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.
A Letter to the Students of Colour Who Were in My History Classes
Dylan Wray reflects on his time in the classroom as a white educator teaching a racially diverse group of students in South Africa.
![Female high school students discuss a topic.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2019_DSC08259_FH2117952.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=_f2VCzke)
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.
![Clint Smith speaking at TED@NYC Talent Search](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2014_ClintSmithatTEDatNYC_FH2173941.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=MZdXt6QJ)
The First South Carolina Legislature
This image shows 63 members of South Carolina’s 1868 state legislature, the first state legislature with a Black majority.
![African American and Radical Republican members of the South Carolina Legislature in the 1870s.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/REC_03_First_South.jpg?h=e4d64d67&itok=cL1yI8GT)
We Wear The Mask
In this poem, Paul Laurence Dunbar reflects on the experience of African Americans in post-Civil War America and the universal human behavior of hiding an aspect of ourselves.
![A 1903 portrait of Paul Laurence Dunbar](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/1903_PaulLaurenceDunbar_FH2170282.png?h=0f940c21&itok=Mb-aVk5I)
The Influence of "The Birth of a Nation"
The three-hour silent film The Birth of a Nation did “incalculable harm” to Black Americans by creating a justification for prejudice, racism, and discrimination for decades to follow.
![Member of Ku Klux Klan holding a torch on a horse.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/REC_12_The_Birth.jpg?h=da7ce804&itok=o8NJxzoX)
A Lifeline for Democracy
In her 2005 commencement speech at the University of Vermont, Ruth Simmons describes experiences that helped her escape the poverty and discrimination of her youth to become the president of Brown University.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
The White League was a paramilitary group responsible for widespread violence against black and white Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group’s platform from 1874 is articulated here.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Immigrants: First Generation
Nigerian-born poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo pays tribute to the stories of immigrants and the lives they lead in the United States in this "prose poem."
![High school student participates in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_FacH07163_FH256119.png?h=2992ba0a&itok=o5SHUUZF)
Blackbelt
A high school student reflects on being raised by his older brother and the legacy of the karate blackbelt his brother gave to him.
![Profile of a male high school student.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_Roosevelt.HS26_FH260865.jpg?h=e6cb4de8&itok=PdGIjN4O)
“Chameleon” by David L.
A teenager recalls a time he bought shoes to fit in with his high school friends.
Choosing Names
Use this list of famous people who have changed their names to explore the relationship between names and identity.
![Profile of smiling female student.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2018_FacingHistory_SJLA_287_FH287407.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=jVWf5Dor)