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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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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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6 Episodes of Doctor Who for History Lovers

If you are searching for Doctor Who episodes for history lovers, you might be a Whovian. Just in case you don’t know, a Whovian is a fan of Doctor Who, the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey British sci-fi show.  As the Doctor travels through time and space, they often come into contact with famous historical figures or historical events on Earth.   What are your favorite episodes? Here are a few examples of Doctor Who episodes that you can tie into your history study:  Season 4: Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii (79 AD/CE, Pompeii) The Doctor and his companion, Donna, travel back in…

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