Active Citizenship - civiced.org - Active citizenship means getting involved in the life of your community and nation to help determine the country's future. One irony of our hyperconnected digital age is that people can feel isolated, but there are many ways to get involved. 

Annenberg Classroom – Resources For Excellent Civics Education - AnnenbergClassroom.org provides a comprehensive, multimedia curriculum on the Constitution. Free classroom resources include videos, games, lesson plans and timelines as well as our popular Annenberg Guide to the Constitution, which provides the original text and then explains it in plain language. These materials are provided to equip middle and high school teachers with the tools to create informed citizens who understand their rights and responsibilities as outlined in the Constitution.

Bill of Rights: Primary Documents in American History | LOC - This guide provides access to digital materials at the Library of Congress, links to related external websites, and a print bibliography.

Bill of Rights Institute - The Bill of Rights Institute teaches civics. We equip students and teachers to live the ideals of a free and just society.

Center for Civic Education- helps students develop an increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, the skills necessary to participate as competent and responsible citizens, and the willingness to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict.

Civic Education | Facing History & Ourselves- Our civic education approach develops the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for students to become engaged and ethical participants in democracy. 

The Civic Trust- A nonpartisan educational initiative focused on elevating civics as a national priority with programs that advance and promote civic knowledge in schools, workplaces, and communities. 

Civics! An American Musical - FableVision Games - Civics! An American Musical is a primary source-focused game that lets students create their own "Hamilton." The site includes a Teacher Guide that explains how to play.

Civics Collection | PBS Learning Media - Democracy depends on informed citizens who have the knowledge and skills to engage in their government. Empower your student citizens with this collection that teaches civic knowledge and understanding through applied examples from U.S. history and skills such as analyzing civic engagement and engaging in civil discourse. Focusing on multiple perspectives and diverse stories, these resources enable all students to see themselves as civic actors and prepare them to engage in civic political life.

Civics Education: Teaching About Elections and Citizenship | NEA - Resources, recommendations, and research on educating students about democracy.

Civics for All of US | National Archives- Civics for All of US is a new education initiative that promotes civic literacy and engagement.

Civics Learning Project - Civics Learning Project brings vital and engaging civics education programs to schools, teaching students at all grade levels the values and skills essential to participating in our democracy. 

Constitution Day Lessons and Activities | Tech & Learning - These free Constitution Day lessons and activities will inspire students to understand, question, and debate the most important issues of our day. 

Constitution in the Classroom | National Constitution Center - Innovative teaching tools to your classroom. Our unique approach to constitutional education emphasizes historic storytelling, constitutional rather than political questions, and the habits of civil dialogue and reflection. Also includes an Interactive Constitution.

Constitution Facts: Official US Constitution Website -Get a taste of some of the Founding Fathers' thoughts, see some of the reasoning behind the Supreme Court's landmark decisions, and, most importantly, get a feel for the United States Constitution and how it is that a document that was written over 200 years ago still plays an integral role in our everyday lives.

Education Resources | National Constitution Center - The National Constitution Center brings innovative teaching tools to your classroom. Our unique approach to constitutional education emphasizes historic storytelling, constitutional rather than political questions, and the habits of civil dialogue and reflection.

Engaging Congress - Engaging Congress is a free,  fun, interactive game that uses primary source documents to explore the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges they face in contemporary society. 

iCivics | Free Lesson Plans and Games for Learning Civics - Engage students in meaningful civics learning.  Provides teachers with free inventive resources to enhance their practice and inspire learning.

How a Bill  Becomes a Law in New Jersey - A Student’s Guide to the Legislative Process- Informational brochure created by the NJ Legislature.

Learn the Five Habits of Active Citizenship | Committee of 70 - For citizens who want to engage with our democracy year-round, we have narrowed down a checklist of five research-based habits that anyone can follow in order to be a more active participant in the electoral process.

Lesson Plans | National Archives- Designed to assist teachers with using primary source materials to integrate Congress into history, government and civics classes. They are suitable for junior high and high school students.

The Story of the Bill of Rights - The story of the Bill of Rights is told in this documentary. Each amendment has its own short video. 

Teaching Civics - Supports educators with an ever-growing repository of current, professionally vetted, and unbiased civics, law-related education, and government lesson plans and materials. 

Teaching Resources - civiced.org -  Provides high-quality curricular materials, exceptional professional development for teachers, and advocates for stronger civic education in the United States and emerging democracies. 

Teaching Skills that Matter Civics Education | Adult Education and Literacy | U.S. Department of Education - Civics education equips all learners to deal with issues of critical importance in their lives and communities, with advocacy and agency as central tenets.

20 Hands-On Ways for Kids to Learn Map Skills | We Are Teachers - A list of engaging map skills activities to teach kids about keys, grids, the compass rose, and more.

50states.com - States and Capitals - State information resource links.

Concept of Place | National Geographic- One of the oldest tenets of geography is the concept of place. As a result, place has numerous definitions, from the simple “a space or location with meaning” to the more complex “an area having unique physical and human characteristics interconnected with other places.

Geography | PBS Learning Media - Browse Geography videos, interactive activities, teaching materials, and more! Get fun and engaging curriculum-aligned content on topics such as the tools used by geographers, ancient maps to modern geographic information systems (GIS), and methods of geography over time.

City Guesser - Can you guess what city you're in? - Use street-level videos to identify cities in the US, monuments around the globe, and locations from countries all around the world.

Fun with Geography | National Geographic - Get ideas for how to have fun with geography in your daily life. For grades 2 - 12+

Geography Teacher Resources | Encounter Edu - Free geography teacher resources for addressing environmental and societal issues in the classroom across all ages, key stages and grades.

I Do, We Do, You Do: Teaching Map Skills in Early Grades - Explore the importance of teaching map skills to children in Kindergarten-Grade 2 (K–2) and learn the key tenets of explicit instruction as one approach to doing so.

MapMaker Launch Guide - National Geographic Society -A digital mapping tool, created by the National Geographic Society and Esri, designed for teachers, students, and National Geographic Explorers.

Map Skills - Social Studie-Geography Teaching Resource | Flocabulary - Introduce students to the elements of maps and how to read them. They’ll navigate with the compass rose, see how the map scale brings us all closer together (on the map), decipher the symbols for cities and landforms, and learn that the map key is the stuff of legends.

Map Skills for Students | NatGeo Education- This collection features map activities designed to strengthen spatial thinking skills for students. 

NatGeo Countries - National Geographic: Provides facts, photos, videos, and more about countries around the world,

National Geographic Education - Ignite the spirit of exploration. Engage with National Geographic Explorers and transform learning experiences through live events, free maps, videos, interactives, and other resources.

Teacher Resources | NCGE - A collection of resources from the National Council for Geographic Education.

World Geography Resources- Provides the typical map work and place memorization resources, but also gives suggestions for incorporating different resources to better fit in the updated national geography standards.

Curriculum Materials | The New Jersey Historical Society - Hands-on lessons designed to teach students how to interpret documents and artifacts, and can include writing activities, role-playing, and art projects. These lessons use unique resources from the Historical Society’s museum and library collections and give your students the New Jersey perspective on a larger theme or topic in history.

History of New Jersey | NJ.gov - Find resources on History of New Jersey, Governors of New Jersey 1776-present, The Underground Railroad, Genealogical Society of New Jersey, Historic Trust, NJ Historical Commission, State Archives, African-Americans in New Jersey, Documentary Treasures, Historical Commission Print Publications, Historical Maps, Materials for Teachers and New Jersey's Revolutionary Experience.

It Happened Here: New Jersey | NJ State Historical Commission - Video archive of events in New Jersey history.

New Jersey History Kids - Each unit of the New Jersey History Kids website contains a video clip, question sheets, worksheets, and documents, as well as suggestions for the teacher.

New Jersey Council for Social Studies - Explore articles and lessons centered around New Jersey history.  

Materials for Teachers | NJ Department of State - Historical Commission -  A collection of resources designed to support educators.

New Jersey History and Government Lessons | Rutgers - Lessons about the history, government, people, and historic sites in New Jersey for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.  

New Jersey Life & Living | Savvas Education - Bridge the past and the present as we explore the history of New Jersey. Resources are designed to teach your students how the history of New Jersey has affected their lives today, in ways seen and unseen. Includes discussion questions and links.

New Jersey Legislature Facts for Kids- Kid-friendly information regarding the state of New Jersey.

New Jersey Resources | NJ State Library- The NJ State Library maintains an extensive collection of official New Jersey publications as well as material about New Jersey from non-official sources. When we have multiple copies of titles they are available for borrowing.

New Jersey Women's History- an educational resource for students, teachers, and those interested in learning more about the history of women in New Jersey. Utilizing digital scholarship, historical research methods, and blended and experiential learning techniques, the project aims to research, document, and curate the historical and cultural contributions of New Jersey women.

Resources and Publications | New Jersey Legislative Services, NJ - A full range of free publications serves tourists, educators, and those interested in legislative activity. 

State Symbols | New Jersey Legislative Services, NJ - The designation of several State symbols began as schoolroom civics lessons. To date, twenty-one items have been officially selected to represent special elements of life in New Jersey. Hover over the images to learn more about each. 

Social Studies Lessons | New Jersey Agriculture in the Classroom - Ideas for using the garden to teach social studies.

American Heritage Education Foundation - K-College Free Lesson Plans and Educational Resources on American Social Studies, History, Government, & Political Philosophy

The American Yawp - A massive, free "Collaboration Open U.S. History Textbook" that includes an excellent Sourcebook of primary sources and teaching resources.

A Biography of America - This video series for high school and college students presents American history as a living narrative rather than a collection of facts and dates. Produced by WGBH Boston in cooperation with the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Civil Rights Teaching | Teaching for Change - Provides lessons, handouts, news, and resources for teaching about the role of everyday people in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Coming of the American Revolution: Lessons - Massachusetts Historical Society offers fourteen lesson plans that are aligned to the theme of The Coming of the American Revolution. The lesson plans include a mix of document analysis activities and group discussion activities.  

Educators | National Museum of African American History and Culture - Serves students and educators in grades 3-12. We strive to ignite critical thinking and creativity, generate self-pride, and inspire life-long learning for diverse audiences.

EduHam at Home - An extension of the Hamilton Education Program (EduHam), students study primary source documents from the Founding Era, learn how Lin-Manuel Miranda used such documents to create the musical Hamilton, and finally create their own original performance pieces based on the same material.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.

History Lessons | Digital Inquiry Group - This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues and learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence.

Mission US - Developed for use by middle school students in the classroom and beyond, Mission US is an award-winning educational media project with proven positive impact on history learning. Interactive narrative games immerse players in rich, historical settings and empower them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past. Educator Guides provide a wealth of resources and activities that show the broader social, political, and economic context of events and perspectives in the games.

Resources: United States History – American Historical  Association - The American Historical Association promotes historical work and the importance of historical thinking in public life. As the largest membership association of historians in the world, the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions and represents every historical era and geographical area.

Resources for Students and Teachers on ushistory.org - Resources created and hosted by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia.

Teaching Materials |Teachinghistory.org - Designed to help K–12 history teachers access resources and materials to improve U.S. history education in the classroom. 

Teaching Resources | Facing History & Ourselves - Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.

US History Lesson Plans | PBS Learning Media - Bring U.S. history to life in the classroom! Browse our collection of U.S. History videos, interactive activities, teaching materials, and more. Get fun and engaging curriculum-aligned content on topics such as the Revolutionary War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reconstruction, and the Great Depression.

Voices of Democracy - Promotes the study of great speeches and debates in U.S. history. The project aims to foster an understanding of the nation’s principles and history and to promote civic engagement among scholars, teachers, and students. You will find authenticated speech texts, scholarly articles with critical analyses of those speeches, curriculum materials designed for undergraduate teachers and students, and lesson plans for high school and middle school teachers. 

Echoes & Reflections - Offers educators access to a library of comprehensive Holocaust content that is classroom-ready and prepared with today’s students and classrooms in mind. This provides a range of educational entry points to examine critical themes of the Holocaust.

History Lessons | Digital Inquiry Group - This curriculum teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading. Instead of memorizing historical facts, students evaluate the trustworthiness of multiple perspectives on historical issues and learn to make historical claims backed by documentary evidence.

Resources: World  History – American Historical  Association - The American Historical Association promotes historical work and the importance of historical thinking in public life. As the largest membership association of historians in the world, the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions and represents every historical era and geographical area.

Resources | National Museums Liverpool - Explore key themes and topics within our museums and art galleries in more depth with videos, worksheets and more.

Smithsonian Learning Lab | Social Studies - Search thousands of digital images, recordings, texts, and videos in history, art and culture, and the sciences.

Teaching Materials - World History Encyclopedia - Our lessons come with a collection of supplementary materials and useful links on the subject, as well as downloadable handouts, assessments, keys and much more.All teaching materials are downloadable entirely for free.

Top World History Resources for the Classroom | Teach For America - Whether you’re looking to kick your lesson planning into high gear or just need a few extra fun factoids and anecdotes to cap off your world history curriculum this school year, here are a few suggestions to make the history of the world even more interesting for your students.  

World History Project | OER - All World History Project (WHP) courses are ideal for high-school world history students. 

World History Resources | CFR Education - CFR Education offers a range of free resources that can supplement your World History curriculum. Browse articles, timelines, videos, and simulations covering three major eras that have shaped the world from 1900 to the present. 

World History Resources | PBS Learning Media - A collection of World History videos, interactive activities, teaching materials, and more! Get fun and engaging curriculum-aligned content on topics such as the building of the pyramids in Ancient Egypt, the writings of the Mayan Civilization, and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

World History for Us All - World History for Us All is a powerful, innovative model curriculum for teaching world history in middle and high schools which offers a treasury of teaching units, lesson plans, and resources.It presents the human past as a single story rather than unconnected stories of many civilizations.

The American Presidency Project - Free online searchable database of presidential documents. 

The American Yawp Reader - A collection of primary source materials designed as a companion to the American Yawp online textbook.

Avalon Project - The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.  

Cartoons for the Classroom: Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) - Students determine the meaning of political cartoons through the analysis of their literal, symbolic and figurative meanings of the elements the artist used and their effect. Students are asked to describe the overall effect of the cartoon, and how the artist’s choices combine to create that effect. Finally, students determine the purpose of the cartoon and how it relates to current issues through discussion questions

Citizen U Primary Source Nexus - Citizen U is operated by the Barat Education Foundation thanks to grant funding from the Library of Congress and provides free, engaging, inquiry-based learning materials that use Library primary sources to foster understanding and application of civics, literacy, history, math, science, and the arts.

Digital Public Library of America- Discover 51,491,687 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States. Primary source collections explore topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators — complete with teaching guides for class use.

DocsTeach | National Archives - Access thousands of primary sources  — letters, photographs, speeches, posters, maps, videos, and other document types — spanning the course of American history. 

Documents Archive | Teaching American History - An archive of historical documents that show us America’s past.

Engaging Congress - Engaging Congress is a FREE, fun, interactive game that uses primary source documents to explore the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges they face in contemporary society. 

EyeWitness to History - History through the eyes of those who lived it - Your ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present. History through the eyes of those who lived it, presented by Ibis Communications, Inc. a digital publisher of educational programming. 

Getting Started with Primary Sources | Teachers | Programs | Library of Congress- Bringing young people into close contact with these unique, often profoundly personal, documents and objects can give them a sense of what it was like to be alive during a long-past era. Helping students analyze primary sources can also prompt curiosity and improve critical thinking and analysis skills.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History | Resources - At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America Curriculum | @voiceofwitness - The lessons in this unit explore oral history narratives from How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America to promote a nuanced, empathy-based understanding of the issues facing Indigenous communities. They urge students and teachers to think critically about colonialism and interrelated issues, including identity, intergenerational trauma, healthcare, policing, Indigenous rights, resource extraction, and resistance

Internet History Sourcebook | Fordham University -A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use. Primary sources are available here mainly for use in high-school and university/college courses. From the outset the site took a very broad view of the sources that should be available to students and documents long associated with a "western civilization" approach to history. It also provides information on Byzantine, Islamic, Jewish, Indian, East Asian, and African history and many documents relevant to women's history and LGBT studies.

The Library of Congress | Digital Collection of Primary and Secondary Sources - Digitized collection of manuscripts, photos, prints, drawings, audio recordings, film, maps, periodicals and more.

National Archives - Find primary sources, founding documents, tools for teaching, and additional resources for students and teachers.

New Jersey Legislative Documents (1848-1921) - A series of compiled annual and ad hoc reports to the Governor and Legislature by State departments, agencies, commissions, boards, and institutions, as well as some county and interstate entities. Later reports often included illustrations, photographs, maps, and data tables. Historic annual reports of New Jersey are useful to those interested in government, law, labor, environment, health, architecture, agriculture, transportation, and the social life of New Jersey.

New Jersey State Library Digital Collections - The State Library Information Center mission is to preserve and facilitate public access to state government information. A selection of key primary sources have been digitized and, in some cases, transcribed by the State Library Information Center. 

Primary Sources for History & Literature Teachers - America in Class - Collections of primary resources, historical documents, literary texts, and works of art — thematically organized with notes and discussion questions.

Primary Source Sets | DOLA - Primary source collections exploring topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators — complete with teaching guides for class use.

Smithsonian Learning Lab - Tthe Smithsonian Learning Lab was developed to inspire the discovery and creative use of its rich digital materials—millions of images, recordings, and texts. The Learning Lab infuses real-world experiences into learning to build lasting knowledge and critical skills that take learners from simply finding resources to thoughtful selection, organization, and creation of new resources 

Teaching with Primary Sources: Ideas, Activities, and Plans | Waynesburg University -Lesson Plans, Units, PD Plans, Activities, and Book Backdrops to engage and empower your students.

This vetted searchable database of teacher-created resources is your source of inspiration for primary source-driven teaching across the curriculum. Find just the right resource and then let us know how you used it: 

Today's Document from the National Archives - Explore Today in History through the holdings of the National Archives with Today's Document! Learn about today's significant anniversaries or discover new historical curiosities through a collection of fascinating documents, photographs, and films from throughout the history of the United States.

Today's Front Pages – Freedom Forum - Compare reporting about topics and events around the world.

U.S. News Map - An archive of American newspapers printed between 1836 and 1964. Searchable by keyword or phrase and displayed on an interactive map. Click a marker to be shown a list of newspaper articles and read articles on the Library of Congress' Chronicling America website.

Explore resources relevant to the 2019 History and Contributions of Individuals with Disabilities and LGBT (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.35-6) statute; please see New Jersey’s Department of Education’s Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

Campaign for Disability Employment: PSA Campaigns - Public service announcement campaigns funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy / U.S. Department of Labor to challenge misconceptions about the employment of people with disabilities. The “Who I Am” and “I Can” PSAs could be used with their corresponding discussion guides to consider the social and economic contributions of people with disabilities today.

Disability History Museum - Collections of primary sources representing the cultural and social history of people with disabilities, largely in the United States from 1800 to the present.  Lesson plans are designed for secondary and higher education, but the overall site may be a good reference for other teachers as well.

Disability History: National Museum of American History - This hub of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History curates exhibitions, collections, and blog posts that highlight the experiences of those who have been “tagged as disabled or impaired” throughout our country’s history. 

Disability Rights Timeline - A timeline of historical milestones in the Disability Rights Movement from 1815 to present day.  Compiled by Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities.

Free to Use and Reuse: Disability Awareness - A Free to Use primary source set from the Library of Congress that features people with disabilities throughout U.S. history.  The Library of Congress also has a Getting Started with Primary Sources guide for teachers, as well as teacher guides for specific types of primary sources and an analysis tool for students (here).

How the wheelchair opened up the world to millions of people | National Geographic - Wheelchairs have existed since the invention of the wheel. But technological advances have revolutionized the way that people use them.

How People with Disabilities Help the Economy Grow and Thrive - A Forbes article providing an overview of employment statistics of people with disabilities and recommended steps for full inclusion in the workplace. Includes an option to listen to the article as well.

Model Lessons on Disability History - Accessible, inquiry-based lesson plans on disability history developed by Emerging America in partnership with the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium.  Find detailed lessons for 2nd through 12th grades that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

Museum of disABILITY History - A project of People Inc. and chartered by the New York State Department of Education Board of Regents, this museum seeks to advance the understanding, acceptance, and independence of people with disabilities.  The virtual museum includes wings for media, medicine, society, education, and advocacy. Educational resources include lesson plans for grades PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12.

Parallels in Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities - A collection of resources developed by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities featuring video and audio clips, as well as primary source documents.  This collection presents the history of developmental disabilities from the ancient era to modern times in narrative form.

Resources | Disability Organization, Arts and Culture | Judithheumann - Learn more about Judy Heumann, the history of the Disability Rights Movement, and much more.

Teaching Now: Learning About (Dis)ability in History - This mini-unit encourages elementary students to discover how people experience ability differently.  Developed by Dr. John Bickford and The Councilor: A Journal of Social Studies in collaboration with Citizen U, the teaching guide includes analysis prompts, graphic organizers, and opportunities for civic engagement, as well as an accompanying primary source set.

Telling All Americans’ Stories: Disability History - A series by the National Park Service that highlights disability stories throughout our country’s complex history that are connected to NPS parks and programs. Browse by themes, places, or people. The series introduction provides a good overview of the available resources.

Timeline of Disability Rights in the United States - A timeline from 1776 to present day depicting the progression of legal protections for Americans with disabilities in all areas of life. Compiled by Accessibility.com.

Explore resources relevant to the 2019 History and Contributions of Individuals with Disabilities and LGBT (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.35-6) statute; please see New Jersey’s Department of Education’s Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

DocsTeach - Query results displaying primary sources that are relevant to LGBTQ history and rights.  Filter by historical era or document type. Related activities by the National Archives Education Team include The Long Struggle for LGBTQ+ Civil Rights and “We Are Badly in Need of a Breath of Fresh Air”: A Letter to President Kennedy about LGBTQ+ Rights.

LGBTQ History and Why It Matters - A lesson by Facing History, Facing Ourselves in which students consider whose experiences have been excluded from the way history has been traditionally taught and learn about LGTBQ history from the Roman Empire to 2016. Includes three possible extension activities: The Lavender Scare in Post-WWII America, LGBTQ Textbook Analysis, and The Times of Harvey Milk Documentary Film.

Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in U.S. History Lesson Plans (Public Facing) - Twenty lesson plans developed by the NYCDOE Department of Social Studies and Civics in collaboration with historians to highlight the social, political, artistic, and economic contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals who were often hidden from the traditional historical record.

Best Practices for Serving LGBTQ Students - A guide by Learning for Justice on creating an LGBTQ-inclusive school.  Includes sections on school policy, classroom culture, instruction, and family and community engagement, as well as a list of LGBTQ historical figures in Appendix B.

The Role of Gay Men and Lesbians in the Civil Rights Movement - A lesson by Learning for Justice that introduces students to four key figures in LGBTQ history who made incredible contributions to the civil rights movement: James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Pauli Murray and Bayard Rustin.

LGBTQ-Inclusive Lessons & Resources - Social Studies lesson plans developed by Garden State Equality and Make It Better for Youth that address gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or LGBTQ inclusion.  These NJSLS-aligned lessons were designed using the frameworks of Understanding by Design and Making Learning Visible.

Pride - A Google Arts & Culture collection of high resolution images and videos of artifacts, articles, and primary source materials depicting the history and symbolism of the Pride flag, preserving the memory of Stonewall, highlighting LGBTQIA+ pride parades around the world, and more. Includes a lesson plan geared toward high school: “Beyond the Rainbow: Milestones in the Pride Movement.”

Primary Source Set: LGBTQ Activism and Contributions - A primary source set by the Library of Congress, which includes 18 primary sources and a teacher’s guide with background information and suggested classroom activities. The Library of Congress also has a Getting Started with Primary Sources guide for teachers, teacher guides for specific types of primary sources and an analysis tool for students (here), and a research guide for LGBTQIA+ studies.

Military History and the LGBTQ+ Community - A collection of primary and secondary sources, as well as additional resources, that highlight the experiences and contributions of LGBTQ+ service members throughout U.S. history.  Developed by ASHP/CML at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Social History for Every Classroom: Gender and Sexuality - Classroom-ready primary documents and teaching activities developed by ASHP/CML at the CUNY Graduate Center related to gender and sexuality.  Narrow search using filters for item type, tags (e.g., LGBTQ+), and historical eras.  

Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall: The Stonewall Riots in the Fight for Equality - A lesson by TeachRock in which students analyze visual sources, read primary documents, and examine popular music in response to the essential question, “What were the Stonewall Riots and what role did they play in ongoing struggles for LGBTQ+ equality in the United States?” Requires free registration to fully access materials.

The Journey to Marriage Equality in the U.S. - A lesson by TeachRock in which students analyze court documents, congressional legislation, press articles, and music in response to the essential question, “How did same-sex marriage become legal in the United States?” Requires free registration to fully access materials.

Telling All Americans’ Stories: LGBTQ Heritage - A series by the National Park Service that promotes LGBTQ histories and stories found in our nation’s parks, homes, and historic sites.  See also the NPS publication, LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of LGBTQ History and the accompanying guide, The Pride Guide: An interactive Workbook, which includes a summary, discussion questions, and activity for each chapter.

Understanding LGBTQ+ Identity: A Toolkit for Educators - A collection from PBS Learning Media consisting of professional development and classroom resources.  Includes digital media resources to help teachers integrate LGBTQ+ history and narratives into U.S. History classrooms, as well as resources to help all educators understand and effectively address the complex issues facing LGBTQ youth.

OutHistory - A nonprofit public history website committed to documenting LGBTQ+ U.S. histories. The landing page features a “This Week in History'' section and “OutHistory Highlights,” both with links to supporting documents.

LGBTQ Rights Timeline in American History - A timeline of milestones related to LGBTQ rights developed by Teaching LGBTQ History.org. Explore their other resources as well, including lesson plans, videos, and multimedia.

LGBTQ History - Resources curated or created by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), including LGBTQ+ History Cards, multimedia resources, student resources, and educator resources.

LGBTQ History: National Museum of American History - This hub of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History curates exhibitions, collections, videos, news releases, and blog posts that depict the experiences of diverse identities based on sexual orientation and gender identity throughout history.

The 1619 Project Curriculum | Pulitzer Center- Reading guides, activities, and other resources to bring The 1619 Project into your classroom.

AAPI Lesson Plans & Educational Resources for K-12 Teachers - The AAPI History Hub provides K–12 educators with a vetted collection of resources, including Lesson Plans, Books, Films, and more, that are ready to integrate into your teaching and classrooms.

Best of History Web Sites -An award-winning portal that contains annotated links to over 1200 history websites as well as links to hundreds of quality K-12 history lesson plans, history teacher guides, history activities, history games, history quizzes, and more.

Bunk History -Digital archive of a variety of media produced about current events, public history and government. Bunk shows connections both spatially and across historic eras.  

C-SPAN Classroom - Free video-based materials for social studies teachers.

Character Development Program | Free Character Lesson Plans - The Medal of Honor Character Development Program is a free resource which teaches courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism to students through educationally grounded lessons developed by teachers for teachers. These six values are embodied in the Medal of Honor and exemplified in the actions for which it has been awarded.

Critical Practices for Social Justice Education - A resource to support K-12 educators in growing their understanding of social justice principles and integrating them into their practice. 

Digital History - A free textbook and sourcebook for United States History supported by the University of Houston. Digital History also provides quizzes, interactive history modules, timelines, and teaching resources that include lesson plans and handouts. The site does use flash and some browsers will block some of the images. 

Digital Inquiry Group - The Digital Inquiry Group (DIG for short) is an independent nonprofit organization established by the team behind the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), one of the nation’s leading providers of free curriculum in the social studies. Explore Civics Online Reasoning (curriculum), Reading Like a Historian (lessons), and Beyond the Bubble (assessment). DIG’s work focuses on preparing young people to be more discerning consumers of the information they encounter online and empower learners to make sense of the past and present. 

Edsitement-NEH - EDSITEment offers free resources for teachers, students, and parents searching for high-quality K-12 humanities education materials in the subject areas of history and social studies, literature and language arts, foreign languages, arts, and culture. 

Education | National Museum of American History - A collection of case studies and resources thoughtfully and intentionally created based on social studies themes and topics.

Facing History and Ourselves | Classroom Resources - Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.

Global Oneness Project - Brings the world’s cultures alive in the classroom using stories as a pedagogical tool for growing minds. Committed to the exploration of cultural, environmental, and social issues, we offer a rich library of multimedia stories composed of award-winning films, photo essays, and articles. Companion curriculum and discussion guides are also available.

Going From Me to We: Social Studies in Preschool | High Scope - Social studies helps children take those first steps outside themselves, recognizing that while they are unique individuals, they also share many similar feelings and concerns with the other children and adults they meet. 

Guides By Subject - Research Guides at Library of Congress - Research guides to the Library's general collections of books and periodicals, as well as general subject guides prepared by Library of Congress reference librarians.

History | EVERFI- Digital lessons help students to understand history and connect past events with those happening in the present. Lesson topics include the impact of antisemitic attacks on American society, how to be a strong ally, the transatlantic slave trade, the Harlem Renaissance, and Black contributions to medicine. EVERFI’s online history curriculum, training, and support are completely free to K-12 educators 

History Lessons | Stanford History Education Group - Teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading.  Resources are downloadable with free account.

K12 Hub: Social Studies | The Teaching Channel - Free resources and insights for educators. 

Ken Burns in the Classroom | PBS LearningMedia - Known for a signature style that brings primary source documents, images, and archival video footage to life on screen, these films present the opportunity to pose thought-provoking questions for students, and introduce new ideas, perspectives, and primary sources. Documents, media and lesson plans for Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.

Knowledgeable and Engaged Young Citizens: Social Studies in Early Childhood | NAEYC - Focuses on some of these key concepts and effective practices for promoting early social studies.

Learning for Justice | Classroom Resources - Free educational resources—articles, guides, lessons, films, webinars, frameworks, and more—help foster shared learning and reflection for educators, young people, caregivers, and all community members.

Lesson Plans | National Archives- Designed to assist teachers with using primary source materials to integrate Congress into history, government and civics classes. They are suitable for junior high and high school students.

Lesson Plans | Pulitzer Center- Browse and adapt hundreds of standards-aligned lesson plans for K–12 classrooms. Lessons encourage students to make local connections to global news stories while strengthening skills such as critical thinking, media literacy, and communication

Lesson Plans - Teaching with Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) - Teaching with Historic Places offers a series of more than 160 classroom-ready lesson plans that use historic sites as a means for exploring American history. Educators and their students can work through these online lesson plans directly on the computer or print them out and photocopy them for distribution.

Mapping History - The Mapping History Project has been designed to provide interactive and animated representations of fundamental historical problems and/or illustrations of historical events, developments, and dynamics. 

NatGeo | Education - National Geographic Education is a massive database of high-quality educational content, searchable by grade level, subject, resource type, or audience: either educators, families, or students.

National Council for Geographic Education  A non-profit organization committed to enhancing the status and quality of geography teaching and learning by providing professional development opportunities, producing journals and other publications, developing and distributing content and resources, and advocating for geography in schools. Includes a library of lesson plans, maps, and other classroom resources.

National Council for the Social Studies - The largest professional association in the country devoted solely to social studies education. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies 

NewseumED - Browse 1,000s of Lesson Plans, Digital Artifacts, Videos, Historical Events, Interactives and other EDTools.

NJCSS.ORG| New Jersey Council for Social Studies: Teacher resources, lessons, and additional links for social studies education.

Native Knowledge 360° - Interactive Teaching Resources - Provides educators and students with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures.NK360° provides educational materials, virtual student programs, and teacher training that incorporate Native narratives, more comprehensive histories, and accurate information to enlighten and inform teaching and learning about Native America. 

Newspaper Map - Locate and read newspapers from locations all around the world. Just browse the map then click on a placemark to open the link

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People | NCSS - Annual listing of books for children in grades K-12 that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.  

OER Project - Our curricula are created by teachers and scholars. We offer complete social studies courses aligned to state standards, all totally free. Come explore our teaching materials, planning resources, professional development offerings, and helpful online teacher community. 

Resources | NCHE - Explore our latest webinars and a handpicked collection of resources from various reputable organizations. These resources are tailored to enrich your teaching practice and engage your students effectively.

Share My Lesson: Social Studies- Explore featured and recently uploaded free social studies lesson plans and resources for preK-12 that span a wide array of topics. 

Smithsonian Learning Lab - Create your own interactive learning experiences or adopt exemplars made by teachers and Smithsonian experts.

Social Studies Resources | LeapFrog - Feed your future global citizen with an understanding of different cultures.

Social Studies | NAEYC - Collection of resources to effectively teach social studies in the early childhood classroom. 

Social Studies Activities and Lessons | PBS Learning Media - Explore the past and learn about the present with resources on government, history, economics, and more. Discover thousands of social studies activities, lessons, and interactive resources for all grades.

Social Studies Lesson Plans | Teacher.org - Features a variety of Social Studies lessons written by teachers from all over the United States.

Social Studies Lesson Plans | Education.com - Kickstart your students' growth while learning about the past and present with education.com's social studies lesson plans!

Teaching About Race, Bias, and Social Justice | LRC-South - Explore curate resources from the LRC-South.

Teaching American History - Teaching American History is a free resource that brings together primary documents, continuing education, and community for American history teachers.

Teaching Resources | civiced.org - Provides high-quality curricular materials, exceptional professional development for teachers, and advocates for stronger civic education in the United States and emerging democracies.

Teaching with Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) - offers teaching tools and lesson plans to help educators engage young people with powerful stories representing America’s diverse history. Enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. By examining and questioning readings, documents, maps, and photographs, and by engaging in activities, students connect these locations to broad themes of American history. 

Teachinghistory.org - Designed to help K–12 history teachers access resources and materials to improve U.S. history education in the classroom. Provides lesson plans and best practices. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for History and New Media.

This Day in History - What Happened Today - History.com provides daily insights into historical events. 

Untold History - Stories you won’t learn about in a textbook. New videos released every week. Developed in partnership with The New York Historical Society, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, iCivics, White House Historical Association and American Battlefield Trust.

World History for Us All - A powerful, innovative curriculum for teaching world history in middle and high schools. The site offers a wealth of teaching units, lesson plans, and resources

Zinn Education Project - Promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history, introducing students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than what is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. Offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.