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.
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.
Choosing Names
Use this list of famous people who have changed their names to explore the relationship between names and identity.
Coming to America, Finding Your Voice
Journalist Maria Hinojosa explains how a story about her mother inspires her to find her voice, even when she feels powerless.
Computer Keyboard
A teenage immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo explains how he discovered his passion for electronics.
Creating Ourselves Online and in “Real Life”
Read quotes from teenagers about how they choose to represent themselves on social media.
Family Names
Learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.
Presidential Reconstruction
Investigate aspects of President Andrew Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction that outlined how to bring former Confederate citizens and states back into the Union.
Reconstructing Mississippi
Learn about the accomplishments of the first interracial legislature in Mississippi from the account of John Roy Lynch, a freedman who served in the state’s House of Representatives.
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
This reading examines measures of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which enacted the plan that became known as Radical Reconstruction.
A Right to the Land
Freedman Bayley Wyatt advocates for freedpeople's rights to their land at a public meeting.
The Role of Carpetbaggers
Alexander White, a white congressman from Alabama, describes the role that “carpetbaggers” and “scalawags” played in Reconstruction politics.
Savannah Freedpeople Express Their Aspirations for Freedom
Read an excerpt from the transcript of the Savannah Colloquy, a meeting between Union officials and Savannah’s Black community in January 1865. This reading is available in Spanish.