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.
Contracting for Back to School
Develop a classroom contract to create a brave and reflective community of mutual respect and inclusion.
![Students in classroom](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Students_In_Classroom_2019_FH2101711.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=88A4tcOe)
Building Connections with Concentric Circles
Students build connections with their peers by sharing small details about themselves in paired discussion.
![Uniformed students work together in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101464.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=eqY000u8)
Create a Goal and Discover Your “Why”
This student goal-setting activity helps students set SMART personal goals for the school year and discover their source of motivation.
![Student raising hand while seated at desk.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/5-1-17FacH07288.jpg?h=99fc88d3&itok=hU3cnDTF)
Staging the Compelling Question
Students explore the compelling question, “How can we make real the ideals of democracy and freedom?”
![Student and teacher in a classroom](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/Community_Teach_In_FH2185452.jpeg?h=ddfec3f4&itok=gg3IvWas)
Supporting Question 1: Defining Freedom
Students explore the supporting question, “What can freedom mean in the United States?”
![Norman Rockwell, The Saturday Evening Post March 13, 1943](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Freedom_from_fear.png?h=8f326fd3&itok=hJMGduZU)
Supporting Student Learning through Journaling
In this classroom video, social studies teacher Jenna Forton uses journaling to open a lesson on the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1006.jpg)
Using Journals at the Beginning and End of a Lesson
In this classroom video, a high school history teacher uses journals with his students both at the beginning and end of a lesson on Reconstruction.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1476.jpg)
Journaling in a Reflective Classroom
In this classroom video, middle school students acclimate to using journals during the first week of school.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_900.jpg)
Breaking Civil Rights Away from Human Rights
Carol Anderson investigates the relationship between social and civil rights and the failure in the United States to expand the term “civil rights” to include broader human rights.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1683.jpg)
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Declaration of Human Rights
Allida Black discusses Eleanor Roosevelt's expanding views on civil rights in the United States as she negotiates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1699.jpg)
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Cold War Dilemma
Carol Anderson discusses Eleanor Roosevelt’s struggle to balance her support of civil and human rights with domestic and international politics and policy during the Cold War.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1700.jpg)