Welcome to Teaching Materials

Take a variety of perspectives into account before moving past the first Thanksgiving.

What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving
In Lesson Plan Reviews
Photo, "The Browning school. . . ," March 1915, Lewis Wickes Hine, LoC

Looking for history right where you are. You'd be surprised how inspiring local history can be.

History is All Around Us
In Ask a Master Teacher

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

Well-behaved Women [and Men] Seldom Make History
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
New Jersey's Quakers and the American Revolution

Did you know the Quakers were pre-Revolution abolitionists?...

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Roads to Antietam

You're a Union general on the eve of Antietam. You know Lee's plans. What [...] »

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Why Did It Happen? Making Claims about Cause and Effect

A shift in writing is required, often using new language tools, when making [...] »

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
Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the K-5 Classroom

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

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

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

Rethinking "Westward Expansion": A Guide for Preservice Teachers

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

Using Blogs in a History Classroom

Setting up and maintaining a blog for your classroom is easy (and typically [...] »

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students

To engage with a source, ask, "What do I know, what do I want [...] »

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Ask a Master Teacher

Picturing the American Revolution
Cartoon, American Revolution Names, 5 August 2008, Jimmie, Flickr CC

Looking for a creative way to teach the American Revolution to struggling [...] »

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