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.
What Makes Democracy Work?
Explore this collection of lesson plans that cover a wide range of themes related to democracy, including citizen power and civic participation, the rule of law, the role of a free press, and more.
![A magnifying glass over the definition of democracy in a dictionary.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/shutterstock_1202650933.jpg?h=790be497&itok=PduYr60h)
Confronting Apartheid
Explore South Africa’s tumultuous history from the early interactions between white European settlers and native African tribes to the implementation of apartheid and the long struggle for democracy.
![Group of people waving South African flags in back lit.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_SouthAfricaConfrontingApartheidBannerunedited_FH282249.jpg?h=40d6a7d7&itok=gii2H08Z)
The Struggle over Women’s Rights
Students learn about the debate within the women’s rights movement over the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.
![Five black women officers sitting for a portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/5_female_Negro_officers_Womens_League_Newport_RI_Public_Domain.jpeg?h=1e888344&itok=0nc29UPK)
Equality for All
Students explore some of the limitations of Reconstruction's transformation on US democracy and learn about groups who demanded that the promise of equality be made a reality.
![Seated portrait of women's voting rights advocate Susan B. Anthony.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Ch02_Image05.png?h=498cfac0&itok=w8RpswXr)
How to Read the News Like a Fact Checker
Reading “laterally” is a key media literacy strategy that helps students determine the quality of online sources. This mini-lesson trains students to use this technique to evaluate the credibility of the news they encounter on social media feeds or elsewhere online.
![Two high school students look at a laptop screen in a school library](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/NewEngland_Classroom_2017_%20FH256241.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=i6eK1LBI)
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.
Backlash and the KKK
Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction.
![Black and white photo of the house committee](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_House_Committee_Investigating_KKK_2021_FH2177934.jpg?h=a9a611f7&itok=-pUVaIhR)
Shifting Public Opinion
Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople.
![A drawn picture of people crowding into the Fourth National Bank](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1873_The_Panic_Run_Fourth_National_Bank_FH2177935.jpg?h=42c383de&itok=6Sqx22pi)
Political Violence and the Overthrow of Reconstruction
Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments.
![A picture of one hand holding down another hand on top of a gun and a pile of papers](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Civil_Rights_1877_truce_not_compromise_FH21406.jpg?h=312fc7ac&itok=MV62_lKt)
The Unfinished Revolution
Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy.
![Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue with signs for Black Lives Matter](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/GettyImages-1243915005.jpg?h=854cce58&itok=t3udj4vL)
Introducing the Concept of Race
Use this lesson to help your students understand more about the origins of race as a socially constructed concept and racism as a force that shapes society.
![Students at their desks.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/sedgehillY10-021115-nk-HR-11.jpg?h=1116cd87&itok=NrXh5q2V)