This curated suite of resources for elementary school educators will help expand your knowledge of important topic areas in the elementary curriculum. You will find lesson plans, student activity sheets, videos for students, interactive maps and timelines, recorded lectures, and free professional development courses.
Image: A detail from A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves, a painting by Eastman Johnson, ca. 1862. (Brooklyn Museum)
7 Topics
Classroom Activities
Free PD Courses
Each of the pages below includes lesson plans, activity sheets, and videos that can spark discussion in your classroom.
These five free online courses are curated to provide elementary school teachers with in-depth historical information on topics from the colonial period to the Civil War. You will receive a certificate for 15 hours of professional development credit for each course you complete.
Given by Denver Brunsman, Associate Professor of History, The George Washington University.
This Institute for K–8 teachers was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this institute do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Download this essay to learn more about the inspiration and development of The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction Institute.
Elements of this website were funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The recorded lectures from The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction Institute were made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Summer Institutes for K–12 Educators. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this webpage and program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
