History Education Articles for Teachers

Margaret Thatcher was a leader who stirred up strong emotions. While many people loved her, many also intensely disliked her. However, even her strongest detractors agree that she changed England’s economic and political scene with her bold policies when she served as Prime Minister from 19...

Times have changed, especially with regard to society's views about women. If you look at the list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business published by Fortune Magazine, women run some of the largest companies in the United States. These companies include IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Pep...

While the work of the American Red Cross is depended upon, it is not always fully understood. Until you need the organization’s services, you may not come into contact with volunteers, or know of its important role in our communities. Using a series of classroom activities, you can help stu...

Each February, people in the United States take some time to recognize Black History Month. To that end, we might see some thematic decorations in schools, and libraries might prominently feature books related to African-American history; however, there are still unanswered questions: Should w...

The question of whether homework assignments actually improve student learning has been debated for quite some time. Some teachers feel that homework is more work than it's worth; especially when it is done incorrectly and thus, requires additional re-teaching. Some parents feel frustrated dealin...

Reading is more than merely correctly pronouncing words on a page. Reading is understanding and analyzing those words in a meaningful way. In order to foster critical-thinking skills, readers need to be aware of both direct and indirect comprehension questions. Most children can easily answer the...

Whether it be the long winter break or all the festivities during the cold months, the winter season is a great time to sharpen those pencils and crack open the journals. Motivate your writers by offering them creative writing prompts and some helpful tips.  Imagine Winter Escapades Use th...

The first step to reading is mastering the sound/symbol relationship between the letters on the page and the sounds they represent. Mastering the alphabetic principle and building a strong foundation in phonemic awareness is essential for pre-reading. Although there are plenty of letter-tracing o...

As a teacher, by the time November rolls around I am feeling a time crunch. The things I want to cover seem to get squeezed out by the topics that I must cover. For instance, I love to give classes a chance to discuss current issues, celebrations, hot topics in the media, or even a new CD by a po...

Current event discussions are a great way to help students to make meaningful connections between content and real-world issues. Since all subjects have real-world application potential, it is not difficult to make those connections apparent to our future problem-solvers of America. Since our na...

“I like Ike” was the motto that swept the United States in 1953 when Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidency by a landslide. This popular president led the United States from 1953 to 1961. Historically, many look back to him as a great leader in World War II, and a unifying, poli...

Early readers are often intrigued by classic picture books such as No David and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom because of the vivid and interesting illustrations coupled with fun, kid-friendly language. Parents and teachers know these books as fun read alouds, but in actuality they can serve as a strong...

However unfair it seems, certain people and people groups get all the attention. Napoleon Bonaparte, Montezuma, and Christopher Columbus are recognized by almost every student. Likewise, students are familiar with the contributions of the Mayans, Incas, and most notably, the Aztecs. In order to u...

November’s presidential election provides the perfect backdrop for studying our nation’s past leaders. Instead of cracking open a history book, try cracking open your piggy bank and taking a look at the faces staring back at you.  Saying No to Kings and Yes to Eagles The f...

Progression rather than regression was the ultimate summer reading goal. However, the truth is that many children will have regressed in their overall reading abilities before September. The old saying “If you don’t use it, you will lose it” perfectly illustrates every teacher&r...