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
Prequel to Independence

Teach your students about causality with this useful activity.

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Propaganda and World War II

Help students understand wartime propaganda with this excellent lesson plan [...] »

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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, [...] »

Using Primary Sources with English Language Learners

Primary source analysis activities can help include English Language [...] »

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Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

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

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes

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

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

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

Concept Formation

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

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Ask a Master Teacher

Data on Students' Knowledge of American History
Colored professional students and graduates in 1896-97, New York Public Library

Finding solid data on student learning in history can be a challenge. Here [...] »

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