Welcome to Teaching Materials

Three Perspectives on Native American Removal and Westward Expansion
In Lesson Plan Reviews
Scaffolding with Graphic Organizers
In English Language Learners

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 [...] »

The Cost of Industrialization

Use the Triangle Shirtwaist fire to examine the benefits and costs of [...] »

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 [...] »

The Struggle for Time: Using Persuasive Essays to Teach Elementary History

From chanting to formal essay framing—discover creative ways to frame ELL [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the K-5 Classroom

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

What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"?

Hypothesize, test, and acknowledge how sources form different "pictures of [...] »

Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the 6-12 Classroom

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

Stop Action and Assess Alternatives

Teach students to explore contingency with this great lesson plan idea.

[...] »
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)

Are classroom discussions about winning the argument or about understanding [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Storytelling with Scrapbooks
Scrapbook, Scrapbook Page, 24 Jan 2006, Flickr CC

Be a creative teacher—use scrapbooks in YOUR history classroom!


[...] »