Welcome to Teaching Materials

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
In Teaching Guides
Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom
In Teaching Guides

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
Opening Up the Textbook: Rosa Parks

The textbook is examined as one source among many, rather than a final [...] »

My Piece of History

Even the recent past was very different from the present. Students analyze [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Uncovering Human Agency
Photography, My Desk, 15 March 2006, Flickr CC

Use this strategy to help students discover historic actors—the people, [...] »

Supporting Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Using WordSift
screen shot-wordshift home page

Help English learners understand basic concepts with this interactive tool [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
What Is an "Inquiry Lesson"?

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

Concept Formation

In order to understand topics, you must first understand concepts. Learn all [...] »

Religion and the Civil War: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the how religious beliefs shaped Americans' [...] »

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 [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Contingency
Decisions, January 23, 2010, katietower, Flickr

What is contingency? What does it have to do with K-12 historical thinking [...] »