Create Your Own Lessons

Do you know a historic place that could be the basis of a good lesson plan? Somewhere that embodies America's history, either as the site of a regionally-important event or one that shows how national issues affected local developments? Consider writing a lesson plan for inclusion in the Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) series.

Teaching with Historic Places has developed an online Author's Packet
to help you write a lesson plan using a
format designed by a leading history educator and PhD historian. The Author's Packet will help you create materials to convey the meaning and importance of historic places to students from upper elementary to high school.

You may submit a proposal for a lesson plan that is based on a National Register property and uses the TwHP format. If your proposal is accepted, our staff will provide guidance as you develop and revise the draft to meet TwHP standards; arrange for it to be reviewed by education and subject-matter experts; and finalize your lesson for inclusion in the online national series.


The Author's Packet includes:

• an introduction to creating a TwHP lesson plan;

• information on the National Register Collection which can assist you in determining what properties are listed in the National Register in your area and across the country;

• two issues of the National Park Service publication CRM, "Teaching with Historic Places" and "Creative Teaching with Historic Places";

• descriptions and an index of TwHP lesson plans, which can be printed from the Web and used as models;

• "A Guide for Developing Lesson Plans," which provides instructions about the TwHP format;

• Steps to submit a proposal outline;

• "Some Sources of Evidence," which provides suggestions for finding information and documents about places;

• information on a TwHP publication that describes in more detail the program's methods for using places effectively in education:
A Curriculum Framework.

Please contact us for further information.