With impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump looming, this is the perfect week to consider a unit on checks and balances among the three branches of government.
Read MoreGuest blog post for SocialStudies.com about how to design your own document-based, thematic history units. I'm honored to have my ideas in such good company!
Read MoreHaving taught James Baldwin's "Letter to my Nephew" in an 8th grade classroom, I can say that it was difficult for my white students to understand why they would need to be accepted, instead of accepting. Most of them had been told all their lives that they should be tolerant, that they should support giving equal rights to all people, without questioning why they were in a position to give instead of to receive. Baldwin’s words turned the world upside down for them. How could they be trapped when they felt so free?
Read MoreIn this blog, I would like to share ideas with readers: insights I gain from presenting on this teaching method at conferences like National Council for Social Studies and the American Historical Association; feedback from teachers who use this textbook; and thematic units that did not fit into the book (for instance, on checks and balances between the three branches of government, and on the role of religion in politics). I may even go back and interview former students who were the captive audience for my trial-and-error process of developing the curriculum to see if they've suffered any longterm trauma or untoward interest in history.
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