This Month in History: June
This Month in History, from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt®, HISTORY®, Channel One News®, and the Center for Civic Education, provides free, high-quality content each month that teachers can use in the classroom. Subscribe today to access engaging videos, resources, and current events for your students.
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Classroom Resources for June
- Free classroom resources from our partners HISTORY, Channel One News, and the Center for Civic Education
- D-Day
- Flag Day
- National History Day
- Students Take Action
- Current Events
Free Classroom Resources from HISTORY
D-Day
During World War II (1939–1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Code-named Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
Read more about D-Day
Flag Day
On June 14, 1777, during the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution establishing a flag for the United States of America. The national flag, which became known as the “stars and stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. On June 14, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation officially establishing June 14 as Flag Day, a holiday commemorating the adoption of the flag.
National History Day
This summer, the brightest young historians in the world will take a stand in history to compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and scholarships at the National History Day® Contest. From June 11–15, the winners of 57 affiliate-level contests will present their projects at the University of Maryland, College Park. Each year, more than half a million students create historical research projects in one of five categories: documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, or websites. This year-long program culminates with an exciting awards ceremony in which students from all over the U.S. gather and the winners in these multiple contest categories are announced in a live celebration.
Visit www.nhd.org/webcast to view the 2017 Awards Ceremony during a LIVE webcast starting at 8:00AM EST on Thursday, June 15.
Visit www.nhd.org to learn more about National History Day.
Free Classroom Resources from HMH
National History Day
Every day! (with a week-long event in June)
National History Day (NHD) is a highly regarded academic organization for elementary and secondary school students.
Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews, and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, exhibits, performances, websites, and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state, and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in a national competition each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Related Links
Flag Day
June 14
On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, which established the flag of the United States as having 13 red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue background. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The stars represent the states, and more were added, of course, with each new state, until the flag had the 50 stars it does today.
Since the late 1800s, school teachers and children celebrated the “Flag Birthday” every June 14, and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14 to be Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress officially designating the day National Flag Day.
Flag Day is celebrated with parades in towns and cities around the country. Flags can be seen flying on every flagpole for the whole week of June 14, showing Americans’ patriotism for their country and their pride in the country’s symbol.
Related Links
- The History of Flag Day
Covers the history of the holiday and includes information about the history of the American flag
- Holiday Insights: Flag Day
Site geared towards students that includes information about Flag Day, history of the American flag, and games related to the flag
Free Classroom Resources from Channel One News
For National History Day, Channel One News offers a free lesson plan featuring videos from our History Myths series. Fun quizzes let students learn about the American flag, as well as history’s greatest explorers and innovators.
Students Take Action from the Center for Civic Education
The Students Take Action service-learning feature relates stories of students who have participated in the Center for Civic Education’s Project Citizen program, which encourages students to take part in state or local government and learn how to monitor and influence public policy. Help your students become active and engaged citizens in their own communities with these resources.
HMH In the News and Current Events
Hmhinthenews.com is a great resource for elementary classrooms, with fun articles about what’s going on in the news. This website delivers age-appropriate current events stories about people, communities, the United States, and the world every month. Come back often for new stories, spotlight features, and polls.
Hmhcurrentevents.com enriches your secondary classroom with subject-specific information from world history, world geography, American history, economics, psychology, sociology, civics, government, and African American history. It also spotlights today’s headlines with activities, web links, and HMH Election Connection.
National History Day is a registered trademark of National History Day, Inc. HISTORY® and the "H" logo are the trademarks of A&E Television Networks LLC. All rights reserved. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt®, HMH®, and Channel One News® are registered trademarks of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.