We The People

 Teaching and Learning Resources on Civics and U.S. History

 BUTTON: Red button on white outline. Text: White text on red background "Educational Programs." LINK: Button links to https://capitolhistory.org/us-capitol-history-for-teachers/educational-programs/.BUTTON: Red button on white outline. Text: White text on red background "About Us." LINK: Button links to www.capitolhistory.org.

Teaching and Learning Resources

Load more

Educational Videos

Preview StoryWorks: Now’s The Time

StoryWorks Now’s The Time written by Jean P. Bordewich is a filmed performance that opens at the dawn of Reconstruction, the Civil War has just ended but the nation is plunged again into crisis with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson ascends to the Presidency determined to restore white supremacy in the South. Congressional radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens are fighting for a different vision. They intend to create a new society of full racial equality, where Black Americans will have real economic and political power, including ownership of land confiscated from the rebels, education, suffrage and election to public office. This titanic political battle between President and Congress culminates in the first impeachment and trial of a U.S. president, and to more than 150 years of continuing violence and discrimination against Black Americans.

 

View the corresponding curriculum for implementing Now’s The Time in your classroom.

Preview StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators

StoryWorks Beautiful Agitators is a virtual play reading about Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, this abridged version of Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics.

View the corresponding curriculum for implementing Beautiful Agitators in your classroom.

 

Article 1 Legislative Branch

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Article 2 Executive Branch

The Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

Article 3 Judicial Branch

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Educator Forum

Three Branches Institute

The Three Branches Institute is a partnership between the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, White House Historical Association, Supreme Court Historical Society, and the National Archives. Each summer, the organizations host sessions for teachers to learn about their respective branch of government. Follow the links below to learn more about the resources available.

White House Historical Association

U.S. Capitol Historical Society

Supreme Court Historical Society

National Archives and Records Administration

Tools for Educators

Open Author

Get started using our OER authoring tool, Open Author. This video walks you through how to author and remix; including how to add and format content, import and attach resources, embed media, add co-authors, check for accessibility, describe your resource, select a license, align to standards, publish, and download.

Created by ISKME. Licensed Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.

Open Educational Practice Rubric

This rubric defines a set of open education practices that help educators to advance a classroom and school culture of open education and to advocate for the potential benefits of open educational resources (OER) in the context of continuous improvement. The rubric is intended to guide educators in working to ensure that every student has the opportunity to engage in learning effectively by accessing, curating, evaluating, and adapting open educational resources in response to students’ particular needs, interests, and contexts, to author and share original or remixed resources, and to disseminate approaches to the implementation of those resources for future OER users to benefit from.

View Rubric

Permissions Guide For Educators

This guide provides a primer on copyright and use permissions. It is intended to support teachers, librarians, curriculum experts and others in identifying the terms of use for digital resources, so that the resources may be appropriately (and legally) used as part of lessons and instruction. The guide also helps educators and curriculum experts in approaching the task of securing permission to use copyrighted materials in their classrooms, collections, libraries or elsewhere in new ways and with fewer restrictions than fair use potentially offers. The guide was created as part of ISKME's Primary Source Project, and is the result of collaboration with copyright holders, intellectual property experts, and educators.

View Guide

OER Librarian Leadership & Practice Rubric

The rubric is designed to guide our practice in supporting and evaluating effective school librarian leadership development within this project. The components of the rubric are called elements  -- the building blocks that this project deems as necessary to support school librarians to co-lead and promote high-quality STEM learning experiences that take advantage of rich information, openly accessible resources, and useful technologies, and as they collaborate with STEM teachers to integrate text-focused inquiry and literacy into the curriculum.

View Rubric

Open Practice & OER Commons Webinars

Interested in learning more about the tools you can find on OER Commons to help your work in open education? Visit ISKME's OER Training Webinars here to watch recordings of the webinars.

OER Webinars

About the Hub

 

LOGO: U.S.C.H.S. logo. Graphic of US Capitol dome. Dome is navy blue with three navy blue stars and two red wavy stripes underneath. Text reads UNITED STATES CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Engage directly with the national institutions that exist to serve you! Since 2005,
students have explored the ways our Constitution is alive in Washington, DC,
through the “We the People” Constitution Tour.

As you explore the “We the People” hub, you will find free resources to help you
gain a deeper knowledge of your civic rights, responsibilities, as well as the history
and practical implementation of the Constitution. From videos and interactive
timelines to quizzes and classroom discussion exercises, “We the People” hub
offers enriching activities for every learning style.

Want to schedule a live virtual classroom session with educators at a participating
“We the People” site? Click here for more information. As with all “We the People”
resources, the opportunity to engage with our educators is absolutely free. You must
be a teacher at a DCPS or DC charter school to schedule a live session for your classroom.

Member organizations in the “We the People” Consortium include the
U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the White House
Historical Association, the National Archives and Records Administration,
President’s Park/White House Visitor Center (National Park Service), and the
George Mason Memorial (National Park Service). 

Our in-person field studies are also made possible through the invaluable
partnership of USA Guided Tours, Children’s Concierge, and Restaurant Associates.