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.
Shifting Public Opinion
Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople.
![A drawn picture of people crowding into the Fourth National Bank](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1873_The_Panic_Run_Fourth_National_Bank_FH2177935.jpg?h=42c383de&itok=6Sqx22pi)
Political Violence and the Overthrow of Reconstruction
Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments.
![A picture of one hand holding down another hand on top of a gun and a pile of papers](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1877_truce_not_compromise_FH21406.jpg?h=312fc7ac&itok=MV62_lKt)
The Unfinished Revolution
Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy.
![Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue with signs for Black Lives Matter](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/GettyImages-1243915005.jpg?h=854cce58&itok=t3udj4vL)
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Students explore Susan B. Anthony's choice to vote illegally in the 1872 presidential election by analyzing her speech “Is It a Crime For Women to Vote?”.
![Seated portrait of women's voting rights advocate Susan B. Anthony.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Ch02_Image05.png?h=498cfac0&itok=w8RpswXr)
"A Rallying Cry and a Cause"
Explore Mamie Till-Mobley’s courageous decision to show the public Emmett Till’s body through an open-casket funeral and photos in Jet magazine and consider why Emmett’s death generated widespread determination to pursue racial justice.
![A large crowd gathers outside the Roberts Temple Church of God In Christ in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 6, 1955 as pallbearers carry the casket of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy who was slain while on a visit to Mississippi. Police estimate a crowd of about 2,000.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-03/AP_Domestic_News_Illinois_United_St_550906054.jpg?h=3a1350eb&itok=RygsP8FD)
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)
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)
Introducing Freedom Dreams: Culminating Lesson
Students create a definition for “freedom dreaming” and are introduced to the prompt for the “My Freedom Dream” capstone project.
![Langston Hughes](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-09/NPG_72_82_Hughes_resized.jpg?h=4d2e25f8&itok=cDk9z6sl)
Exploring the Freedom Dreams of Past Generations: Culminating Lesson
Students analyze how the people and groups they studied in US history pursued their freedom dreams.
![People marching from Selma to Montgomery](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-09/900px-Selma_to_Montgomery_Marches.jpg?h=d01a05a4&itok=AvjXCyS9)