Statue of Liberty silhouetted against the skyline

History Matters Campaign

It’s time to start talking about elementary history instruction. Our new History Matters Campaign demonstrates how historical content knowledge is uniquely positioned to support literacy.

 

Teacher listens to a group of students
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Introducing the History Matters Podcast!

Curious. Confident. Knowledgeable about the world. A content-rich approach to teaching history supports all this and more—even in our youngest students. Yet history has all but disappeared from American elementary schools. In the inaugural season of the History Matters Podcast, we explore the vast untapped potential of high-quality history instruction to build knowledge, accelerate literacy, and prepare students to participate in civic life. New episodes drop Tuesdays!

About the campaign

Research shows that students’ reading ability improves when they get added time for social studies—more so than when schools extend time for English language arts. Yet social studies is virtually ignored in most elementary schools.

The critical role of content knowledge in reading comprehension is well established. High-quality ELA curricula have introduced educators to the benefits of instruction rooted in content-rich texts and based on the science of reading. What if we baked evidence-based instructional practices that borrow from all we know about strong literacy instruction into coherent history and civics curricula?

As a field, we need to determine what constitutes high-quality instructional materials and aligned curriculum-based professional learning for history. We also need to find time in the already-full elementary school day to teach this important discipline.

As always, our motto is to “find the good and praise it.” We do this through school visits, podcasts, social media sharing, and blog posts.

Join the conversation and help us lift up excellent history instruction, because #HistoryMatters.

Media

Podcast
Ep. 7, The Four Questions That Make History Come Alive | History Matters Podcast
Primary sources need context, and great history lessons start with historical stories.
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

11/11/2025

Podcast
Ep. 6, Building Teachers’ Historical Knowledge | History Matters Podcast
It’s crucial to give teachers time to study content and build their historical knowledge, says guest Courtney Dumas of Edu20/20.
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

11/04/2025

Blog
A Yearlong Study of the Constitution, in Fifth Grade?
What my son is doing in our Maryland district this year.
- Vaishali Joshi

10/28/2025

Podcast
Ep. 5, Massachusetts’ Big Move on Elementary History | History Matters Podcast
Jennifer Lindsey describes how the Investigating History curriculum supports what she teaches in English language arts.
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

10/28/2025

Podcast
Ep. 4, History Can’t Wait Until High School | History Matters Podcast
Guest Ebony McKiver, a curriculum expert and former teacher and state social studies leader, explains why historical knowledge-building should start early on.
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

10/21/2025

Blog
History Teachers Love Primary Sources. Do Students?
Burying history students in primary sources pushes them into cognitive overload.
- Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman

10/14/2025

Podcast
Ep. 3, The Power of Historical Knowledge | History Matters Podcast
Teachers Angela Barfoot and Lauren Cascio describe the rewards of using the Bayou Bridges curriculum in combination with the high-quality Louisiana Guidebooks ELA curriculum.
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

10/07/2025

Podcast
Ep. 2, What Makes Great Elementary History Curriculum | History Matters Podcast
In strong curriculum, lessons are chronologically-bound and content-rich, instead of “a random collection of information about holidays.”
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

09/30/2025

Podcast
Ep. 1, A Case for Teaching History in Elementary School | History Matters Podcast
Elementary schools spend almost no time teaching history. How did we get here, and how can we reprioritize this crucial foundation for literacy and knowledge?
- The Knowledge Matters Campaign

09/30/2025

Blog
Say Hello to the History Matters Podcast – out today!
Our new podcast explores history’s vast potential to inform and inspire young students
- Barbara Davidson

09/30/2025

Blog
Digging History Out of the Dustbin: A Literacy-First Approach for Elementary Classrooms
It’s time to create new, literacy-forward, high-quality social studies materials.
- Amy Holbrook

08/26/2025

Guest Article
Education Next: What Joe Rogan and Ken Burns Can Teach Us About History Class
Large audiences flock to their content, suggesting a hunger for knowledge that schools need to be able to satisfy

07/22/2025

Guest Article
EdWeek Opinion: This State Is Achieving Impressive Reading Gains. Why?
Rick Hess publishes a letter from Matthew Levey about the 2024 NAEP results.

05/22/2025

Press Coverage
New York Times: Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?
Politicians used to care how much students learn. Now, to find a defense of educational excellence, we have to look beyond politics.

05/10/2025

Bayou Bridges, Core Knowledge/Amplify (K-5), Louisiana Guidebooks (3-8)

Ouachita Parish Schools

West Monroe, LA

April 16, 2025 - April 17, 2025
Blog
Meet Lady Liberty: An Historic Icon for America, and for Us
Unveiling the History Matters Campaign logo.
- Matthew Levey

03/18/2025

Guest Article
Ed Post: Teaching History Without Stories? Your Curriculum May Need a Serious Glow Up.
A comprehensive, content-rich history curriculum offers a superior approach.

01/23/2025

Guest Article
Fordham Flypaper: The case for storytelling in the history curriculum
A comprehensive, content-rich history curriculum offers a superior approach.

01/30/2025

Blog
The Case for Storytelling in History Curriculum
Stories stick in our mind. History is full of great ones. High-quality curriculum should include them.
- Matthew Levey

01/22/2025

Blog
Can Social Studies Benefit from Lessons Learned in ELA?
A retrospective on visiting ELA classrooms over the last seven years.
- Barbara Davidson

01/08/2025

Blog
A History Lesson for the Future of Social Studies, Courtesy of the High-Quality Curriculum Movement
It’s time to get serious about social studies.
- Barbara Davidson and Kristen McQuillan

11/12/2024