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.
Universe of Obligation
Students learn a new concept, "universe of obligation," and use it to analyze the ways that their society designates who is deserving of respect and caring.
![A chalkboard with a hand-drawn Universe of Obligation diagram of concentric circles on it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/IMG_8783.jpg?h=1f7c1d57&itok=ENXxhHAU)
The Weimar Republic
Students reflect on the idea of democracy as they analyze the politics, economics, and culture of Germany during the period of the Weimar Republic.
![A crowd of women standing in line at a polling station in the Weimar Republic in 1919, the first year women were allowed to vote.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Ch04_Image12_Medium_res.jpg?h=7627bb82&itok=YljeUuli)
Youth and the National Community
Students learn about the experiences of people in Nazi Germany through a variety of firsthand accounts and identify the range of choices that they faced.
![A group of boys in Hitler Youth uniforms walk through a field](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Hitler_Youth_Hiking_FH229449.jpg?h=827069f2&itok=WJHEgqaR)
World War I and Its Aftermath in Germany
Students begin the unit's historical case study by exploring the brutal realities of World War I and the impact of the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles.
![photo of WWII soldiers walking on beach](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/HumanRights_1914_Germaninfantryonthebattlefield_FH249299.jpg?h=1fe31e6b&itok=AuQVRbED)
Introducing the Writing Prompt
In step 1 of the unit assessment, students develop an initial position for an argumentative essay in response to a question about the importance and impact of choices in history.
![Students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101328.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=jx_VbaVP)
Teaching with Video Testimony
Students watch video testimony from a Holocaust survivor and engage in purposeful reflection about the survivor’s important story.
![Classroom sitting in a circle discussing](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/facing-history-sf-drew-bird-a-036.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=sUVWju0K)
Defining Our Obligations to Others
Students are introduced to the concept of universe of obligation to better understand how societies create "in" groups and "out" groups.
![A chalkboard with a hand-drawn Universe of Obligation diagram of concentric circles on it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/IMG_8783.jpg?h=1f7c1d57&itok=ENXxhHAU)
Watching Who Will Write Our History
Students view the film, analyze a primary source from the Oyneg Shabes archive, and consider why it matters who tells the stories of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
![A man rolling up a scroll.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2022_ScreenShot2022-06-10at10.11.31AM_FH2174132.jpg?h=ae1281eb&itok=llfRTLHU)
The Power of Representation: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Shirley Chisholm, and Kamala Harris
Use this mini-lesson to help students learn about the groundbreaking careers of Patsy Takemoto Mink and Shirley Chisholm and to consider the significance of Vice President Kamala Harris’s election.
![Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/USA-Biden%3AInauguration_2021_FH2143511.jpg.JPG?h=790be497&itok=4KIchZQ-)
Choosing to Participate
Students use the “levers of power” framework to identify ways they can bring about positive change in their communities.
![Agosin Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love Pg. 76](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/HHB_Chapter_12_Medium_res.jpg?h=0704619c&itok=WsQTWf0G)
The Concept of Race
Students analyze the socially constructed meaning of race and examine how it has been used to justify exclusion, inequality, and violence throughout history.
![Black ink etching on white paper with the words "I do not always feel colored" written repeatedly. The ink gets smudged and illegible toward the end](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/D11335_Medium_res.jpg?h=38731381&itok=Jh7iUy6T)