Building Student Engagement in a Special Education Classroom

Originally published by the Right Question Institute, in the Teaching + Learning Experts in the Field resources series. Republished here with permission. 

In a 10th grade classroom, a newly arrived student from Sudan, a returning student from a migrant worker family, and a student whose family came from Cambodia in the 1970s are among the 25 students in a US History class. These three students have been silent in all previous class discussions.

A featured primary source set at the Library of Congress, Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos: Identity, Arts, and Culture (June 11, 2021 by Stephanie Hall), and the feature from the Library's 

“If you believe people have no history worth mentioning, it is easy to believe they have no humanity worth defending.”
    - William Loren Katz, Historian
 

The featured poster in our most recent eNews issue comes from a teacher-friendly album of downloadable and easy-to-share images, each accompanied by teaching notes. 

December 18, 2020 Update: Newly added to the Kindergarten unit: Mystery #4, HOW DOES A TRADITION BECOME A HOLIDAY? about Juneteenth. 

"What has excited my kids most is the chance to be detectives. They look forward to the days of the week when they get to hunt for clues."

-2nd Grade Teacher

November 16, 2020

Pairing Picture Books with Primary Sources: Primary Source Sets from Missouri School Librarian Tom Bober Feature Disability History

Bober’s new Primary Source Podcast compliments his KnowledgeQuest blog posts on picture books and primary sources

People familiar with the work of Emerging America will know that our Accessing Inquiry project and clearinghouse of resources offers one of the best available archives of accessible lesson plans that address topics related to people with disabilities across American history.

NOTE: First developed at Emerging America, History's Mysteries has become Private i History Detectives, a product of iCivics.