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
Lewis and Clark: Same Place, Different Perspectives

How geography influenced interactions among Lewis, Clark, & Native [...] »

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
Using Non-Linguistic Representations to Strengthen Historical Thinking

Discover alternatives to writing based student activities. Why not encourage [...] »

World Digital Library
World Digital Library home page

Use this tool to translate primary source material!

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Teaching Guides

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

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

The Research Paper: Developing Historical Questions

Research papers are not an archaic form of assessment. Learn how to help [...] »

Four Reads: Learning to Read Primary Documents

Teach your students to read like a historian with this guided four-step [...] »

Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

Looking for ways to use fiction in your elementary history curriculum? Read [...] »

Truth in Transit: Crafting Meaningful Field Trips

Leave your students with intellectually and emotionally significant memories [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Tips and Tricks for Using Graphic Organizers
graphic, Six-Set Edwards-Venn diagram, 11 Sept 2007, Flickr CC

Graphic organizers can be tricky. Check out these tips on how to keep them [...] »