specific question.


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