TEACHING U.S. HISTORY BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK

Six engaging, well-constructed units turn students into history detectives, improving critical thinking skills through primary and secondary source analysis. Strategies include the traffic intersection as a metaphor for exploring historical turning points, mock trials of Supreme Court (and other) cases, examining sources to "solve" historical "cold cases," and using ESP (economic, social, and political aspects) to "predict" historical outcomes. Each standards-based unit introduces a strategy and clearly details its implementation, making extremely clear how to craft one’s own lesson on the same framework; each concludes with review and reflection questions and lists of references, resources (including online), and further reading.