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)
Identity & Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies
Intentionally designed for middle school classrooms, this unit explores themes of identity and community by using students' knowledge of the Memphis, Tennessee, community.
![Students participate in a group activity.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_20150813_TreyClark_0419_FH221009.jpg?h=2f6148de&itok=YBxcFD7A)
Teaching the Nanjing Atrocities
Lead students through a study of the Nanjing atrocities, beginning with an examination of imperialism in East Asia and ending with reflection on justice in the aftermath of mass violence.
![A flower is left on a wall engraved with victims names at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_MemorialtoVictimsoftheNanjingAtrocities_FH291611.jpg?h=603532df&itok=eztUbvmp)
Teaching the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide: For California Educators
Designed for California 10th grade world history courses, this unit guides students through a study of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide that focuses on choices and human behavior.
![Teacher and Students](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Facing-History_SJLA_033.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=6k0Syi0f)
Teaching Who Will Write Our History
Invite students to reflect on why it matters who tells our stories as they view a documentary film about the profound courage and resistance of the Oyneg Shabes in the Warsaw ghetto.
![Hands rolling up a scroll.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2022_who_will_write_our_history_still_FH2174134.jpg?h=ae1281eb&itok=Z7cP_Kgj)
For Educators in Jewish Settings: Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior
Developed specifically for educators in Jewish settings, these lessons lead middle and high school students through an examination of the Holocaust from a historical perspective and consider what this particular history has to do with what it means to be Jewish.
![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)
Confronting Apartheid
Explore South Africa’s tumultuous history from the early interactions between white European settlers and native African tribes to the implementation of apartheid and the long struggle for democracy.
![Group of people waving South African flags in back lit.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_SouthAfricaConfrontingApartheidBannerunedited_FH282249.jpg?h=40d6a7d7&itok=gii2H08Z)
Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age
Help students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. This unit is designed to develop students' critical thinking, news literacy, civic engagement, and social-emotional skills and competencies.
![Peaceful protestor speaks to police officer in Ferguson.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/2016_PoliceOfficerinFerguson_FH231304.jpg?h=f3a37c6e&itok=IhwjQkzh)