Teaching about the civil rights movement in the elementary grades has, in many schools, focused exclusively on the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Many students are well versed in the content of King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and they know well that Rosa did not give up her seat on the bus. While these moments and heroes of the movement are essential in the study of this era in history, the study of more obscure and lesser known people and events is a great way to deepen our students’ understanding of the sacrifices that so many thousands of ordinary people made in the…

It is difficult to overstate the power of visual images, particularly historical primary source photos, to provide a window into the past. Here, the authors outline how educators can utilize historic photos to provide students with a deeper understanding of the past. When students do not see their heritage and culture represented in images, the development of their historical understanding can be incomplete or fragmented. Historical understanding can be enhanced, however, when students “see themselves” in the primary sources presented to them.

The featured photographs, in conjunction with a New Deal-era report about Puerto Rico, can inspire a provocative classroom debate about the use of terminology, historical vocabulary, and the meaning of “progress.”

In order to promote inclusive social studies, this article describes how upper-level elementary students can learn about the Women’s Suffrage Movement and how it intersects with the experiences of other marginalized Americans persevering to obtain the right to vote.

Investigating the iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima in light of recent corrections to the roster of Marines pictured can spotlight for students the dynamic nature of historical interpretation.

Cynthia Williams Resor, Exploring Vacation and Etiquette Themes in Social Studies: Primary Source Inquiry for Middle and High School (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) 134 pages, hardcover $60; paperback and ebook $30. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475831986/Exploring-Vacation-and-Etiquette-Themes-in-Social-Studies-Primary-Source-Inquiry-for-Middle-and-High-School This book "introduces a thematic approach to social history that connects the past to the daily lives of students. Historical overviews of vacation and manners spanning from the ancient world to twentieth century United…

Walt Whitman’s featured letter on the conditions at a Union army camp when he went in search of his wounded brother can serve as an engaging launch point for a classroom lesson on the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Civil War.

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

Papers of Ulysses S. Grant Now Online  In October 2017, The Library of Congress put the papers of Ulysses S. Grant online for the first time in their original format at https://www.loc.gov/collections/ulysses-s-grant-papers/about-this-collection/. The Library holds a treasure trove of documents from the Civil War commander and 18th president of the United States, including personal correspondence, “headquarters records” created during the Civil War and the original handwritten manuscript of Grant’s memoir— regarded as one of the best in history—among other items. The collection totals…

Students can learn a great deal about the economic, social, or strategic importance of a place when they examine maps, such as the featured 1910 Sanborn map of South San Francisco.