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A Brief History of Book Banning

It’s Banned Book Week! This year’s theme is “Let Freedom Read!” In this blog post we are going to talk a little bit about the history of banning books, and give you a few suggestions on banned books that can be paired with specific History Unboxed® boxes. Let’s get started! Banned Book Week was started in 1982. At that time book banning had really ramped up and activists wanted to fight to make sure books were accessible to everyone. Each year, The Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association compiles a list of the most challenged books of…

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Why It’s Important to Teach Asian American & Pacific Island History All Year Long

As this year’s Asian & Pacific Island Heritage Month comes to a close, History Unboxed® is bringing you a guest blog post by Rachel Juliette on the importance of teaching Asian & Pacific Islander history, not just during the month of May, but the whole year through.   The U.S. has always had deep ties with Asia, but most schools don’t discuss this in depth. Professor Sohyun An of Kennesaw State University tells TIME that Asians were part of the United States before many white European immigrants came to the country. Unfortunately, most K-12 American history texts barely discuss this…

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A History of Memorial Day: Celebrating those Who Died in Battle

Did you know that Memorial Day wasn’t always called Memorial Day? If you ask your parents or grandparents they might remember the holiday  being called Decoration Day. It wasn’t until 1967 that the holiday became officially known as Memorial Day. It was established as a federal holiday on May 13th, 1938 and is celebrated on the last Monday in May. In this blog post we’ll talk about the history of Memorial Day and its origins in Decoration Day, and some ways that people celebrate the holiday that carry on the original spirit of honoring those who died in military service.…

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Women’s History Month Teatime

March is Women’s History Month and here at History Unboxed® we figured that it’s time for a Women’s History Month teatime. Check out the graphic below to learn about how Women’s History Month came to be. We’ve compiled a list of poetry and short readings we think lend themselves well to a Women’s History Month themed teatime. But first, the tea and snacks! Looking for more Women’s History Month lessons? Check out Women’s History Unboxed: Storytellers  and Women’s History Unboxed: Healers & Hope.   American Tea Gown, 1875-80. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Tea gowns…

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