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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
The Multiple Dilemmas of Abraham Lincoln

An interactive exploration of the decisions Abraham Lincoln had to make [...] »

What Do You Mean?: How Language Changes Over Time

This creative lesson transforms language into a historic artifact and [...] »

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English Language Learners

Instructional strategies and resources for ELL
Historical Thinking Matters
Historical Thinking Matters

Primary sources in both English and Spanish on the Spanish American War, [...] »

Life, Liberty and Property: What’s the Big Idea?

Explore a lesson, designed especially for English Language Learners, that [...] »

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Teaching Guides

Explore new teaching methods and approaches
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)

Are classroom discussions about winning the argument or about understanding [...] »

Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom

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

Stop Action and Assess Alternatives

Teach students to explore contingency with this great lesson plan idea.

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Free Speech Teaching Guide 2: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): Defining and Arguing Hate Speech

This teaching guide includes a structured guide to explaining the case [...] »

Document-Based Whole-Class Discussion

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

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Ask a Master Teacher

Finding Local History Resources
Silkscreen, Help your neighborhood..., New York: Federal Art Project, 1936-1937

Finding resources to teach local history in elementary classrooms.


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