By the People, For the People showcases more than 900 Work Projects Administration (WPA) posters produced from 1936 to 1943 as part of the New Deal program. The posters address issues such as public health, safety, education, travel and tourism, and community activities, as well as publicizing art exhibits, theater, and musical performances in seventeen states and the District of Columbia. Explore other great websites here.

Does the very thought of quantitative analysis make you shake in your shoes? Making Sense of Numbers provides a place for students and teachers to begin working with quantitative historical data as a way of understanding the past. This guide offers an overview of quantitative methods and step-by-step instructions using actual historical data to determine totals, rates, averages, standard deviations, and coefficients of correlation.

In Civil Rights and Incarceration: Lesson Four students take notes on a ten minute newsreel describing the evacuation and relocation of Japanese Americans from western states during WWII. Questions focus students’ attention on analyzing the government’s case for the necessity of the incarceration. This newsreel activity and a set of introductory readings, pictures, and interviews make up the recommended core of the lesson. Explore a review of the lesson plan here.

Historical feature films are a popular tool history teachers use to engage their students. But what is it that students actually learn from the films they watch? Peter Seixas, a historian and professor of education at the University of British Columbia, showed that while students often empathize with the past they see on the screen, they also approach film history uncritically. Sometimes they even interpret a film’s presentation of history to be as it actually happened. More…

Proposal writing takes substantial time and effort. We know that effective planning provides the backbone for the most effective proposals and that the process of crafting such plans opens the door for strengthening existing organizations and building valuable partnerships—with or without additional funding. Read more of Pamela Tindall’s advice here.

New ideas, individuals that made a difference, and context have converged to produce revolutions. Do they lead to progress or regression? Produce unintended as well as intended consequences? Explore these and other interesting topics at the NCHE conference March 12-14, 2009, in Boston, MA. Get details here.