Best products from r/historyteachers

Congrats on getting hired!!! I'd recommend a mix of PD/teaching books and content. When you get bored of one switch to the other. Both are equally important (unless you feel stronger in one area than the other).

For PD, I'd recommend: Teach Like a Pirate, Blended, The Wild Card, and the classic Essential 55. Another one on grading is Fair Isn't Always Equal - this one really changed how I thought about grading in my classes.

As far as content, you have a couple ways to go - review an overview of history like Lies My Teacher Told Me, the classic People's History, or Teaching What Really Happened, or you can go with a really good book on a specific event or time period to make that unit really pop in the classroom. The Ron Chernow books on Hamilton, Washington, or Grant would be great (but long). I loved Undaunted Courage about Lewis & Clark and turned that into a really great lesson.

Have a great summer and best of luck next year!!

I have a set of posters with Lincoln on them that list and describe the difference between primary and secondary sources. Its helpful during essay time.

I also have 5 posters like this:
Creative Teaching Press Gifts of Ancient Greece Chart (5562) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QF3SQC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qCgMzb65G102G

They look cool and the kids like reading them.

Other than that, lots of maps. Continent specific and a global one. They like to know what region you're studying.

Also, student work! They love having their stuff displayed.

This is your book:
https://www.amazon.com/World-History-Interaction-Roger-Beck/dp/061818774X

I'm rarely a fan of textbooks, but holy shit, this one is good. It's engaging and clear, often used for "regular" and honors alike. It's fun to read. It's split up into enough sections that a freshman won't go insane from boredom. I've even printed relevant sections from the book for other classes from the, uh, website that posts it for free...which you didn't hear from me...

Seriously though. As far as huge textbooks go, this one is more than manageable and a great choice. No complaints yet!

Geography Coloring Book (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0131014722/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K7MjDbD2FVF4T

This is a little older and some of the maps are a bit dated but it is still a great resource. It has maps for all of the continents but are not just “find this place” maps. For example, one of the maps is on the different climate zones in the world. My students have learned a lot from coloring these!

Seterra is also a great website to check out!

I don't use textbooks in history. I'll be honest - it's tough. You will need a lot of sources and do things like guided notetaking/lecturing and PowerPoints to get the information across. Brief, 2-3 paragraph readings with 3-5 questions from the readings are good for homework too. Try to find condensed versions of history books to help you as well. For example, something like this which I use - https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-American-History-Notebook/dp/0761160833/ref=asc_df_0761160833/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312178232056&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5033432836201444507&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003217&hvtargid=pla-481046914717&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258870937&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312178232056&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5033432836201444507&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003217&hvtargid=pla-481046914717

I thought don’t know much about history was pretty helpful and a good refresher link! I also highly recommend the presidential and constitutional podcasts from the Washington post.

Something I used a ton this year for lessons was the reading like a historian curriculum from Stanford-awesome lessons built around primary sources!

For the Revolutionary Period, I would highly suggest Robert Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789, which is a part of the fantastic Oxford History of the United States book series. You cannot go wrong with any of those books. I also second Alan Taylor's American Colonies, which is also available in a "Very Short Introduction" version in case you're short on time or you'd like a book that lends itself to shorter excerpts.

History of the World in Six Glasses https://www.amazon.com/History-World-6-Glasses-ebook/dp/B002STNBRK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=history+of+the+world+in+six+glasses&qid=1554425816&s=gateway&sr=8-1

\^\^\^ A few of us use this for summer assignment/reading. I've used this in both AP and on-level classes to supplement textbook reading.

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Chris Peek wrote two amazing "Mastering AP World History" guides as well. Here's the teacher one (he has a student centered version too). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1722350997/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Social-Science-Flashcard-Study-System/dp/1609715802

Hopefully that link works. Like I said, a tad pricey, but I swear it was the only thing that worked to get me to pass that test. Good luck, I know the test is daunting, and such a pain, but it is so worth all of that once you are in your own classroom.

An interesting aspect of American history you might find interesting is America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

Eventually, I hope you read this. It's a women's history book. It's written by a journalist, so it's written well. Remember, a lot of girls don't like history so I try to not make the class HIStory. https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Women-Drudges-Helpmates-Heroines-ebook/dp/B000NJL71E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526234901&sr=8-2&keywords=gail+collins

Also, as a general reader this may be good

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-American-History-Notebook/dp/0761160833

THIS