Reconstructing Race: A Teacher Introduces His Students to the Slippery Concept of Race

Teaching Activity PDF. By Nathanial W. Smith. 6 pages.
A teacher describes a series of lessons he teaches to help his students understand race as a social construct.

Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery

What War Looks Like

Background Reading for Teachers and High School Students PDF. By Howard Zinn. 4 pages.
An essay by Howard Zinn on the impact of war.

Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements

Unsung Heroes: Encouraging Students to Appreciate Those Who Fought for Social Justice

Teaching Activity PDF. Essay by Howard Zinn and lesson by Bill Bigelow. 11 pages.
Students research and share stories about unsung heroes in US history.

Civil Rights Movements, Individuals in US History, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, Women's History

Empire or Humanity?: What the classroom didn’t teach me about the American empire

Background Reading for Teachers and High School Students - PDF. By Howard Zinn. 4 pages.
An essay which raises questions about the justifications for empire building and imperialism.

Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements

Whitewashing Our Past: A Proposal for a National Campaign to Rethink Textbooks

Background Reading for Teachers PDF. By Bob Peterson. 4 pages.
A critique of social studies textbooks and the rationale for a campaign to rethink them.

Education, Individuals in US History, Racism & Racial Identity

Promoting Social Imagination Through Interior Monologues

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow and Linda Christensen. 3 pages.
Empathy, or “social imagination,” allows students to connect to “the other” with whom, on the surface, they may appear to have little in common.

Individuals in US History, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements, Women's History

Why Students Should Study History: An Interview with Howard Zinn

Background Reading for Teachers PDF. By Howard Zinn. 1994.
Interview conducted by Barbara Miner on a number of questions about the study of history.

Wars & Related Anti-War Movements

History in the Present Tense

Book - Nonfiction. By Douglas Selwyn and Jan Maher. 2003. 192 pages.
A guide to a different way of teaching history — start from today and keep asking questions.

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years

Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson. 1998. 192 pages.
Readings and lessons for pre-K to 12 students which counter the myth of Columbus and on contemporary issues of indigenous rights.

Individuals in US History, Native American

500 Años del Pueblo Chicano - 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures

Book - Nonfiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 1991 (2nd Edition)

Civil Rights Movements, Latino, Native American, Women's History