RESOURCES FOR K-12 EDUCATORS

National History Day

Since 1974, National History Day has provided learning opportunities to primary and secondary students in the field of history. Thousands of students participate in local, regional, and state competitions January-May, with the support of hundreds of history teachers. By participating in this competition, students learn how to conduct historical research while increasing their communication, comprehension, and thinking skills.

NHD projects are based on an annual theme.  For 2021 – 2022 the theme is, “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” Contact your state coordinator for regional competition locations and dates.

Teachinghistory.org

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Teachinghistory.org is designed to help K-12 history teachers access resources and materials to improve U.S History education in the classroom.

The Center for History and New Media at George Mason University designed Teachinghistory.org with the purpose of placing teaching strategies, community building, history content, current research and issues, and easy access to resources all in one central place.  One  goal is to bring together the different communities that are involved in the effort to improve history education.

In addition to online resources, Teachinghistory.org also offers a free biannual print newsletter, History Education News, as well as monthly e-newsletters and a classroom poster on historical thinking skills.

Web Resources for Educators

American Historical Association – Resources for teachers at all levels
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History – For teachers and students
Historica – Support for Canadian history educators
History Teachers’ Association of Australia – Professional organization for Australian history educators
National Council for History Education – Promotes the importance of history in schools and society
National Council for the Social Studies – Professional organization for social studies educators
Organization of American Historians – Resources for teachers at all levels
The History Teacher/Society for History Education – Journal devoted to the teaching of history in the secondary and higher education classroom
IEEE Reach – Website that provides history teachers with free educational resources that situate science, technology, and engineering in their social and humanistic contexts
Teaching Tolerance – Free resources for teachers on Teaching Hard History