Watch a film that envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a revolutionary and personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. ( The documentary streams on January 16.) Read more at http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/i-am-not-your-negro.

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

One way to facilitate productive classroom discussions about racism and unequal power structures is to engage students in developing the discussion guidelines. This demonstrates respect for students’ needs and a willingness to share power.  

The authors describe five types of inquiry that keep students engaged, promote student agency, and meet the need of teachers for curriculum flexibility.   

Examining newspaper articles such as the featured one from 1913 about parents intentionally exposing children to measles can highlight for students the critical connection between science literacy and citizen behavior.

This 2020 issue of Social Education, marking the centennial anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, seeks to broaden understanding of the suffrage story in several ways: by considering the strategies and tactics used by the suffragists to foment their agitation; by acknowledging the ways in which further work was needed to secure voting and other rights for all women; by acknowledging the need for women in positions of political leadership and for stories about their accomplishments; and by placing the U.S. women’s suffrage story within the context of the larger struggle for women’s rights…

Students can gain important citizenship skills by practicing argumentation and evidence use, examining their own thinking, and speaking to those with whom they disagree. 65251"

(check local listings) PBS/ Boston Film & Video Productions This is the first film (and companion book) to be produced about the immigrant hospital on Ellis Island. Opened in 1902, the hospital grew to 22 medical buildings that sprawled across two islands adjacent to Ellis Island, the largest port of entry in the United States. Massive and modern, the hospital was America's first line of defense against contagious, often virulent disease. In the era before antibiotics, tens of thousands of immigrant patients were separated from family, detained in the hospital, and healed from illness…

"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…

The Library of Congress’s Slave Narratives Collection present students with an opportunity to expand their understanding of slavery in America while grappling with questions about interpretations of the past.