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Select a Place:
The first step in writing a Teaching with Historic Places lesson plan is to select a historic place. America's history is embodied in the places we see all around us, whether they are the sites of
regionally-important events with national repercussions or the places that help show us how national issues played out locally. We hope that you will look at your community for inspiration for your lesson plan.
The National Register of Historic Places can help identify nearby historic places and find information about them. We recommend that you use the National Register Collection, email the National Register, or write to your state historic preservation office (addresses available on-line). Once you've chosen a site, you can request copies of the National Register documentation from the Register or from your state office. You may, of course, choose any historic place for your lesson, but to be considered for addition to the TwHP series, lesson plans must feature places listed in the National Register.
Choose a Topic:
Next, you will need to decide what story you want your lesson plan to tell. Most places could be used to teach more than one topic, but each Teaching with Historic Places lesson plan focuses on one story, which students examine in depth. This focus determines the selection of information, documents, and activities to be included.
Follow the TwHP Format:
In writing your lesson plan, follow "A Guide for Developing Lesson Plans." As you work on your lesson plan, keep in mind its overall potential to engage the interest of teachers and students; relevance to standard curricula; technical and stylistic quality of the writing; imaginative and effective use of visual materials; and appropriateness, creativity, and effectiveness of activities.
Keep This Checklist Handy:
Remember that Teaching with Historic Places lesson plans:
- are based on one or more properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places;
- follow the established Teaching with Historic Places format;
- focus on topics that correlate strongly with major themes commonly taught in U.S. history, geography, social studies, or related subjects;
- use the historic place, and documents about the place, as the principal source for teaching and learning (and not merely as illustration or on the basis of minor associations with the lesson's topic);
- include at least one "Putting it All Together" activity that guides teachers and students in studying the history of their own area and the places that represent that history;
- make a strong connection between the topic and teaching exercises of the lesson and the historic place selected;
- clearly and evocatively convey the sense of time, place, and people represented by the historic resource;
- effectively engage students in learning from the place;
- add depth or breadth to, but do not duplicate, information presented in standard classroom textbooks;
- adhere consistently to the lesson's main focus in the text, documentary evidence, questions, exercises, and activities.
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