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
Immigration

Very few of us have ancestors who were not immigrants. Bring the topic of [...] »

What Events Led to Lincoln's Assassination?

Elementary students investigate the first presidential assassination and [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Supporting Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Using WordSift
screen shot-wordshift home page

Help English learners understand basic concepts with this interactive tool [...] »

Why Did It Happen? Making Claims about Cause and Effect

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

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 Blogs in a History Classroom

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

The Research Paper: Developing Historical Questions

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

Religion and the Civil War: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Help students understand the how religious beliefs shaped Americans' [...] »

Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the 6-12 Classroom

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

Ask a Master Teacher

Teaching with Lectures and Documents
Photo, students IV, May 1, 2007, Aaron TD, Flickr

Using a variety of instructional strategies in your classroom makes good [...] »