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
Jamestown: The Starving Time

Only 60 settlers out of 600 survived the winter of 1609–1610 in Jamestown [...] »

Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Fact, Fiction, and Artistic License

Did Revere's ride really look like that? Use historical documents to analyze [...] »

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 [...] »

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
Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes

A pen or pencil in your student's hand is an excellent tool for teaching [...] »

9/11 and Commemoration: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the events of 9/11 and how such events are [...] »

Teaching with Timelines
Image, Squared Circles-Clocks, 25 Oct 2006, Leo Reynolds, Flickr CC

Construct an ongoing, shared classroom timeline in middle and elementary [...] »

Comanche Nation and "Manifest Destiny": A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students better understand the history behind the term "Manifest [...] »

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

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

Ask a Master Teacher

Resources on Native American History
Negative, [Woman wearing native american clothing. . . ], 1923, LoC

When the resources readily available to you are just not comprehensive [...] »