Lessons & Mini-Lessons
Feel prepared to discuss challenging current events or to explore pivotal periods in history with your students.
Our lessons are written using Facing History’s unique pedagogical approach, with activities that balance personal reflection and collaboration and draw upon primary source material selected to activate students’ intellectual, emotional, and ethical engagement.
Reflecting on Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb"
Use these activities to help students reflect on the themes in Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Day poem and consider how their unique experiences and voices can help America “forge a union with purpose.”
Assessing the Strength of Democracy
This mini-lesson provides students with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of democracy and a framework for making meaning of news stories about the tensions and conflicts in democracies today.
I love the way I can show my students how events in the past still impact our lives today. Because of what you do, I can make history a living breathing thing in my classroom!
—
An educator describing our current events mini-lessons
Find other lessons and mini-lessons from our resource library.
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After Charlottesville: How Uncomfortable Conversations Can Overcome Hate
On-Demand
Virtual
Watch this conversation with journalist and author Eli Saslow to learn how white-supremacist ideas migrated from the far-right fringe to the streets of Charlottesville and beyond.
Latinx vs. Hispanic: A History of Terms
Learn about the history and debate surrounding how we describe Latinx and Hispanic peoples, and consider the relationship between language and identity.
5 New YA Books on Native American Lives
Members of our staff are exploring these five new books published written by a group of Indigenous authors across North America for readers ages 12 and up and we invite you to explore them alongside us. These texts address themes including Indigenous youth navigating adolescent identity, community, and resistance.
Learning from GLSEN
Learn about the history behind Gay-Straight alliance student groups and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.
A New Type of Media Literacy
Learn about the risks new technologies pose to adults and adolescents and view resources available to help teach teenage students about media literacy, responsible use of social media, and surveillance capitalism.
Facing History From Day One: An Interview with New Haven Academy
New Haven Academy is an innovative public high school that serves a diverse student population. In this interview, the school's founders discuss the vital role that Facing History has played in shaping their distinctive school culture, curriculum, and pedagogy.
The Problem of Archival Silences
Archives play a central role in shaping our perceptions of the past. It is vital that we ask critical questions about what a given archive may exclude, for what purposes it was assembled, and what this means about the stories it enables historians to tell.
Fostering Civil Discourse in Our Students
On-Demand
Virtual
Learn effective strategies to share with your students so that during the summer they can better listen, empathize and engage in the world around them.
Educating Adolescents at the Intersection of Social-Emotional Learning, Civics, Equity, and Academics
On-Demand
Virtual
In this webinar, we shared how Facing History works at the intersection of social-emotional learning and academics, informed by civic engagement and equity and justice. We provided resources and strategies for you to consider integrating these four elements in your school or classroom.
Facing Hate: A Global Conspiracy with Local Manifestations
On-Demand
Virtual
Conspiracy theories provide simple and misleading explanations for complex human dilemmas. We must learn to recognize the antisemitism that fuels some of today’s most destructive conspiracy theories so we can help our students stand up against these pervasive and dangerous messages.
