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This teacher’s guide provides an overview of the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition and its connections to major historical themes of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, including…
This lesson, based on primary source analysis, uses the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition as an entry point to introduce debates and developments of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
This guide includes resources for investigating the history and legacy of the textile industry with a focus on Beaumont Mill in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The guide is organized around important…
Using the examples of Red Summer and Hawaiian Annexation, this essay shares how the Chronicling America newspaper database can be used to explore the National History Day theme …
The National Endowment for the Humanities has invited National History Day (NHD) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) to work together to promote better understanding among…
This Closer Readings Commentary shares how recovering Black women's labor and leadership within the Colored Conventions Movement provides a fuller picture of Black activism in the nineteenth…
Introduce students to the work of women filmmakers in early Hollywood with this comprehensive lesson plan developed by the American Film Institute. This curriculum has three objectives: for…
Whether you are teaching film literacy as part of a media arts course or using films to complement your social studies or English language arts curriculum, you will want to arm your students with…
Women actively participated in shaping the nascent film industry of the early twentieth century, both as screen stars and behind the camera. But why is this history missing from our understanding…
This lesson introduces students to the history of Hawai'i. Using primary sources, students will learn about the events that led to the annexation of Hawai'i by the United States, as well as its…
How does popular culture engage history? In this lesson plan, students will examine The Searchers, one of the most widely acclaimed Western movies of all time, to explore interpretations…
This Teacher’s Guide uses the Colored Conventions Movement as a historical case study for teaching the history of Reconstruction and Black freedom struggles through place-based approaches.
Cherokee people faced a number of challenges to their sovereignty in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this lesson plan, students examine the geographic, political, and cultural frontiers Cherokees…
This article explores the National History Day theme Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas through the experience of Chinese laborers on the Transcontinental Railroad and Japanese…
This lesson plan uses A. A. Lamb's painting Emancipation Proclamation and resources from BlackPast to explore the successes and shortcomings of the Emancipation Proclamation and the…
Use Aaron Douglas’s mural Into Bondage to introduce the stories of famous Harlem Renaissance figures, including Langston Hughes, and to explore the history and importance of Juneteenth, a…
This guide presents a variety of artworks, from the 17th century to the present, that highlight the presence and experiences of Black communities across the Atlantic world. Use the collections in…
Kerry James Marshall's painting Voyager, depicting two partially obscured Black figures standing aboard a ship, refers to an actual ship, Wanderer, which was among the last slave…
When you think about diplomacy, you may first imagine ambassadors or even the Secretary of State. But the U.S. has a long history of using the arts and humanities to influence international…
Students have multiple opportunities to analyze photographs captured during a national photography project about local history and changing places to create their own interpretations and exhibits…
The National History Day® (NHD) 2022 theme, Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences, asks students to think about competing and multiple perspectives on various issues…
This Teacher's Guide discusses the development of the environmental humanities field and explains how environmental studies intersects with history, literature, art, and civics.
Students engage with materials developed as part of a partnership between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Endowment for the Humanities to analyze the photographs captured…
Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) was created by the National Museum of American History back in 2002 to celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz. This Closer Reading focuses on women…
This Teacher's Guide includes place-based history resources and activity ideas to help students recognize the value of studying historic and cultural sites across the United States.
Using primary sources and an inquiry-based approach, students will research a civil rights movement and then share their findings in a small group, with the goal of learning about the complexities…
The National History Day® (NHD) 2021 theme, Communication in History: The Key to Understanding, asks students to think about how people…
This Teacher’s Guide offers a collection of lessons and resources for K-12 social studies, literature, and arts classrooms that center around the experiences, achievements, and perspectives of…
From telegraphs to television to Twitter, how, why, and when presidents address the nation and global community has changed across U.S. history. This lesson examines the messages and mediums used…
Archival visits, whether in person or online, are great additions to any curriculum in the humanities. Primary sources can be the cornerstone of lessons or activities involving any…