This ninth-grade inquiry invites students to analyze arguments about banning certain books while also asking them to consider what makes a book worth reading.  

Teaching students about the history and patterns of authoritarianism can help bolster our own collective awareness of the vulnerability of democracy.

An examination of three recent Supreme Court cases and two that are upcoming can generate stimulating classroom debate on issues ranging from Native American interests to Fourth Amendment rights.

The following articles have been selected from our three main journals for K-12 teachers: Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. These articles are grouped by topic for easy reference. Also included are recent current event responses that address racism and call for human rights education. NCSS Current Events Responses (2020)Teaching about Race and Racism in the ClassroomThe African American Struggle for Civil RightsSlavery and Its LegacyRacism and Discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and People of ColorHuman Rights EducationMiddle Level…

The Keys election forecast system predicts a loss for Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Studying the system can give students a more profound understanding of the factors that determine the outcome of a presidential election.

Two recently published books offer behind-the-scenes insight into the 2012 presidential campaign and can help teachers illustrate important electoral concepts.

In Pursuit of Equity: Book Banning and Censorship Book bans in schools and libraries are on the rise. Last school year, more than 850 individual titles were impacted by censorship efforts of local groups and state decision-makers. How can educators and students navigate censorship in their communities? NCHE and NCSS united for a fourth virtual Equity Summit in October 2023 in support of our history and social studies educators and students, with a focus on book-banning and censorship. These are the session recordings from the Summit. 

The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu epidemic, which killed about one-third of the human population on Earth. We also have, this year, an especially virulent strain of the flue to contend with. How society prepares for, and responds to, infectious diseases is the topic of these teaching resources. Raphael Mazzone and Lee Ann Potter, “Documents Related to the Flu Pandemic of 1918,” Social Education 70, no. 7 (November/December 2006): 393–396. *** As World War I neared its end, a worldwide epidemic claimed more victims than the war itself. The two featured documents…

This probing discussion of the Electoral College offers new approaches to teaching about this often-perplexing political system. 

"Resistance 101 " is a free introductory lesson, allowing students to “meet” people from throughout U.S. history who have used a range of social change strategies. The lesson features activists from the 1800s-present, including Dave Archambault II, Ella Baker, Anne Braden, Fannie Lou Hamer, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Fred Korematsu, Linda Sarsour, Emma Tenayuca, and many more. View this resource at www.teachingforchange.org/resistance101 This Teaching for Change (www.teachingforchange.org) lesson is based on the format of a Rethinking Schools (www.rethinkingschools.org) lesson called "Unsung…