Facing History and Ourselves is a website filled with resources designed to help teach the truth of history with the goal of stopping hate and intolerance.
The idea, the company says, is to look clearly at the decisions of the past to enable us to better deal with the decisions we make today. This examination of our complex past, it says, will help us build a more equitable future. This initiative began in 1976, in a classroom in Brookline, Massachusetts, and continues today.
Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it, as the saying goes. This website helps avoid that outcome by educating about what would otherwise not be taught. While this is great for students and parents, it represents a powerful resource for educators to access and use in the classroom.
What is Facing History and Ourselves?
Facing history and ourselves is a website full of resources that aim to teach the harsh and complex realities of history that might otherwise go unnoticed. From bigotry to racism, the resources address the harsh realities of our past in a way that allows us to more clearly see the mistakes of the past in order to avoid more in the future.
While this is a great resource that anyone can access, it is specifically designed to help educators. There are a wide variety of resources available that are free to vary and are also aligned to the Common Core standards.
While this service has been around since 1976, the ability to access everything easily from the website is what makes it more powerful than ever. From teaching materials to videos and podcasts, there is plenty to access, download, and use as needed to fit the educator’s way of working.ai/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow” data-url=”https://audiopen.ai/” referrerpolicy=”no-referrer-when-downgrade” data-hl-processed=”none”>
How does Facing History and Ourselves work?
Facing History and Ourselves is immediately accessible from their website, so it can be used by virtually anyone with an Internet-connected device running a web browser.
Teachers can directly access teaching resources to learn new teaching methods, discover how to meet standards, and download worksheets and more to assist with classroom instruction.
Students can browse through the numerous videos to hear directly from those who have suffered these experiences in the past.
Anyone can also attend live events that take place relatively regularly and in different locations to make them as accessible as possible to the largest number of people.
The site requires users to create an online profile to gain full access to the materials, but since little information is required and there are no costs, it makes sense to take this step.
What are the best features of Facing History and Ourselves?
Facing History and Ourselves is packed with helpful resources including videos, lesson plans, full units, resources, podcasts, and more. Luckily, it's also aligned to the Common Core standards, making it very useful for educators.
The materials are practically designed with useful topics such as bullying, civil rights, the Holocaust, the American genocide, and more. Units are spread out over weeks of teaching, while lessons typically last one to two hours. All of this allows for precise planning of teaching so that educators can assess how this will fit into the plans, accurately.
Teachers are specifically offered ways to improve their skills with professional development options. These include workshops and classes (which usually involve paying a fee), but there are also some free resources that can be found in video format on the website.
It is helpful to include links to extension activities and additional materials to those provided in the units themselves, allowing for further exploration.
How much does Facing History and Ourselves cost?
Facing History and ourselves is free To access and use the site, you simply need to register with an email address and all the resources will be at your disposal. It is ideal for educators who do not need much more to start teaching on the site.
Some paid options They are available in the form of training. These opportunities are made available as these courses are conducted. Some are live, in-person events, while others are webinars and online. There are also free materials that can be used for personal development.
The best tips and tricks for dealing with history and ourselves
Start now
Choose a current event or trend that can be linked to the past event being studied so that children can relate to what is happening then and now.
Set up work
Go beyond resources and set up research projects for the class to review, with the goal of adding more layers to the story when everyone reports back to the group.
Make it personal
Invite students to reflect on stories from history and share their experiences that can relate to the past and allow them to make it more personal.
