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.
Identity and Storytelling
Designed for students in grades 9-10, this text set includes lesson plans and multi-genre texts for a 1–2 week unit exploring the essential question, "What makes me, me?"
Establishing Opening and Closing Routines
These opening and closing classroom routines will set a welcoming tone, allow students to connect with one another, and encourage goal setting.
![Two students in conversation while looking down at a laptop computer.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/NewEngland_ClassroomImage_2017_FH256365.png?h=2992ba0a&itok=w8q-uOp9)
What is Power?
Students define power and then analyze five perspectives about power in order to understand its many sources and the different ways it can be experienced.
![Two male students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Cleveland_Classroom_2019_FH2100139.jpg?h=78aab1d8&itok=eGCF5ua2)
Introducing Agency
Students explore the concept of agency, both in literature and in life, and examine the societal forces that play a role in an individual’s agency.
![Two Volta Elementary School students work at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_%20FH2101627.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=Pd3sRqZO)
Agency, Choice, and Action
Students apply their thinking about power and agency to an analysis of four personal narrative essays written by young people.
![Uniformed students work together in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101464.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=eqY000u8)
The Power of Belonging
Students discuss the first half of Bethany Morrow’s short story “As You Were” and create character maps as a way of exploring the character of Ebony’s identity and sense of belonging in her school community.
![A student and teacher are in discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Chicago_Classroom_2019_%20FH2101408.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=lIhPr3AR)
Finding One's Voice
Through continued reflection on the short story “As You Were,” students consider the factors that impact power and agency in moments of decision-making and explore the possibilities and limitations of justice and reconciliation.
![Students engage in discussion in a San Francisco classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/San_Francisco_Classroom_2017_FH152714.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=dM3u491J)
The Power of Representation: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Shirley Chisholm, and Kamala Harris
Use this mini-lesson to help students learn about the groundbreaking careers of Patsy Takemoto Mink and Shirley Chisholm and to consider the significance of Vice President Kamala Harris’s election.
![Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/USA-Biden%3AInauguration_2021_FH2143511.jpg.JPG?h=790be497&itok=4KIchZQ-)
Create a Toolbox for Care
This mini-lesson invites students to think about the “tools” they have access to during the coronavirus pandemic that can help them take care of themselves, others, and their wider community.
![Rock with the phrase "free like a bird" painted on it](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Kindness_Rocks_Project_near_Bochum.jpeg?h=9debdb27&itok=IMHNDeTT)
Reflecting on the Danger of Silence
Students use Clint Smith’s talk “The Danger of Silence” to create “blackout poems” that express their ideas for how they can use their voices to empower themselves and others.
![Students engage in discussion in a San Francisco classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/San_Francisco_Classroom_2017_FH152714.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=dM3u491J)
Summative Assessment: Agency and Action in the World Today
Create a culminating experience for your students where they identify and explain an example of individual or collective agency in the world today that inspires them.
![Two Black students write at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-07/Memphis_Classroom_2018_FH288851.jpeg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=B45APPri)