Resource Spotlights

Archive of Resource Spotlights from CHSSP

Descriptions in some of the posts below use the phrase "Monthly Highlights." While we post at least one Resource Highlight each month, we hope you will continue to review these posts as you look for historical scholarship, picture books, and teaching resources on a given theme. Some themes such as "Women's History" may be highlighted in more than one past post. In cases like this, please check both pages as they may contain different selections!

Resource Spotlight: Celebrating Pride (2025)

Happy Pride!

While the Trump administration has continued in its campaign to expunge queer people and their histories from federal websites and monuments in recent months, this year’s Pride Month celebrations show that the LGBTQ+ community will not be quietly erased or sidelined. Celebrating the history of trans and queer resistance is more important than ever, and Professor Wendy Rouse of San Jose State University has written an excellent new blog on the subject for Pride Month. 

Resource Spotlight: Black History Month (2025)

February is Black History Month, and, at UC Davis, Black Futures Month, which represents the “campus community’s commitment to remembering, celebrating, and learning from the proud history of Black Americans and the promising future of all scholars who continue to bring innovation and excellence to our society.” 

Resource Spotlight: Art and History

Did you know that the California Education Code stipulates that all students should have access to standards-based arts education in dance, music, theatre, visual, and media arts, and yet only eleven percent of California schools meet this requirement?  In fact, twenty-one percent of California schools do not offer any form of formal arts instruction.

Resource Spotlight: Family and Community History

Happy holidays to all who celebrate — and happy holiday break to all the teachers in our network! We hope you can all take the break you deserve and spend some downtime relaxing or enjoying the company of family and friends. 

In the spirit of spending time with loved ones, we’ve chosen to focus this month’s newsletter on community history. Listed below are some teaching resources and reading recommendations that center family and community stories. Click on any of the links to learn more!

Resource Spotlight: Labor History and Workplace Readiness

In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill No. 800, which designates the first week of May as “Workplace Readiness Week” in California high schools. AB800 requires that all California eleventh and twelfth-grade students be taught their rights in the workplace. This type of instruction is incredibly important.

Resource Spotlight: Environmental History (April 2024)

Happy Earth Day & Happy Environmental History Week

Environmental history is the often inherently interdisciplinary study of how human beings have interacted with and shaped the natural world around us over time. It grew largely out of the conservation and environmental movements in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and it continues to grow and adapt to respond to present-day climate concerns and science.