Activities for the First Days of School
These first-week-of-school activities create welcoming learning environments that prioritize care, relationships, and community.
![Students sit around a table working on a big paper activity while receiving feedback from an educator.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/ClassroomImage_StudentDiscussion_FH287359.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=jnyJGnz9)
The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
Use this rich collection of Reconstruction era primary sources, videos, and a 3-week unit to engage your students in this pivotal period in US history and its legacies today.
![African American and Radical Republican members of the South Carolina Legislature in the 1870s.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Recon_Crop.jpeg?h=3d25abbd&itok=3H_YJPTl)
Back to School: Building Community for Connection and Learning
These back-to-school activities and teacher resources will help you lay a foundation for a reflective and caring community at the start of the school year.
![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)
The Reconstruction Era Primary Sources
Enrich your teaching on the Reconstruction era with these primary source documents and images.
![Portraits superimposed on an image of the American flag](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_2022_FH2174814.png?h=8e4088dc&itok=zv81hdEs)
Holocaust and Human Behavior
Explore the digital version of our core resource on the Holocaust. Find classroom-ready readings, primary sources, and short documentary films that support a study of the Holocaust through the lens of human behavior.
![Colored painting of trees.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/HHB_HeroBanner_fullcolor.jpg?h=24d1b2c2&itok=sUokn0YL)
Community Matters: A Facing History & Ourselves Approach to Advisory
Our advisory curriculum for grades 8–10 contains a year’s worth of activities, handouts, and best practices for establishing inclusive communities where students can engage in honest discussions and build their voices.
![Students sit in a circle in a library and smile and laugh](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/NewEngland_Classroom_2017_FH256478.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=cHsO4g-T)
Teaching Mockingbird
Learn how to incorporate civic education, ethical reflection and historical context into a literary exploration of Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.
![Mockingbird Graphic.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/WebRedesign_Wrapper-card_Mockingbird.jpeg?h=24afd704&itok=qskeXCqD)
Teaching Mockingbird Media and Readings
Enrich your teaching of To Kill a Mockingbird with this set of videos, photographs, and readings that will help students contextualize the novel.
![Mockingbird Graphic.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/WebRedesign_Wrapper-card_Mockingbird.jpeg?h=24afd704&itok=qskeXCqD)
Teaching with Testimony
Engage students in personal accounts from survivors with this collection of video testimony, survivor profiles, and a lesson plan.
![Holocaust Survivor Barbara Fischman shares her testimony.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-09/BarbaraFischmanTraubHolocaustSurvivor.jpeg?h=dec22bcf&itok=WEfh6Znr)
Survivors and Witnesses: Video Testimony
This collection features powerful accounts of the Holocaust, told by survivors, rescuers, and witnesses, selected from USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive.
![Nate Leipciger shares testimony with students.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/Nate_Leipciger_Survivor_Testimony_Hero_Banner.jpeg?h=287014c6&itok=PeKyv8aE)
Totally Unofficial: Raphael Lemkin and the Genocide Convention
This unit explores the legacy of Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word "genocide" and drafted the Genocide Convention. A study of Lemkin's work helps students understand traditional world history themes such as sovereignty, diplomacy, and law; as well as deepen students’ understanding of political responses to mass violence.
![1950 --- International lawyer Raphael Lemkin helped draft the Genocide Convention, which maps out prevention and punishment for the crime of genocide](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/U1133580INP_Medium_res.jpg?h=478e0a8d&itok=MAYHZy-W)