New & Noteworthy

Civil War Poster Available!

What can a quilt, a map, some photographs, a haversack, and a receipt tell you about the past? Use Teachinghistory.org’s new poster, “How Do You Piece Together the History of the Civil War?,” to show that these objects can teach a lot about the Civil War and about how historians explore the past.

Request your free copy today!

Elementary

Storytelling with Scrapbooks

In this Ask a Master Teacher answer, learn ways to help students understand that scrapbooks use pieces of the past to tell a story. Also find suggestions on how to structure a scrapbook activity that helps students think historically. Read more.

Middle

Columbus Day Spotlight

Columbus Day offers an opportunity to talk about myth and fact in history. Find ideas for how to teach about European exploration, learn about global contact and its impact, and see how much you really know about Columbus Day. Learn more.

High

Salem Witch Trials

Why would a person confess to witchcraft? What happened if a person denied it? What can these testimonies tell us about Puritan society? Historian Elizabeth Reis examines transcripts from the Salem Witch Trials to find out. View here.

Primary Sources

Tech for Teachers

Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Explore the journey of Lewis and Clark thanks to this University of Nebraska website that features the complete text—nearly 5,000 pages—of the expedition journals. The site also includes images of journal pages, images of people, places, plants, and animals encountered on the expedition, journal maps, and explanatory maps. Audio excerpts of journal readings and video interviews with the project editor complete this rich site. Learn more.

Digital Textbooks: Has Their Time Come?

As roundtable participant Matt Cone states: “My students had turned hating the textbook into an art, and I was determined to figure out why and find some solutions that would work in my class.” Could digital textbooks be the answer? Read what teachers, curriculum coordinators, and technology specialists have to say about the potential benefits of digital textbooks and find ideas for using these tools to positively impact the classroom. Read more.