Zinn Education Project

Zinn Education Project

Recommended Ages

PreK–12th grades

The Zinn Education Project offers powerful, teacher-created lessons that bring overlooked voices and events to life. Its materials help students think critically about history, explore primary sources, and understand how the past shapes today—all through engaging, inclusive activities.

Ideal for middle and high school learners who like big ideas, primary sources, and debate—and for families who want a secular, anti‑racist, social‑justice‑oriented U.S. history program.

Pros

Comprehensive “people’s history” lessons that center marginalized voices and primary sources; widely appreciated by secular homeschoolers for its social-justice lens, robust free lesson plans, and discussion-based approach that builds critical thinking about power, race, and economics.

Cons

Strongly progressive framing that some families experience as too activist or one‑sided; materials are reading‑heavy and best for upper grades; not a complete, day‑by‑day spine, so parents must add chronology and younger‑kid adaptations.

The resources are free and supported by donations and partner organizations rather than ESA or per‑student funds, so families typically cannot bill Zinn Education Project directly but can freely use it alongside publicly funded programs.

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Zinn Education Project
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Skills

What kids will learn
View all collections
History
History
US History
US History
Social Studies
Social Studies
Civics
Civics
Black History
Black History
Indigenous History
Indigenous History

Zinn Education Project Mission

The Zinn Education Project’s mission is to promote and support the teaching of people’s history in middle and high school classrooms, centering the voices of workers, women, Indigenous peoples, and communities of color rather than only elites and presidents. Through free lesson plans, teacher professional development, and campaigns like “Teach Truth,” it helps educators present a more honest, justice-focused view of U.S. and world history so young people can better understand the roots of today’s issues and see themselves as active participants in democracy.

Zinn Education Project Story

The Zinn Education Project launched in 2008 when two grassroots education organizations—Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change—joined forces to bring historian Howard Zinn’s “people’s history” approach into thousands of classrooms. Inspired by the impact of Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States and fueled by a small group of teachers and activists, they began by sharing a handful of lessons online and inviting educators to register for free access. Over time, the project has grown into a community of more than 100,000 teachers, with an expanding library of role plays, simulations, and primary-source activities that connect past and present struggles for justice.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Zinn Education Project

On a Zinn day, you might clear the table, hand out role cards about unsung civil rights activists, and invite kids to move, speak, and debate in character before gathering again with tea or hot cocoa to annotate a short reading and write a reflection about whose voices are missing from traditional textbooks.

Families and co‑ops use the Zinn Education Project website to find free “people’s history” lessons, role plays, simulations, and primary‑source activities for grades 5–12. You browse by time period or theme, download the teacher guide and student handouts, and schedule the lesson as a stand‑alone unit or to replace a textbook section in your U.S. history or civics work.

An engaged adult or teen facilitator is essential to frame historical context, moderate role plays, and guide debrief conversations; older teens can work more independently but still benefit from discussion.

Best suited for roughly grades 5 and up with solid reading comprehension and a willingness to talk about race, power, and justice; younger or more sensitive kids may need lessons simplified, shortened, or read aloud.

The Zinn Education Project provides teacher‑created lessons that foreground marginalized voices and encourage critical discussion, which can deeply engage gifted, autistic, and justice‑oriented teens. Activities often involve role‑plays and intensive reading, so dyslexic or socially anxious students may need adaptations such as audio, small‑group work, or alternative ways to participate.

All lessons are free to download and adapt, so there is no formal refund policy—if a particular activity isn’t a fit, you simply skip it and try another.

A poor fit for families seeking a traditional patriotic narrative, religious framing, or a neutral “just the facts” tone; also not ideal for kids who dislike reading, complex topics, or open‑ended discussion.

Big History Project / OER Project, Crash Course U.S. History, Nomadic Professor, History Odyssey, and more neutral or textbook‑style programs like Notgrass or Human Odyssey can all serve as alternatives depending on the family’s goals.

New lessons are published on a regular basis around topics like Reconstruction, climate justice, labor history, and Palestine and Israel, and existing lessons are updated in response to educator feedback and current events.

Start with a single unit (e.g., civil rights or climate justice) once a week while keeping your usual history spine, and slowly expand as you and your learner get comfortable with the approach.

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Meet Howard and William

Historian Howard Zinn, a former shipyard worker and World War II veteran who became a professor at Spelman College and Boston University, helped inspire the project through his landmark book A People’s History of the United States, which reframed U.S. history from the perspective of ordinary people. Philanthropist and former student William Holtzman—moved by the power of Zinn’s work and concerned about what students were (and weren’t) learning—partnered with the social-justice publishers Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change to co-found the Zinn Education Project in 2008. Together, their vision was to make people’s history lessons freely accessible so that any teacher, in any community, could help students see history as something they shape, not just memorize. [oai_citation:0‡Modulo](https://www.modulo.app/all-resources/zinn-education-project-review?utm_source=chatgpt.com)