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)
Exploring Contemporary Experiences of Policing and Racial Injustice
In this mini-lesson, students use their head, heart, and conscience to engage with six sources that reflect a range of experiences with policing.
![Police Car.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/TI3_iStock-172192574_full-res.jpg?h=dbfb23f9&itok=rFZal30E)
The 1968 East LA School Walkouts
Students learn about education, identity, and activism through an exploration of the East Los Angeles school walkouts, when thousands of students protested unequal educational opportunities for Mexican American students.
![John Ortiz, Mexican-American student leader at James A. Garfield High School, addressing assembled students during a walkout.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1968_LAStudentWalkoutatGarfieldHigh_FH2169821.jpg?h=61a57aa7&itok=I40HzuJ5)
January 6th
The January 6th investigation has deepened widespread concerns about rising threats of fascism, racism, white nationalism, and other phenomena that undermine justice for all. But in analyses that focus primarily on the role of white nationalism fomented within media echo chambers, for example, commentators have overlooked what may be a more pervasive parallel phenomenon: the widespread crisis of faith in U.S. media and institutions at large.
![Photo of Two People Watching the News on TV](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/two_people_watch_news_tv.jpeg?h=140710cd&itok=9u-6fk5n)
California Grape Workers’ Strike: 1965–66
Students explore the first year of the Delano grape strike, when grape workers in California's San Joaquin Valley went on strike to demand higher wages and better work conditions.
![Dolores Huerta and others hold up "Huelga" signs as part of the grape strike.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1965_GrapeStrikeDelanoCalifornia_FH2121754.jpg?h=ae158943&itok=JphiCAwe)
Teaching about the January 6 Insurrection and its Impact on US Democracy
The January 6 insurrection remains important to understand and discuss, as well as the larger questions it raises about the state of US democracy. A recent poll found that 52% of young people between 18 and 29 believe that either US democracy is "in trouble" or "failed," while only 7% agree that it is "healthy," further highlighting the need to teach students about democratic institutions.
![Black and white photo of the US State House](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/b%26w_photo_us_state_house.png?h=a6c55029&itok=OVK2Jup-)
What I've Learned Along the Way
After 25 years of distinguished service to our organization, Dr. Karen Murphy, Facing History’s Director of International Strategy, will join our partner organization High Resolves as CEO of an initiative called The Human Responsibility Accelerator. In this article, we invited Karen to share a bit of what she has learned in more than two decades at Facing History.
![Photo of Dr. Karen Murphy teaching](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/karen_murphy_teaching_hands_raised.jpeg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=0XtPSmhB)
Getting to Know the 10 Questions
Students begin thinking about civic engagement in terms of their own passions and identities as they are introduced to the 10 Questions Framework.
![High school students participate in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_DrewBirdVisualStoryteller_FH152738.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=WOzD1gqb)