Ideas This Week
Ideas This Week is your hub for updates on all things Facing History—from announcements and featured press to expert interviews, impact stories, and essays on the ideas driving our work.
How to Write Essential Questions for ELA That Spark Curiosity and Deepen Understanding
Follow this guide to write essential questions for your next ELA unit that genuinely deepen your students’ learning.
![A teacher and two students in a library talking and looking at a paper and laptop](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/NewEngland_Classroom_2017_FH256412.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=GAVs2Yrb)
Donor Spotlight: Ancestry
Ancestry, a Facing History partner, is helping classrooms discover the past! Sign up for free access to historic records, webinars, and other resources.
![Ancestry Ideas This Week Header](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-03/Ancestry%20Ideas%20This%20Week%20Header%20%28FH2201605%29.png?h=166e5e36&itok=yQEYjFAu)
A Year of Purpose and Impact: Our 2023 Annual Report
Explore our 2023 annual report as we reflect on our achievements and milestones throughout a year of impact.
![2023 Annual Report graphic on laptop.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-03/FY23_Annual_Report_ITW_Header.jpg?h=4fe84e45&itok=tPzQD8H3)
How One Facing History Alum Connects History and Technology
Ethan Ferguson details how his Facing History background has intersected with his current work in the tech industry.
![Ethan Ferguson showing his drones which he used for taking 3D scans of historical sites.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-03/Ethan_Ferguson_showing_his_drones_which_he_used_for_taking_3D_scans_of_historical_sites_resize.jpg?h=b0c51a6c&itok=GGGhCOEC)
The Resilience and Leadership of Women
The stories and achievements of women past and present offer lessons on how each of us can work as upstanders and advocate for true gender equality.
![Set of diverse women characters with a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds in a cute, colorful animated style](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/Set%20of%20diverse%20women%20characters%20with%20a%20variety%20of%20ethinicities%20and%20backgrounds%20in%20a%20cute%2C%20colorful%20animated%20style%20AdobeStock_324705117.jpeg?h=59586a52&itok=ZU3tyLbN)
We Learn by Doing and Reflecting: Civic Voice and Action
Discover best practices on cultivating your students’ voices and facilitating civic action projects.
![Image of youth from KQED Youth Media Challenge event](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/CallForChange-Lockup.jpg?h=4c6c0eb8&itok=0Bah1OEZ)
Now Is the Time to Support History Education
The study of history equips students with the tools to create a more inclusive and democratic future.
![Facing History CEO Desmond Blackburn speaking at the 2023 South Bay Fundraiser](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/DSC_1303.jpg?h=43f56d19&itok=B0POijLF)
“The world is obligated to you and you are obligated to the world.”
Lucie Shiffman believes community care extends to all humans, a lesson she first encountered in her Facing History high school class.
![Lucie Shiffman Headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/Lucie_Shiffman_Headshot%20%28FH2201031%29.jpg?h=89d58293&itok=RMtwhoE4)
Black Woman Personhood and the Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment did not secure the vote for women, and as the suffrage movement grew, the dominant conversations excluded Black women.
![black and white portrait of poet and essayist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, 1825-1911](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/Frances_Ellen_Watkins_Harper_Website.jpg?h=a8ba1c68&itok=Ib5L1ajx)
Identity and Belonging: A Student’s Perspective
Facing History student Evelyn shares her poignant reflections on identity, the pervasiveness of stereotyping and the need to belong.
![Portrait of Evelyn Adamson](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/EvelynAdamson.jpg?h=7e74fac4&itok=qOuReywv)
Aliens in Their Own Land: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans
When racism and discrimination are deployed as national security measures, how can a nation make amends?
![An obelisk memorial with Japanese Kanji characters that read “Soul Consoling Tower.”](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2024-02/Manzanar_NHS_memorial_tower_3_0.jpg?h=9a3874b6&itok=pQmA5i7X)