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
Opening Up the Textbook: Rosa Parks

The textbook is examined as one source among many, rather than a final [...] »

John F. Kennedy and Service

Students learn about John F. Kennedy and his ideas about service as a prompt [...] »

English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Using Primary Sources with English Language Learners

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

Targeting Content and English Language Objectives
Photo, English club First meeting Dover Library, Sept. 13, 2010, RTLibrary

Build your students' language skills and historical understanding by using [...] »

Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Native Women and Suffrage - Beyond the 19th Amendment: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

Using primary sources from the Library of Congress, help students reconsider [...] »

Adapting Documents for the Classroom: Equity and Access

Documents are riddled with difficult vocabulary. Don't be afraid to adapt [...] »

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

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

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

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

Free Speech Teaching Guide 4: Mandel v. Kleindienst (1972): Censorship via Visa

This guide traces the history of ideological visa denial to explore [...] »

Ask a Master Teacher

Realizing the Value of Primary Sources
Lithograph, "Charles Frohman presents. . . ," 1900, Metropolitan Printing, LoC

When you just can't get your students to care what the Founders, or anyone [...] »