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.
Historical Background
Get an introduction to the important historical events and issues that are explored throughout the rest of the book Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools.
![Stolen Lives resource cover.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Stolen_Lives_hero.jpeg?h=5a93ea57&itok=kWw1_Vdg)
Say Something
Encourage students to stop and engage with a text as they read with this comprehension strategy.
![Two students sitting at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0632.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=qOwAMWt3)
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)
Toolbox for Care
This teaching strategy invites students to think about the “tools” they have access to that can help them take care of themselves and their community in the wake of traumatic news.
![A student in a grey sweatshirt looks down at a paper with a pencil in hand.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/LA_ClassroomImage_2018_FH287141.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=N4wCjNyS)
Connecting the Past to the Present Using Oral History
This strategy helps students engage with oral histories in order to deepen their understanding of how past events impacted individuals and communities, and to gain new perspectives on the present.
![Student speaking](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190522_0675.jpg?h=0f4230fa&itok=3-vI66f_)
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)
Analyzing “Aha” Moments
Students identify pivotal moments when a central character learns something important about themselves, others, and their real or fictional world.
![Two students sitting at a table.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/SL_190523_0632.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=qOwAMWt3)
Asking Compelling Questions
Students engage in meaningful discussions with their peers about a text while using text-based evidence to support their thinking and making real-life connections to what they're reading.
![Two students sitting in a classroom with one student talking and gesturing](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Chicago_Classroom_2018_%20FH151349.jpg?h=c3635fa2&itok=DKqBQANg)
Create a Textual Lineage
Students consider the profound impact that the spoken and written word (as well as art and sound) can have on an individual’s identity and sense of self.
![A wide angle of a male student writing.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/facing-history-sf-drew-bird-a-056.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=cW2M4Jti)