What Makes a Democracy?
What makes a democracy?: This shared folder features sample lessons, sources, activities, templates, and most importantly, historian Heather Cox Richardson’s brilliant talk.
Thomas Jefferson and the Paradox of the Declaration of Independence: Here is list of sources.
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence: Find materials for teaching for Grade 5 students here.
Teaching the Pledge of Allegiance: Find sources and a lesson for teaching about the changes to the Pledge of Allegiance over time here.
A Constitution Unit by Benjamin James: This links to a C3 Unit Design intended for Grade 3 students.
Teaching the Haitian Constitution: This document links to sources and a resource guide for teaching about the Haitian Constitution of 1801.
Historicizing Race & Whiteness
Teaching with Primary Sources- The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: Check out this wonderful talk by Professor George Lipsitz and the accompanying sources referenced in this talk. Use these questions (with timestamps) to accompany source analysis with students. These documents are especially helpful for teaching structural and institutional racism.
Learning and Teaching about Racial Injustice in the U.S.-Selected Resources: See here for a small set of engaging and informative articles about the history of this topic and also building anti-racist classrooms and schools. (for educators to read) For a more extensive list that includes lessons plans, see CHSSP Call to Action – Resources.
Using Landscapes to Teach History
What Caused the Dust Bowl?: An inquiry on the Great Depression and the New Deal using sources that include Library of Congress maps and graphs, textbook accounts, and historians’ interpretations can be found here.
Santa Cruz in the Gilded Age by Travis Parker: This lesson is intended to come at the end of an Industrialism and Urban Growth unit, allowing students to explore how statewide and national trends affected, and were affected by, Santa Cruz. Download the source packet without the lesson here.
Land Use Conflict in the Amazon Rainforest by Lindsey Smith: This lesson uses the 2019 fires in the Amazon Rainforest as a way to analyze resource and land-use conflict in that region. This lesson would ideally be taught as part of a Contemporary World unit and offers the opportunity to integrate historical analysis, current events, and the environment.
Why did the U.S invade Iraq in 2003? by Marissa Ferejohn-Swett: This is a list of sources students can use to investigate reasons for the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003.
How did the Jamestown settlement affect the local environment? by Barbara Novelli: This is a list of sources focused on the Jamestown settlement that students can use to explore how humans affect local environments.
Reading a Landscape-a Guide: Use this tool to guide a variety of inquiries into the landscapes we encounter.
Teaching Latinx History
Learning about the 1968 Walk-Outs in LA Schools by Dr. Erik Bernadino: This curated set of sources includes a Library of Congress guide, film clips, an oral history excerpt, and a microfilm image capturing the history of the LA school walk outs of 1968.
Investigating Emma Tenayuca and the Pecan Shellers’ Strike of 1938: Find a source-filled lesson on San Antonio labor leader Emma Tenayuca here.
Inquiry Guide: How can we teach the history of the Great Depression and New Deal through Mexican descended peoples?: Situate the story of Emma Tenayuca (above) within the larger context of the Great Depression in US history through the lens of Mexican descended peoples using a variety of sources and questions.
Understanding and Teaching the Bracero Program: Find HCP curated sources about the Braceros and 1930s deportation, lesson ideas, and additional resources in this folder.
Latinx Civil Rights in California by Marissa Ferejohn-Swett: This lesson uses a guided notes structure to expose students to video, text, and mini-lectures about different aspects of Latinx movements for civil rights in California.
Media Literacy
Media Literacy Collaborative: Learn more about our partnership with UC Irvine here. Find curriculum & resources along with recent talks and lessons, digital hacks, and how to ask critical questions.
Media Literacy in the CA-HSS Framework: Check out how and where media literacy shows up in the California History-Social Science Framework here.
Other Lessons
Exploring ‘Discovering Her Story,’ A Smithsonian Website by Julie Salido: In this lesson students explore the Smithsonian digital exhibit on American women throughout history.
Teaching the January 6, 2021 Insurrection on Capitol Hill
Real time lessons in the wake of 1/6/21 can be found here and a list of additional resources can be found here.
Teaching the Insurrection on Capitol Hill in English and Spanish by Ana Barrera: This is an English/Spanish activity where students read an article by Gloria Ladson-Billings, situating the January 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill within a larger context of white supremacy.
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Lesson plans, Curricula, and Resources at Our Partner CA History-Social Science Project Sites
Explore the UCLA History & Geography Project’s bank of curriculum and resources here. You can find lesson plans organized by course and grade level as well as links to plans associated with Special Projects and topics. Scroll down the page to the “Resources” header and select “primary sources” to find the Project’s curated list of websites that include valuable teaching resources.
Visit the UC Berkeley History Project to search and explore their lesson plans here. Explore their site to find more resources, such as this set on teaching LGBTQ history.
The History Project at UC Irvine has also compiled history/social science lessons and resources for K-12 teachers. Explore them here.
Find three full teaching units, developed by the CAHSSP State Office, here. These units are “Medieval Sites of Encounter” for seventh grade classrooms, “The Civil War” for eighth grade classrooms, and “the Cold War” for tenth and eleventh grade classrooms.