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
Watergate and the Constitution

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

What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving

Take a variety of perspectives into account before moving past the first [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Life, Liberty and Property: What’s the Big Idea?

Explore a lesson, designed especially for English Language Learners, that [...] »

Responding to English Learners’ Writing with the 3 P’s
Middle school student, VA

Use the three P’s (Preparation, Purpose, and Proficiency) to provide [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Housing and Houselessness: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the how policy and structural forces have shaped [...] »

Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom

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

Free Speech Teaching Guide 4: Mandel v. Kleindienst (1972): Censorship via Visa

This guide traces the history of ideological visa denial to explore [...] »

History of Education and Indigenous Americans: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students reflect on the purpose of learning history and of education in [...] »

Native Women and Suffrage - Beyond the 19th Amendment: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Using primary sources from the Library of Congress, help students reconsider [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Researching the Mexican American War
Lithograph, Battle of Buena Vista, 1847, Currier & Ives, LOC

Whether you are writing a paper or just curious, here are some great [...] »