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.
The Anti-lynching Activism of Ida B. Wells
Students explore the life and choices of anti-lynching journalist Ida B. Wells and learn about the long tradition of Black resistance to racial terror and violence.
![Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was an African-American journalist and early civil rights activist.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/20170407_TreyClark_1979.jpg?h=35609fe0&itok=w5Yv43SB)
The Emmett Till Generation
Student’s explore how Emmett Till’s murder inspired a generation of young African American men and women to actively join in the civil rights movement. Student materials are available in English and Spanish.
![John Lewis at the Cairo demonstration.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/ART541179_cropped_72dpi.jpg?h=63ad9ec3&itok=HL78Aw90)
The Legacy of Emmett Till
Students identify continuities and changes between Emmett Till’s murder and today’s Black Lives Matter movement, and they reflect on the ways they can contribute to the movement for racial justice.
![George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave and E 38th St in Minneapolis, Minnesota](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/George_Floyd_Mural_Flickr.jpg?h=a1e1a043&itok=uzSVMaJ6)
Summative Assessment: Creating a Toolbox for Racial Justice
In this summative assessment, students reflect on their answer to the unit's essential question in order to create a Toolbox for Racial Justice.
![Students seated at desk facing each other work together.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/5-1-17FacH08686.jpg?h=e5565190&itok=3IwMMKxT)
Preparing to Journey to the Mississippi Delta
Consider the talk Mamie Till-Mobley had with her son Emmett before he traveled to Jim Crow-era Mississippi in 1955 and the dangers that prompted her concern.
![Southbound Illinois Central Railroad "Seminole" passenger train crosses main line of West Point Route at station in Opelika, Alabama in August 1955. Absence of interlocker required crew member to flag crossing.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/Lamb_Passenger_train.jpg?h=c30f0a0d&itok=68xyDm2T)
Contextualizing Emmett Till’s Murder
Students explore the importance of context and learn about Emmett Till’s murder in Jim Crow-era Mississippi.
![July 1939: An African-American man drinking at a segregated drinking fountain in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/Getty-3428944.jpg?h=8222eea2&itok=zXOp_aoz)
Monuments to Japanese American Incarceration
Students analyze monuments to Japanese American incarceration and consider the purpose and emotional impact of these monuments.
![Japanese Incarceration Monument](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-11/JapaneseIncarcerationMonument1.jpg?h=91ceaae5&itok=xzAXeBLF)
Words Matter: Listening to Survivors about Language for Describing Japanese American Incarceration
Students contrast the language that the US government used to describe Japanese incarceration in the 1940s with the language recommended by contemporary survivors’ groups.
![Members Of The Mochida Family Awaiting Evacuation](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-11/Photograph_of_Members_of_the_Mochida_Family_Awaiting_Evacuation_NARA_537505_Restoration.jpg?h=8bdc8e92&itok=wap_KUmV)
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)