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.
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)
Making Rights Universal
Students analyse four rights in the UDHR and decide whether they are universal and enjoyed by all in the world today.
![Eleanor Roosevelt sitting with two other men at a United Nations meeting in New York City](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/67-314.jpg?h=3eea986c&itok=BLv1D5o4)
Maycomb's Ways: Setting as Moral Universe
Students explore how race, class, and gender create the moral universe that the characters inhabit in To Kill a Mockingbird.
![The exterior of a theatre called "Rex Theatre for Colored People."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/1937_theatreinlealandmississippi_FH248624.png?h=2d333439&itok=SYGt0BUt)
Scout as Narrator: The Impact of Point of View
Students consider how Harper Lee’s decision to tell To Kill a Mockingbird through the eyes of young Scout impacts readers' understanding of the novel.
![Mockingbird Graphic.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/WebRedesign_Wrapper-card_Mockingbird.jpeg?h=24afd704&itok=qskeXCqD)
After Charlottesville: Public Memory and the Contested Meaning of Monuments
Students investigate the role memorials and monuments play in expressing a society’s values and shaping its memory by studying existing memorials and then designing their own.
![Students participate in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/2017_5-1-17FacH08686_FH256875.png?h=a141e9ea&itok=k5PV8qJh)
Protesting Discrimination in Bristol
Students use the historical case study of the Bristol Bus Boycott to examine strategies for bringing about change in our communities.
![A commemorative plaque of the Bristol Bus Boycott showing a red building, a bus, and several people.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/1963_BristolBusBoycottPlaque_FH2170722.jpg?h=329fef07&itok=qkRvRn6d)
Responding to the Rohingya Crisis
Students place this ongoing crisis in historical context, view footage from a refugee camp, and reflect on survivor testimony.
![Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/2017_RohingyaRefugees_FH289817.jpg?h=780e8245&itok=G-_U-eVn)
Enacting Freedom
Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation.
![Black students standing outside in front of a clapboard school house](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Civil_Rights_1900_The_School_at_Pinehurst_Summerville_SC_FH2174932.jpg?h=539e276e&itok=BkLqdaXv)
Think Aloud
Model for students how proficient readers make meaning of a text by verbalizing your thinking as you read.
![A teacher hands out papers to students at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Chicago_Classroom_2018_FH151335.jpg?h=c3635fa2&itok=sjJpQmho)
Sketch to Stretch
Ask students to visualize a passage of text and interpret it through drawing with this reading comprehension strategy.
![Two female students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101676_0.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=9JMqwQ5G)
Western Imperialism and Nation Building in Japan and China
Students are introduced to the history of Western imperialism in East Asia and its influence on the identities and ambitions of Japan and China.
![An Ukiyo-e of the Utagawa school depicting foreigners in Japan, including Russians, Dutch, British, Americans, French and Chinese. A closeup of the Dutch, Americans and Chinese in the center of the picture](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Foreign_nations_in_Japan.jpg?h=bb3745a7&itok=kNJq-Ev3)
Telling Our Histories
Students connect themes from the film to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's concept of “single stories," and then consider what it would take to tell more equitable and accurate narratives.
![View of people on a city street.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2016_TellingOurHistories_card_FH2173875.jpg?h=ac1fc4d9&itok=2zsh7JUC)
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)
Reflecting on Statues and the UK’s Colonial Past
This lesson provides students with an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between statues and the UK’s colonial past.
![BLM protest image in Norwich](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Black_Lives_Matter_Norwich_%2850081199172%29_for_Web_or_Office_Use.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=24wTr26v)
The Power of Names
Students begin their study of Reconstruction by examining the relationship between the individual and society through an exploration of names.
![Survivors of slavery observe Juneteenth in hats, canes, and bonnets inAustin, TX](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Civic_Engagement_1900_Emancipation_Day_Celebration_FH21310.jpg?h=cb77d5da&itok=zICD1mG2)
Seeking Justice: George Floyd’s Death and Structural Racism in the UK
This lesson provides students with an opportunity to reflect on the murder of George Floyd, the anti-racist protests in the UK, and the origins of systemic racism.
![Crowd protesting after George Floyd.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/GeorgeFloyd_2BWD3NW_Medium_res.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=xdJ4wjJ4)
Connect, Extend, Challenge
Deepen students' understanding of a topic by having them connect to their prior knowledge.
![Students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101681.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=pItuRsH2)
Connect, Extend, Challenge (UK)
Deepen students' understanding of a topic by having them connect to their prior knowledge.
![Students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101681.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=pItuRsH2)
Bearing Witness to the Nanjing Atrocities
Students confront the enormity of the crimes committed during the Nanjing atrocities by listening to survivor testimony.
![Survivors of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre pose for a photo during a ceremony in Nanjing on July 6, 2013.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2013_SurvivorsoftheNanjingMassacre_FH131053.jpg?h=eb24755d&itok=rk1PRXzc)
Japanese Imperialism and the Road to War
Students examine sources that shed light on the underlying causes of the outbreak of World War II in Asia.
![Japanese marines during the Battle of Shanghai, 1937](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1937_JapaneseMarinesDuringtheBattleofShanghai_FH282501.jpg?h=3777c4b7&itok=SGFks5bs)
Justice and Judgment after the Nanjing Atrocities
Students explore the complexities of achieving justice in the aftermath of mass violence and atrocities as they learn about the Tokyo Trials.
![Matsui Iwane stands on trial at the War Crimes court, receiving his death sentence from the court.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1948_MatsuiIwaneatHisWarCrimesTrial_FH131021.jpg?h=bbc1e75b&itok=0OTyPqL2)
The Nanjing Atrocities: The Range of Responses
Students analyze the spectrum of choices available to individuals, groups, and nations during the Nanjing atrocities.
![Chinese citizens, and American and British visitors, evacuate Nanjing in preparation for an attack by the Japanese.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/IMAGE_33_5_EVACUATION_Medium_res.jpg?h=d9e3d5ec&itok=xyqP52So)
The Devastation of War
Students learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and examine primary source documents that provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.
![The ruins of Mills House and nearby buildings, Charleston, South Carolina, at end of American Civil War.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1865_MillsHouseCharleston_FH21291.jpg?h=dfc3751c&itok=xxOQb9az)
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)
Public Art as a Form of Participation
Students analyse the Battle of Cable Street Mural and reflect on the role of public art to commemorate, educate, and build community.
![The Battle of Cable Street mural depicts details from the confrontation between anti-Fascist demonstrators and Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts in London's East End.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_SegmentofTheBattleofCableStreetMural_FH2116831.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=4J4kAw2g)
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)
Responding to Difference
Students explore a poem by James Berry about the ways we respond to difference and complete a creative assignment about their school or community.
![Students sitting in groups in a classroom](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/London_Classroom_2019_%20FH2117946.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=UGM9knhg)
Healing and Justice
Students examine President Andrew Johnson's plan for Reconstruction and the debate it provoked with Congress while reflecting on deeper issues of healing and justice.
![Columbia with black union soldier with amputated leg in ornate Greco-Roman style building](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civic_Engagement_1865_Pardon_Franchise_Columbia_FH21375.jpg?h=5bba1fc0&itok=DENbKk8S)
Verifying Breaking News
Students evaluate the differences among news accounts about Ferguson, develop strategies for verifying news and information, and understand the challenges facing journalists as they cover complex, fast-moving events.
![Reporters conducting an interview.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/iStock-1350663690.jpg?h=62bc044e&itok=TN8_VBij)
What Aspects of Our Identities Do We Show to Others?
Through a mask-making activity, students learn that they can conceal or reveal aspects of their identity.
![Two high school students in a classroom](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/sedgehillY10-021115-nk-HR-4.jpg?h=1116cd87&itok=gUvyU5kN)
How Do Communities Define We & They?
Students draw on a classic Dr. Seuss story to explore how communities make choices regarding membership.
![Students and teacher engage in discussion in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/SanFrancisco_Classroom_FH152780.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=m7vlE77a)
How Do Rules & Traditions Shape Communities?
Students create classroom rules through a group activity, and learn the relationship between customs and laws as it relates to a safe learning environment.
![A high school student writes on a piece of paper.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/StudentinClassroom_teaser.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=2k0HoYAK)
How Do Others Define Your Identity?
Students draw on a contemporary parable to explore how identity is formed by our own perception as well as other people's perception of us.
![Students at desks with laptops having a discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/facing-history-sf-drew-bird-a-111_for_Web_or_Office_Use.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=locch3qM)
What is Community?
Students answer the question, "What is a community?" by writing their own definition of the word and identifying what characteristics make their classroom a community.
![Students move around the classroom in conversation with each other. One student looks directly into the camera with a smile on their face.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/LA_ClassroomImage_2018_FH287148.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=lbbZPe6H)
Universe of Obligation and Human Rights
Students learn about universe of obligation, how individuals and nations define their responsibilities toward other people.
![A group of students sitting in chairs in circle](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/5-1-17FacH07940.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=Jiyv1hro)
Defining Universal Human Rights
Students consider what rights should belong to every human being on earth, create their own definition of a right, and learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
![President Harry S. Truman with Eleanor Roosevelt on July 1, 1948, in Washington, DC.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/photo_20_Medium_res.jpg?h=b391b280&itok=YeXFpGjJ)
Complicating the Universality of Human Rights
Students examine the tensions that emerged between nations with different cultures, values, and systems of beliefs when drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and will then consider the consequences of a world that cannot agree on universal rights for all people.
![Eleanor Roosevelt sitting with two other men at a United Nations meeting in New York City](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/67-314.jpg?h=3eea986c&itok=BLv1D5o4)
Making Rights Universal
Students read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and discuss whether these rights are universal and enjoyed by individuals and groups in the world today.
![Two students sitting at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0632.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=qOwAMWt3)
Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work
Students explore citizenship, power, and responsibility using the work of civic entrepreneur Eric Liu.
![Student speaking](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190522_0675.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=3-vI66f_)
Defining Democracy
Students brainstorm different definitions of democracy and consider democracy's relationship to their own communities and cultures.
![Student writing and discussing](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190522_0668.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=7bJ88-IJ)
Free Press Makes Democracy Work
Students explore the importance of a free press to democracy through recorded conversations with journalists from the United States and South Africa.
![Student speaking](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190522_0675.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=3-vI66f_)
Insights on Democracy from South Africa
Students consider how South Africa's particular history and culture influence the ways its citizens understand and practice democracy.
![A bird’s eye view of students sitting at tables in a library.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/5-1-17FacH07756.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=9Ud2teJv)
Literature and Imagination Make Democracy Work
Students explore the connection between literature, imagination, and democracy by engaging with the work of acclaimed author Azar Nafisi.
![A sitting teacher speaks to three students while holding a book.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/_DSF7297-15.jpg?h=c3635fa2&itok=PjXiF622)
Reflection and Action for Civic Participation
Students consider the importance of young people in democracy and analyze stories of civic participation using a ten-question framework.
![Students listening to the teacher](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0856.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=uHWNF4Ss)
Responding to Difference in Democracy
Students explore the varied ways people respond to differences by reading and reflecting on a poem.
![Two students reading at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0561.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=piiAD0Rl)
Jewish Theological Dilemmas After the Holocaust
Students enter the conversation about the concept of “theodicy" through activities that allow them to explore the themes of faith and doubt after the Holocaust.
![Students sit in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-01/San_Francisco_Classroom_2017_FH152836_0.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=WDArBFmq)