Teaching American History & Civics, Grades 3-5

Why study history? Why study civics? What do we intend to achieve by teaching these disciplines? Hear from master teachers across the nation as they strive to answer these questions.

Learn what is taught in the Hillsdale K-12 History & Civics Curriculum. The core content of American History & Civics can be broken down into several constituent parts—geopraphy, concrete historical artifacts, primary sources, key events, central ideas, and stories—that are woven together to create a coherent whole.

As students grow in knowledge, they receive training in essential skills that prepare them for the duties of citizenship and the challenges of adult life. Taught well, history and civics form more than a school subject. Through this academic material, our students come to know the story of their country, to understand the principles on which it stands, and to see themselves as stewards of the good things that have been bequeathed to them.

Examine the strategies and habits of lesson planning. Reflect on how the teacher’s persona and presentation—their voice, imagination, knowledge, and enthusiasm—can awaken a sense of wonder in students.

Learn how to make your classroom engaging through the utilization of lesson aids. Images, read-alouds, and asking good questions can deepen students’ understanding, interest, and passion for the subject.

Learn how to plan and execute lessons well! Proper preparation is essential for good teaching. Planning allows educators to create intentional narrative that is engaging and informative for students. 

The classroom plays a vital role in the education of your students. Learn how to enhance students’ learning experience through the arrangement of your classroom without sacrificing beauty and enjoyment. In addition to adorning your classroom with excellent and pertinent art and images, tools such as songs and primary sources will transform your students’ experiences. 

Every photo, painting, and map in your classroom should serve a purpose.

The set up of your classroom should be designed to direct your students and their learning to the lesson at hand.

Watch as Cameron McGrady, an Upper Elementary teacher at Idaho Novus Classical Academy, provides live instruction to a 3rd-5th grade history class.

Watch as Cameron McGrady, an Upper Elementary teacher at Idaho Novus Classical Academy, provides live instruction to a 3rd-5th grade history class.

Classroom discussion is essential to helping students develop their ability to understand challenging texts, think critically, and speak precisely. To conduct a good discussion, teachers must learn how to ask good questions. 

What makes a class discussion good or bad? Learn how to conduct good classroom discussions with every grade level.

Preparation for classroom discussion is essential to facilitating understanding and critical thinking in students. Seminars give students a wealth of experience. Through these discussions, students are formed not only in their reading and speaking skills, but also their ability to think well.

Assignments and assessments are essential components of effective teaching, designed to engage students actively in understanding, retaining, and applying knowledge. Utilizing different types of assignments and assessments allows for educators to prepare, reinforce, and measure student learning.

Learn about the different forms of assessments that can be utilized by educators and how they benefit students.

Understand how to properly prescribe summative assessments to students in ways that will both promote mastery and provide an understanding of students’ comprehension of the text.