Primary and Secondary Sources Teacher Resources

Finding tests that assess global history and geography knowledge can be challenging, but here's a resource that solves the problem. Last updated in January 2018, the exams ask scholars to analyze charts, primary sources, and graphic...

Young historians study the Angel Island Immigration Station with activities examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. The unit begins with individuals creating a map of Angel Island, labeling sites on the...

A collection includes 11 units designed to help instructors consider the complexities of teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides. The lessons provide students with accurate information and sensitive instruction as they examine...

Young historians, prompted by questions on worksheets, practice analyzing primary source documents (an editorial cartoon, letters, and excerpts from one of Roosevelt’s fireside chats) related to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt....

Like many US cities in the 1960s, Newark, New Jersey was the site of conflicts, protests, and civil disobedience. A two-lesson case study of events there in 1967 permits middle schoolers to gain insight into the civil rights era and the...

The Laurel Grove school was established by freedmen and freedwomen after the United States Civil War. The school is now a museum and offers this collection of six lessons that use primary and secondary source materials to tell the story...

The Becoming Us: Belonging module examines how the American ideal of shared identity has been challenged by fear and insecurity. The first of three case studies focus on the deportation of Mexican American citizens during the Great...

Teach young historians how to analyze primary source documents, including speeches and editorial cartoons with a collection of worksheets. The six resources in this collection focus on documents associated with the presidency of Theodore...

Ben Across the Curriculum is a set of interdisciplinary lesson plans that highlight the five central themes in the international traveling exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World. These themes are Character Matters, B....

The programs of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, are the focus of seven worksheets that teach young historians how to analyze primary source documents—including a poster, excerpts from speeches, and political...

A seven-resource curriculum set presents primary source materials that permits young historians to examine the programs and initiatives advanced by Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt,...

Studying the laws and policies enacted to restrict or reform immigration, including or excluding certain groups of people, is essential to understanding the complicated history of immigration in our nation's democracy. Three case studies...

The three case studies in the Becoming Us: Resistance unit module look at the individuals and groups who have resisted the antidemocratic forces of inequality and oppression. The Fighting For Freedom resource has young historians...

Three powerful, pertinent, and thought-provoking lessons make up the “The Color of Law: The Role of Government in Shaping Racial Inequity” unit. High schoolers examine primary sources, watch videos, and read testimonies that document how...

Northerners, Southerners, and abolitionists all had a different perspective on the American Civil War. To understand these different points of view, class members analyze primary documents including speeches by Abraham Lincoln, the...

Seven lessons make up a unit about African Americans who served in the United States Congress from 1870 to 2007. Young historians read contextual essays, engage in activities, examine primary source images, and artifacts to gain an...

Seven lessons examine the Reconstruction Era that followed the United States Civil War. The series of detailed lessons provide background information on the era, teaching strategies, videos, and primary source materials.

A seven-lesson unit module offers high schoolers an opportunity to investigate the role diplomats play in an interconnected world. Acting as Early Modern era (1450-1750) diplomats, groups negotiate treaties to further the interests of...

The first series of lessons in this unit module examines George Washington's contributions to the Revolutionary War and as the first president of the United States. Scholars also consider Washington as a slaveholder and discuss attitudes...

Former president, Thomas Jefferson, is the focus of seven lessons that challenge pupils to analyze primary source documents associated with his presidency. Pupils perform a close reading of several messages to Congress and an excerpt of...

Imagine the chances of a ragtag militia taking on the disciplined army and the majestic navy of the world’s largest empire. What were the colonialists thinking and what were their chances of success? Using primary source documents and an...

By 1786, it became apparent to many American founders that there were serious problems with the Articles of Confederation. A three-lesson unit focuses on the debates that lead to the 1787 Constitution Convention, as well as the...

The 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 are all statues pushed by Lyndon Baines Johnson. Presdient Johnson also established programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start. Young...

A six-lesson unit commemorates the historic Supreme Court decision Brown V. Board of Education. High schoolers discuss key elements of the decision and examine documents detailing the history of school desegregation and the conditions...