The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman History School is a series of live interactive courses with Gilder Lehrman Master Teachers. It initially launched as Pop-Up History School in May 2020 and has since served students in more than fifteen courses. The program’s goal is for students to be interested and excited about the content presented, leaving each lesson more knowledgeable about a new idea, theme, event, document, or pivotal moment. Teachers will deliver both stand-alone classes and full multi-week courses geared to be relevant to any student. Each lesson will be anchored in primary source documents and use Gilder Lehrman resources whenever possible.

History School is for K–12 students with courses designed for upper elementary (grades 3–5), middle (grades 6–8), and high school (grades 9–12). Some of our courses span multiple grade levels.

You can register for a course by going to the main History School page and clicking on the Register Here link.

All classes will be held online using the video conferencing platform Zoom. We recommend downloading Zoom ahead of time to streamline your log-on experience.

Recordings of each class will be available on the Learning Management System within 48 hours of the live session.

Yes! Recordings of each class will be available on the Learning Management System within 48 hours of the live session.

No, although your child’s teacher can choose to award extra credit for participating in these courses or assign them as part of schoolwork.

The only thing a student needs to join a class is a device with an internet connection. We will keep the students’ camera and microphone off. Students will be able to see and hear the teachers.

Our History School is being led by some of the top teachers in the nation, including many who have been recognized for their excellence through our History Teacher of the Year award. You can visit individual course pages to learn more about our team of teachers. 

We are committed to making History School a safe and secure experience. In order to safeguard our program, we have elected to put the following safety features into each History School class.

• The chat feature is monitored by staff.
• Students’ cameras are automatically off.
• Students’ microphones are automatically off.
• Gilder Lehrman staff monitors each session.

While parents and caregivers are allowed to enroll a K-12 student in History School we ask that you do not participate in polls or answer discussion questions. Parents and caregivers will be able to access and watch the video recordings afterward.

Please note: no professional development credit will be given to adult participants. 

Please email us at historyschool@gilderlehrman.org