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.
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.
Telling Fact From Fiction on Social Media
Journalists and media professionals discuss the benefits and challenges of using social media to report and understand any fast-moving story.
The Danger of Silence
In this TED Talk, teacher, poet, and activist Clint Smith reflects on finding the courage to use his voice to speak up for truth and justice.
The Role and Challenges of a Free Press
Reporters and media professionals discuss the functions and importance of a free press in a democracy.
Verifying the Story
Journalists discuss the difficulties they faced in verifying the facts after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Wesley Lowery's Arrest
Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery describes how he was arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, and explains how freedom of the press was threatened during the protests.
Free and Fair Elections
This Explainer describes the standards that governments need to meet before, during, and after an election to ensure that the election is "free and fair."
James Baldwin’s Lesson for Teachers in a Time of Turmoil
This 2017 essay by author and former high school teacher Clint Smith draws connections between the role of education in past turbulent historical times and the present political climate.
Race and Belonging in Colonial America: The Story of Anthony Johnson
Learn about Anthony Johnson, a Black forced laborer who became free in seventeenth-century Virginia.
Black Officeholders in the South
These tables provide data about African American officeholders in the South during Reconstruction.
Changing Names
Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
This is the full text of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which made freedpeople citizens.