Resource Library
Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.
We are grateful to The Hammer Family Foundation for supporting the development of our on-demand learning and teaching resources.
![A group of high school students sit at desks in conversation.](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_480/public/2023-10/AdobeStock_254378868.jpg?itok=f6YAphey)
Introducing Our US History Curriculum Collection
Draw from this flexible curriculum collection as you plan any middle or high school US history course. Featuring units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies, the collection will help you explore themes of democracy and freedom with your students throughout the year.
Map the Internal World of a Character
Students practice using evidence from the text and their own understanding of the world to analyze a character’s thoughts, feelings, motivations, and sense of belonging.
![Male students discuss in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101403.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=eyJfZlt7)
Playing with Perspective
Students reflect on the concept of perspective and consider the importance and limitations of our ability to see things from another’s perspective.
![Female students engage in classroom discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101399.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=bEMoBUXd)
Read the Word, Read the World
Students explore the text's central message and consider how it may or may not help them make sense of their own experiences in the world today.
![A student writes on a piece of paper in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Chicago_PhotoShoot_2019_FH2101686.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=Uq9yiZlO)
Reflecting on Our Obligation to Others
Students explore the concept of “universe of obligation” within the contexts of a work of literature and their own lives.
![Students sit in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Chicago_Classroom_2019_%20FH2101668.jpg?h=2e5cdddf&itok=mjN1rMeK)
Staging the Compelling Question
Students are introduced to the themes of the compelling question by responding to a quote from James Baldwin that sparks their thinking about the complexities and contradictions within US history.
![Photo of student listening to student-led teaching session](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/SL_190522_0700%20%281%29.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=glf-JB3p)
Supporting Question 1: The Nation’s Founding Ideals
Students explore the supporting question "What does the Declaration of Independence state about the nation’s founding ideals?"
![United States Declaration of Independence](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/master-rbc-rbc0001-2004-2004pe76546-001%20%281%29.jpg?h=4ec2df74&itok=6j3UL0rd)
Supporting Question 2: Founding Ideals Versus Realities
Students explore the supporting question "What contradictions existed between the ideals and the reality of the founding of the United States?"
![Photo shows a group of African American slaves posed around a horse-drawn cart, with a building in the background, at the Cassina Point plantation of James Hopkinson on Edisto Island, South Carolina.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/service-pnp-ppmsca-39500-39590v.jpg?h=fd5c1401&itok=K1ckwjtu)
Analyzing Assumptions
Using visual imagery, students identify assumptions in a text and in the real world, consider the consequences of those assumptions, and build awareness of their impact on individuals and the community.
![Students with Ken Garcia-Gonzalez.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-09/Chicago_Ken_Garcia_Gonzalez_and_Students_2019_FH2101467.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=M-Z4dibP)
Anatomy of an Upstander
Students critically analyze the choices, risks, and rewards that are involved when they are called upon to be upstanders.
![Students sit in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Chicago_Classroom_Volta_Elementary_2019_FH2101703%20.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=Wg29rCsD)
Research Three Ways
Students learn about the different ways of researching by choosing a historical or contemporary issue in the text that interests them.
![Picture of teacher and student.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/5-1-17FacH07560_Preview_0.jpeg?h=ec041e41&itok=O3NATqIk)