THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY

Engaging, inquiry-based curriculum for History and Current Issues courses.

Perspectives from history. Choices for today.

Explore

Digital and Print Curriculum: Unique units bridge history and current issues.

Engage

Teaching with the News: Free lessons connect headlines to the classroom.

Implement

Professional Development Workshops: Useful, hands-on learning.

NOTE: Choices Program is observing the Thanksgiving holiday break. Orders placed over the long weekend will be processed on November 30.

NEW UNIT: One of the primary legacies of racial slavery is the white supremacy and anti-black racism that remain to this day. Racial Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies provides the opportunity for students to consider how the past shapes the present on these fundamental issues.

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Native American Heritage Month

Westward Expansion: A New History

This unit explores the transformation of North America in the nineteenth century and probes this complicated and violent history, considering the major events and policies that accompanied U.S. growth and the effects at a local level.
New Unit

Racial Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies

This unit provides a wide-ranging overview of racial slavery in the Americas and the opportunity for students to consider how the past shapes the present. Free in Digital Editions through September 30, 2021.
Native American Heritage Month

The American Revolution: Experiences of Rebellion

Students consider the perspectives of various stakeholders—colonists, enslaved Africans, and Native peoples—and explore the factors that led to rebellion, war, and the independence of the United States.
Teaching with the News

Voting in 2020: Values and Policies during a Pandemic

In this free lesson, students assess the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 election; identify and prioritize the values that shape their personally held beliefs; explore the presidential candidates’ positions on key policy issues; and gather evidence to analyze an issue and its role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Online Teaching

Digital Editions

NEW: We are now offering Online Open Office Hours and live online demonstrations of Digital Editions. Sign up today!

Our online Digital Editions format is ideal for remote school. Compatible with all devices, including mobile. Integrates with Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, and more. No student logins. Individual and site licenses available.
Featured Unit

Confronting Genocide: Never Again?

In this unit, students explore the evolution of the international community's response to genocide and examine how the United States has responded to six cases of genocide, including the Holocaust.

New Unit

The Syrian Civil War

In this unit, students explore the history of Syria from the Ottoman Empire to French colonial rule, Syrian independence, and the rise of the Assad regimes as historical background to understand the recent conflict.
Teaching with the News

Black Lives Matter, the Killing of George Floyd, and the Long Fight for Racial Justice

In this free lesson, students review a timeline of black activism, identify patterns and themes, consider accomplishments of civil rights activists and the enduring obstacles to racial equality, and evaluate platforms for activism and the role of social media in protests.
Updated Unit

The Russian Revolution

This is a major, must-have overhaul and replacement for this popular unit. Students explore the events leading up to Lenin and the Bolsheviks' assumption of power; the political and economic conditions that led to the fall of the Tsar; and the competing political ideologies in revolutionary-era Russia.
Featured Unit

The Cuban Missile Crisis: Considering Its Place in Cold War History

This unit probes the complex relationship between the United States and Cuba, and examines the crisis that brought the world to the brink of war.

Featured Unit

Competing Visions of Human Rights: Questions for U.S. Policy

Probe the history of human rights and consider options for defining and protecting rights.

What Teachers Are Saying

Your curricula changed the way my students think about the world. They can see their country in France's peasants and the enslaved people of Saint Domingue. They can understand Black people's plights in the language of Emilioano Zapata. They have the tools to navigate the complexities of this moment. — Savannah, Connecticut
This is an amazing [digital] platform you have. I can't believe how intuitive and user friendly it is. The fact that you have a "student view" is priceless... My students always comment at the end of the year how the Choices units we have done are their favorite. — Charlie, Washington
The digital format works well. I am able to have my students read informative material without having to copy readings that could be lost, but I have the option to print if students prefer paper. I am able to control what students see. The option to unselect material is great if I am only using parts of a unit. — Betsy, Rhode Island
I have been able to easily assign Choices readings, and since the study guides open in Google Docs, it has been a seamless transition to use the online Choices resources. Many, many thanks for providing the e-access for us! — Pam, New Hampshire
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States have schools using Choices Program materials as well as more than 200 international schools.

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Curriculum units for courses in U.S., World History, Current Issues, and Geography.

1 million

Students around the world benefit from the Choices Program’s award-winning curriculum each year.

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Professional development workshops and webinars held annually around the globe.

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