The later part of the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century has many monikers in U.S. history textbooks, such as the "Gilded Age," the "Progressive Era," and the "Second Industrial Age." What it is rarely called, but should be known as, is the "Nadir of Race Relations." One topic in this…

This paper infers the dominant, nondominant, and overlooked themes in recent research on integrating primary source collections and instruction. The authors analyzed data on 75 publications to determine relationships among the themes. The results show that the three most common themes for linking curriculum to primary sources are (1) to create,…

What is environmental history? In the words of Brian Allen Drake, it is "the study of the interactions between humans and nature across time." It includes, but is in no way limited to, the study of the environment. Generally speaking, it is a way to interpret nature as an integral part of the past, as an important "actor." Or,…

Historians have long appreciated the value of the U.S. Census as a source of statistical data for studying nineteenth- and twentieth-century American history. However, in ways that many other primary source documents do not, the census reflects and addresses social, political, and economic issues on national, state, and community levels…

History education rests at the junction between historical content, disciplinary literacy, and educational psychology. To understand the sources and strategies that facilitate historical thinking, more inquiries are needed. How do students respond to different historical topics, texts, and tasks? Which sources and strategies best facilitate…

Over the last couple of years, White nationalist groups have been at the forefront of American political life, especially with the events in Charlottesville, Virginia. The historical roots of White nationalist movements run deep in the United States and are most closely associated with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In this article the authors explore…

This article introduces the fifty states project, a year-long study of the United States that uses crowd sourcing to bring authentic materials into the social studies classroom. The project started five years ago, when author Kelly McPherson decided that she wanted to have a care package sent from all 50 states to help students learn about the…

The article examines a mainstream curricular unit on the Haitian Revolution, centered on a culminating role-play activity. Cultural studies, subaltern studies, and hermeneutics are applied as theoretical frameworks to read the curriculum unit and its activities. These theoretical lenses sharpen an understanding of what it means to experience…

Our social studies classrooms are filled with students from many different backgrounds. This article aims to help middle grades (grades 6-8) social studies teachers consider how trade books that feature the global South can be paired with primary historical texts in order to help students develop perspective consciousness. Social studies educators…

While social studies educators suggest that social studies instruction can and should be taught both through literacy-integrated delivery as well as independently from other subjects, many elementary classroom teachers often find that school expectations or district mandates leave little instructional time for any subject that is not specifically…

Weather phenomena across the United States have provided heightened attention to climate change in headlines such as "Heavy Rain and Floods: The 'New Normal' with Climate Change?" ("Christian Science Monitor," Aug. 14, 2014); "Delay Action on Climate Change by 10 Years and Costs Rocket 40%"…

"Enlivening Secondary History" is the ideal handbook for busy history teachers who want to do something different in their classrooms, but have little time to plan and organise their lessons. Featuring tried-and-tested practical ideas complete with relevant exemplars and step-by-step advice, this best-selling book is a compendium of creative…

Using primary sources with students has untapped potential for expanding and deepening the reading experiences of elementary and middle grade students. Primary sources expands teachers' palette of reading materials, allows students to connect more closely to topics for learning, and deepens their understanding of the past. This article argues for…

As a graduate instructor for HIST 152: United States Since 1877, the author structures the entire course around the motif of the newspaper. She models her curriculum after the newspaper both visually and symbolically and uses it as a theme throughout the class. The newspaper is not a gimmick or cliche, but rather a recurring stylistic theme, an…

Booker T. Washington, a founding father of African American education in the United States, has long been studied, revered, and reviled by scholars and students. Born into slavery, freed and raised in the Reconstruction South, and active in educational reform through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Washington sought to use…