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.
Why Is the Coronavirus Disproportionately Impacting Black Americans?
Help students explore the underlying causes of racial inequity in coronavirus outcomes with the activities in this mini-lesson.
![Image for Racial Disparities during COVID.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/RacialDisparitiesCoronavirus_RTS38DBL_fullres_Medium_res.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=5r5T8IDN)
Voting Rights in the United States
In this mini-lesson, students learn about the history of voting rights in the United States and consider how current voting laws in different states impact voters today.
![General Election 2016, Voters in NY](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Midterm_Elections_high-res_AP_17307716664453_.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=_2pZdXA_)
Bearing Witness to Japanese American Incarceration
Use these activities and resources on Japanese American incarceration during World War II to introduce students to this history while exploring questions about American identity, racism, and citizenship.
![Families of Japanese ancestry awaiting the arrival of a train that will take them to Merced detention center, during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Japanese_American_Incarceration_ddr-densho-151-288-mezzanine.jpg?h=5ba8ed9f&itok=bgVSZHbe)
The 1963 Chicago Public School Boycott
Teach about the 1963 Chicago Public Schools Boycott as an entry point as entry point for discussing the history of segregation in US northern cities.
Acts of Hate in Schools
Students learn about the overall rise in acts of hate in schools and examine a story that illustrates how acts of antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hate can overlap.
![A young man holds a dark can of spray paint close to a blue wall to sketch his graffiti](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/ActsofHateSchools_iStock-464736054_full-res.jpg?h=bfa41935&itok=c-HOmvE3)
Can Dress Codes Exclude People?
Explore how dress codes can unfairly target the appearance of certain groups of people and help students consider what fair school dress codes look like.
Supporting Question 4: Memory of the Founding
Students explore the supporting question "How should we remember the nation’s founding?"
![Washington DC, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Building Southwest Pavilion. The Library has had an ongoing exhibition entitled "Thomas Jefferson's Library", which presents the Library's efforts to completely recreate Thomas Jefferson's personal library. The exhibit is located on the Building's second floor in the Southwest Pavilion, called the Pavilion of the Discoverers due to the paintings and bas-reliefs that adorn the space.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/2F36F1J.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=uc3dLkqF)
Staging the Compelling Question
Students are introduced to the themes of the compelling question by responding to a quote from James Baldwin that sparks their thinking about the complexities and contradictions within US history.
![Photo of student listening to student-led teaching session](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/SL_190522_0700%20%281%29.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=glf-JB3p)
Supporting Question 1: The Nation’s Founding Ideals
Students explore the supporting question "What does the Declaration of Independence state about the nation’s founding ideals?"
![United States Declaration of Independence](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/master-rbc-rbc0001-2004-2004pe76546-001%20%281%29.jpg?h=4ec2df74&itok=6j3UL0rd)
Supporting Question 2: Founding Ideals Versus Realities
Students explore the supporting question "What contradictions existed between the ideals and the reality of the founding of the United States?"
![Photo shows a group of African American slaves posed around a horse-drawn cart, with a building in the background, at the Cassina Point plantation of James Hopkinson on Edisto Island, South Carolina.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/service-pnp-ppmsca-39500-39590v.jpg?h=fd5c1401&itok=K1ckwjtu)
The Hope and Fragility of Democracy in the United States
In this mini-lesson, students learn about the history of democratic and anti-democratic efforts in the United States and examine sources that illuminate this tension from Reconstruction through today.