Books

Becoming US

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets

Date Posted:

2/7/2020

Becoming US is a new educational resource for high school teachers and students to learn immigration and migration history in a more accurate and inclusive way. The people of North America came from many cultures and spoke different languages long before the founding of the Uni

Head to Head: History Makers

Grade Range:

5-12

Resource Type(s):

Lessons & Activities

Date Posted:

4/16/2018

Head to Head invites students to think deeply about how American history has been shaped in countless ways by people in different eras and from diverse backgrounds. The learning begins with the guiding question: Who changed America more?

Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) Educator Guide

Grade Range:

6-12

Resource Type(s):

Lessons & Activities

Duration:

30 minutes

Date Posted:

2/19/2020

With and without the vote and throughout American history, young people have been a force to be reckoned with as they take action and stand in support of the issues that matter most. In 2020 this legacy will continue; 22 million young people will be eligible to vote in American elections for the

Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) video series

Grade Range:

6-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media

Duration:

45 minutes

Date Posted:

2/19/2020

American Enterprise: Market Revolution 1820s-1850s

Grade Range:

5-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media

Date Posted:

3/1/2016

Investigate the market revolution in the 1800s through the stories of five Americans from the Merchant Era. Optimized for desktops and laptops.

American Enterprise: Ramsay's Ledger

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Primary Sources, Interactives & Media

Date Posted:

3/1/2016

Decode a historic ledger that belonged to William Ramsay, a merchant in Alexandria, Virginia in the mid-1700s.

Educator Guide for World War I: Lesson and Legacies

Grade Range:

6-12

Resource Type(s):

Lessons & Activities

Date Posted:

3/19/2018

In honor of America's entry into "The War to End All Wars" in 1917, World War I: Lessons and Legacies explores the war and its lasting impact and far-reaching influence on American life. From the Great Migration to the 1918 flu pandemic and from the unionizat

Objects of History: Woman Suffrage

Grade Range:

6-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media

Duration:

30 minutes

Date Posted:

2/24/2020

The videos support the 2019 National Youth Summit where the following question was discussed: Are the tactics used by suffragists to fight for political power still effective? To play all of the videos on YouTube, visit the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bksxsSc1TmQ&list=PLZxSSLX6InCQ7

The Suffragist

Grade Range:

5-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities

Date Posted:

3/1/2018

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History presents a filmed version of its on-the-floor program, The Suffragist. This set of three classroom videos examines the actions taken by suffragists in 1917 as they fought to win the right to vote. Students meet Rebecca, a histo

The Suffragist Educators' Guide for the Classroom Videos

Grade Range:

5-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities

Date Posted:

3/15/2018

Through a set of three classroom videos, examine the actions taken by suffragists in 1917 as they fought to win the right to vote. Students will meet Rebecca, a historical character from Takoma Park, Maryland, who

Thunder Bear and Ko

Author:

Susan Hazen-Hammond

Reading Level:

Late Elementary School

Genre:

Non Fiction

A modern Native American perspective of the importance of buffalo and the traditions of the Pueblo.

Thurgood Marshall: Civil Rights Champion

Author:

D. J. Herda

Reading Level:

High School,Adult

Genre:

Non Fiction

Biography of civil rights leader Thurgood Marshall.

Trouble Don't Last

Author:

Shelley Pearsall

Reading Level:

Late Elementary School,Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

A powerful historical novel that is harsh and realistic, not only about the brutal effects of slavery that the runaways carry with them forever but also about the prejudice and hardship they encounter on their journey to freedom.

Two Suns in the Sky

Author:

Miriam Bat-Ami

Reading Level:

High School,Adult

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

A historical fiction story of love between two teenagers in an Emergency Refugee Shelter during World War II.

Under My Hijab

Author:

Hena Khan

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Grandma's hijab clasps under her chin. Auntie pins hers up with a whimsical brooch. Jenna puts a sun hat over hers when she hikes. Iman wears a sports hijab for tae kwon do. As a young girl observes the women in her life and how each covers her hair a different way, she dreams of the possibilities i

Under the Blood Red Sun

Author:

Graham Salisbury

Reading Level:

Late Elementary School,Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

Torn between his love of all things American and the traditional ways of his parents and grandparents, a young Japanese American comes of age during the political upheaval of WWII.

Underground Train

Author:

Mary Quattlebaum

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

This poetic children's book explores the Washington D.C. subway and familiar sights and sounds of the city.

Vejigante Masquerader

Author:

Lulu Delacre

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

Bilingual:

Yes

Learn about Puerto Rican Carnival with Ramon, who longs to masquerade along with the older boys, the vejigantes, in the month-long celebration in Puerto Rico.

Wagon Wheels

Author:

Barbara Brenner

Reading Level:

Late Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

An African-American family moves to Kansas after the Civil War to create a new life.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

Author:

Traci Sorell

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Bilingual:

Yes

The Cherokee community is grateful for blessings and challenges that each season brings. This is modern Native American life as told by an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning

Award Key

Caldecott Medal

Most distinguished American picture book for children (annually).

Coretta Scott King Award

Distinguished books by authors and illustrators of African descent which promote an understanding and appreciation of the American dream (annually).

Golden Kite Award

Outstanding examples of text, illustration, fiction and nonfiction (four awards annually).

Newbery Medal

Most distinguished contribution to American literature for children (annually).

Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award

Outstanding work of historical fiction published by a U.S. publisher set in the New World.

Books

Search History Explorer

Becoming US

Head to Head: History Makers

Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) Educator Guide

Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) video series

American Enterprise: Market Revolution 1820s-1850s

American Enterprise: Ramsay's Ledger

Educator Guide for World War I: Lesson and Legacies

Objects of History: Woman Suffrage

The Suffragist

The Suffragist Educators' Guide for the Classroom Videos

Thunder Bear and Ko

Thurgood Marshall: Civil Rights Champion

Trouble Don't Last

Two Suns in the Sky

Under My Hijab

Under the Blood Red Sun

Underground Train

Vejigante Masquerader

Wagon Wheels

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

Featured Authors

Staff Picks

Award Key