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
My History at School

To make something real, make it personal. Abstract concepts can best be [...] »

Decoding U.S. Foreign Policy: The Iran-Contra Affair

Through the lens of documents concerning the Iran-Contra Affair, this lesson [...] »

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, [...] »

Historical Thinking Matters
Historical Thinking Matters

Primary sources in both English and Spanish on the Spanish American War, [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)

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

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

Classroom discussions need not be argumentative and unproductive. Discover a [...] »

1916 Children's Code of Morality: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Primary sources from the Library of Congress help students explore a [...] »

Free Speech Teaching Guide 2: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): Defining and Arguing Hate Speech

This teaching guide includes a structured guide to explaining the case [...] »

Immigration from Asia Post-1970: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand recent immigration history by exploring photographs [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Two-Year High School U.S. History Programs
Photo, Boys in classroom_1093, hoyasmeg, May 3, 2007, Flickr

What are the benefits and detriments of implementing a two-year U.S. history [...] »