Jan. 12, 2010: Earthquake in Haiti
Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake that took the lives of thousands and displaced even more.
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Theme: World History/Global Studies
World History/Global Studies
Aug. 19, 1953: U.S. and Britain Topple Democratically Elected Government of Iran
Democratically elected Iranian Premier Mohammad Mossadegh was removed from power in a coup.
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Oct. 5, 1986: Eugene Hasenfus Captured During Iran-Contra Scandal
The cover-up of the Iran-Contra scandal began to unravel when Eugene Hasenfus was captured by Nicaraguan troops.
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Dec. 6, 2013: First Nations Water Warriors Block Fracking
A coalition of groups set up a series of road blockades preventing gas exploration in New Brunswick, Canada.
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War! What Is It Good For?
Book — Non-fiction. By Kimberley Phillips Boehm. 2014. 360 pages.
Examines how Black people’s participation in the nation’s wars and their protracted struggles for equal citizenship galvanized a vibrant antiwar activism that reshaped their struggles for freedom.
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Examines how Black people’s participation in the nation’s wars and their protracted struggles for equal citizenship galvanized a vibrant antiwar activism that reshaped their struggles for freedom.
Nov. 24, 1984: San Francisco Dockworkers Strike Against Apartheid
Union dockworkers in San Francisco refused to unload South African products in a coordinated 11-day strike against apartheid.
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Oct. 4, 1774: Declaration of Independence from Britain
Residents of Worcester, Massachusetts demanded a new government be elected by the people, divorced from the British Crown and Parliament, setting the stage for nearly 100 more declarations that would sweep through the Thirteen Colonies before the summer of 1776.
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Stories from the Climate Crisis: A Mixer
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools.
A role play introduces students to 24 individuals around the world — each of whom is affected differently by climate change.
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A role play introduces students to 24 individuals around the world — each of whom is affected differently by climate change.
‘Don’t Take Our Voices Away’: A Role Play on the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change
Teaching Activity. By Julie Treick O’Neill and Tim Swinehart. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
A role play on the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change asks students to develop a list of demands to present to the rest of the world at a climate change meeting.
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A role play on the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change asks students to develop a list of demands to present to the rest of the world at a climate change meeting.
Maestra (Teacher)
Film. By Catherine Murphy. 2013. 32 minutes.
Documentary about the successful 1961 literacy campaign in Cuba.
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Documentary about the successful 1961 literacy campaign in Cuba.
Jan. 17, 1961: Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was Executed
Prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, was executed with the assistance of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
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May 23, 1779: Poor Philadelphians Rally Against Rich Merchants
Following British occupation of the city, Revolutionary militia members in Philadelphia denounced and attacked wealthy merchants who benefited from wartime shortages.
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March 24, 1980: Archbishop Romero Assassinated
Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador was assassinated by U.S.-backed death squads.
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Feb. 25, 1941: General Strike in Amsterdam
A general strike was called in Amsterdam to protest Nazi persecution of Jews under the German Nazi occupation.
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Nov. 4, 1984: First Democratic Nicaraguan Elections
Nicaragua held its first democratic elections in more than fifty years in 1984.
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Teaching “Mexican Repatriation”: Uncovering Histories of Deportation and Belonging
Teaching Activity. By Erin Green. 2025. Rethinking Schools.
A 5th-grade teacher engages students in a unit on the forced deportation of 2 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the United States during the Great Depression.
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A 5th-grade teacher engages students in a unit on the forced deportation of 2 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the United States during the Great Depression.
Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals
Book — Historical non-fiction. By Christy Mihaly, with illustrations by Mariona Cabassa. 2026. 56 pages.
An inspiring picture book biography of a UN Peace Medal recipient who used his songs — and his silence — to fight fascism, oppression, and violence.
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An inspiring picture book biography of a UN Peace Medal recipient who used his songs — and his silence — to fight fascism, oppression, and violence.
The Costs of War
Digital collection. Publishes public-facing research about the broad consequences of U.S. military operations and spending, including their domestic effects, and the ongoing costs of the U.S. post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and beyond.
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Strangers In Their Own Country: A Curriculum Guide on South Africa
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow. 1985.
Lessons on apartheid in South Africa and the global anti-apartheid movement.
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Lessons on apartheid in South Africa and the global anti-apartheid movement.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Book — Non-fiction. By Trevor Noah. 2019. 304 pages.
The story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist.
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The story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist.
Disguising Imperialism: How Textbooks Get the Cold War Wrong and Dupe Students
Article. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. If We Knew Our History series.
Too often, when it comes to U.S. Cold War interventions, the official curriculum is sanitized and disjointed, leaving students ill-equipped to make sense out of their nation’s global bullying.
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Too often, when it comes to U.S. Cold War interventions, the official curriculum is sanitized and disjointed, leaving students ill-equipped to make sense out of their nation’s global bullying.
How to Make Amends: A Lesson on Reparations
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, Alex Stegner, Chris Buehler, Angela DiPasquale, and Tom McKenna.
Students meet dozens of advocates and recipients of reparations from a variety of historical eras to grapple with the possibility of reparations now and in the future.
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Students meet dozens of advocates and recipients of reparations from a variety of historical eras to grapple with the possibility of reparations now and in the future.
Hunger on Trial: An Activity on the Irish Potato Famine and Its Meaning for Today
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 13 pages.
A trial role play helps students reflect on responsibility for the deaths of Irish peasants during the so-called potato famine.
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A trial role play helps students reflect on responsibility for the deaths of Irish peasants during the so-called potato famine.
Maquilapolis (City of Factories)
Film. Directed and produced by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre. 2006. 68 minutes.
The impact of globalization as told through the lives of the women who experience it in Tijuana, Mexico.
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The impact of globalization as told through the lives of the women who experience it in Tijuana, Mexico.
March 20, 2003: Iraq War Invasion
It’s worth pausing to note how profoundly corporate textbooks mis-educate our students on the years of warfare in Iraq.
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