Browse Past Blog Posts
Questioning History Using the Census
Jun 25 2011
Historian Alex Stein poses questions about population shift in Detroit, and models using census data and other sources to answer his question. [...] »
Film Review: Ken Burns's Jazz
Jun 22 2011
Documentaries can be critiqued on many levels, says Professor Frank Tirro. Here, he looks at Ken Burns's Jazz from four angles. [...] »
Michael Yell on Critical Thinking and Teaching History
Jun 20 2011
Don't think once. Think twice. Demand concise, thought-provoking work from students. [...] »
Diana Laufenberg on the Power of Visuals
Jun 15 2011
Modern U.S. history instruction relies on reading and writing. Teacher Diana Laufenberg argues that students need more than text to engage their minds. [...] »
Elizabeth Schaefer on Facebook in the Classroom
Jun 13 2011
8th-grade teacher Elizabeth Schaefer tackles the challenge of using Facebook with her students. What can Facebook do for teachers, and how can you make using it safe, easy, and fun? [...] »
Anthony Pellegrino on Teaching Segregated History
Jun 8 2011
Anthony Pellegrino explores the history of one segregated school, and complicates his understanding of a traditional textbook narrative. [...] »
Ron Gorr on Socratic Seminars with Primary Documents
Jun 6 2011
Anchor Socratic seminars in primary sources and watch your students work together to arrive at historical understanding. [...] »
Michael Yell on a Strategy for the Use of Textbooks in the History Classroom
Jun 1 2011
Students aren't always working with primary sources. Seventh-grade history teacher Mike Yell leads students in getting the GIST of secondary sources. [...] »
Joe Jelen's Ads as Primary Sources: The Ad Council's Historic Campaigns
May 31 2011
Advertisements don't always use ideas to sell products—sometimes they use ideas to sell ideas. Explore the ideas the Ad Council's PSAs have sold, Joe Jelen suggests. [...] »
Anthony Pellegrino's Teaching with Class in Mind
May 25 2011
How can you make history relevant to your students? Social studies/history education professor Anthony Pellegrino suggests teaching thematically—in this case, with class and labor. [...] »
