"Well thought out and user-friendly. Having all this information in one book is much easier than having to search through many books."
Susan Fernald, Marston Elementary School

About the New Hampshire History Overviews and Themes for Teachers
The following overviews and themes help put New Hampshire history in perspective.They paint a big picture to keep in mind during both planning and instruction. 

New Hampshire history does not begin and end at the borders of the state. Events outside of our borders flow to us and affect events inside our borders. Likewise, events inside New Hampshire flow outward and affect what happens in the larger world. In order to teach accurately, teachers need to know how the large picture looks. Knowing this, they will not teach about New Hampshire as if it exists as a sealed universe of its own.

The overviews, then, are not meant to be one-page, era-by-era summaries of essential information that teachers and students should know. Instead, they give general views of the eras. The overviews suggest themes that arise in particular eras, and they suggest points of connection between New Hampshire and the outside world. They are meant to serve as a conceptual
framework for teachers. Please note that some of the eras overlap because themes do not always adhere perfectly to arbitrary dates. 

A teacher of grades K-3 might ask why she/he needs to be familiar with the same overviews that teachers of the upper grades use. Like masons laying the groundwork for a building, teachers in the lower grades must have a vision of the final product. If the upper grades build on what has been learned in the lower grades, then teachers at all levels must know how and where each instructional piece fits into the larger picture. 

The ideas in bold face at the beginning of each era summarize some of the major issues of the era in New Hampshire history.  The discussion sections expand on the themes. When choosing to teach topics in a particular era, the teacher can refer to the overview for that era as a
reminder and as a source of ideas.

IntroductionQuestionsOverviewsPeopleLesson PlansAppendixesEra 1Era 2Era 3Era 4Era 5Era 6Era 7Era 8Era 9Era 10