Social Studies

• Idaho Content Standards
• Grade 4 Standards
• US History I Grade 6-12 Standards

Please Note: The following links are intended as resources that local education agencies could choose from when making the best decisions for their students. These resources have not undergone the Idaho Department of Education’s formal curricular materials review or approval process. For state‑approved materials, refer to the Adoption Guide found here and review cycles on the Idaho Department of Education’s Curricular Materials page. The statewide Curricular Materials adoption process has its basis in §33-118 and §33-118A, Idaho Code. Idaho Code 33-512A outlines the local process for curricular adoption that includes a review by a curricular materials adoption committee, followed by final approval from a locally elected board.

America’s Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Free K–12 curriculum packets for social studies, U.S. history, government, and economics. Includes lesson plans, reproducible handouts, and primary-source readings emphasizing American founding principles, constitutional government, and economic freedom; can be used as a civics/US history core or as enrichment material.
• Courtesy of the American Heritage Education Foundation

Core Knowledge History & Geography 

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Downloadable K–8 units plus some middle-school materials that integrate history and geography. Includes year-long sequences in world history, US history, geography, civics, and basic economics, with teacher guides, student readers, and assessments that can serve as a complete core curriculum or as high-quality content supplements.
• Courtesy of the Core Knowledge Foundation

Federal Reserve Education – K-12 Economics

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Downloadable K–8 units plus some middle-school materials that integrate history and geography. Includes year-long sequences in world history, US history, geography, civics, and basic economics, with teacher guides, student readers, and assessments that can serve as a complete core curriculum or as high-quality content supplements.
• Courtesy of the Federal Reserve System

Gilder Lehrman Lesson Plans and Teaching Materials

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Free downloadable lesson sets aligned to major eras with primary sources and discussion-based activities.
• Courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

History U

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Free self-paced courses with lectures, sources, and assessments for high school U.S. history.
• Courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Case Method Project

• OPEN RESOURCE
• The site provides free case studies for high schools and colleges that cover major decision points in U.S. history and democracy. The 22 available cases bring students into the shoes of historical actors as they faced tough choices. Each case comes with teaching materials (background context, guiding questions, discussion prompts) designed to promote critical thinking, debate, and civic understanding. For further free professional development, fill out a form here.
• Courtesy of Harvard Business School

Hillsdale K-12 History and Civics Curriculum

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Free, full K-12 sequence of lesson plans, primary-source readings, and assessments for American history, civics, and government. Includes detailed unit guides, discussion questions, and exams that can serve as a core US history and civics curriculum or as a supplement for Western civilization survey courses.
• Courtesy of Hillsdale College

Teach High School Economics

• OPEN RESOURCE
• The site provides full lessons, videos, activities, and assessments for teaching economics, personal finance, and AP Micro/Macro. Materials are ready to use and designed to make economic concepts clear and engaging.
• Courtesy of Marginal Revolution University

Constitution Day Resources

• OPEN RESOURCE
• Educators can access the full text and high-resolution images of the U.S. Constitution, along with ready-to-use lesson plans, e-books, and classroom activities. Resources include historical background articles, distance-learning programs, and virtual workshops to support instruction on the Constitution’s creation, principles, and amendments. Additional resources can be found at constitutionday.com.
• Courtesy of the National Archives

Social Studies Lesson Plans and Curricula

• OPEN RESOURCE
• NEH’s curated portal of lesson plans and curricular units. Teachers can filter by US history, world history, geography, civics, and economics, grade level, and time period. Many multi-lesson units function as mini-curricula with primary sources, guiding questions, and assessment ideas.
• Courtesy of the National Endowment for the Humanities

National Geographic Education

• OPEN RESOURCES
• Free maps, GIS resources, lesson plans, and global issue explorations for K–12 geography.
• Courtesy of National Geographic

PBS Learning Media for Teachers

• OPEN RESOURCES
• The site offers Idaho- and PBS-produced videos, interactives, lesson plans, and classroom materials for PreK through high school. Educators can filter by subject, grade level, and topic to build units and lessons aligned to Idaho and national standards. Many resources include primary-source content, background information, ready-to-use activities, and supports for both in-classroom and distance learning.
• Courtesy of Idaho PBS

PragerU Kids and Educator Resources

• OPEN RESOURCES
• Free videos, lesson plans, worksheets, and activity guides organized by grade band (K–2, 3–5, 6+) covering topics in American history, civics, world history, and financial literacy/economics. Each lesson plan includes objectives, key vocabulary, standards alignments, and class activities. The crosswalk with Idaho Content Standards can be found here. Additionally, Holocaust-specific resources can be found here.
• Courtesy of PragerU

Reading Like a Historian

• OPEN RESOURCES
• 150+ free document-based history lessons that build sourcing, corroboration & critical reading skills.
• Courtesy of Digital Inquiry Group

The American Yawp – Open U.S. History Textbook

• OPEN RESOURCES
• A free, peer-reviewed, collaboratively written US history text that can anchor an 11th–12th grade or dual-credit survey. Organized chronologically from pre-contact to the present, with embedded primary sources and reading questions. Works well paired with teacher-created activities or other OER lesson banks for a complete course in U.S. and modern Western history.
• Courtesy of Stanford University Press

The Story of America – Idaho

• OPEN RESOURCES
• Educators can access 31 units covering the full sweep of U.S. history, aligned to Idaho standards and available at no cost to Idaho schools. Lessons include primary sources, videos, activities, and assessments, with materials offered in English and Spanish.
• Courtesy of The Story of America

Additional Open Educational Resources (OER) Resources

• Social Studies OER Guide
  • Multiple high-quality open social studies curriculum sources.
  • Courtesy of Appalachian State University
• Social Studies Resource List
  • Free state-curated list of resources by topic and grade for social studies instruction.
  • Courtesy of The Arizona Department of Education
• Social Studies OER Collection
  • perspectives, with some economic history content.
  • Courtesy of The OER Project
• OER Project History Courses
  • Free, fully online middle- and high-school world history courses (Big History, World History Project, World History 1200, and more). Each course includes sequenced lessons, videos, readings, formative assessments, writing tasks, and professional development, emphasizing historical thinking skills and global perspectives, with some economic history content.
  • Courtesy of The OER Project