Lesson Plan
Other

Curriculum Associates: Determining Theme or Central Idea [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
In this reading comprehension lesson unit, learners are guided in learning how to find the main theme or idea of a text and understanding how details in the text convey that. Includes lots of exercises and examples, as well as...
Graphic
Other

Georgia Tech Research Institute: Chronicling America: Us News Map

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A fascinating way to look at history, this interactive map lets you search for a person, event, issue, etc. over a specified time frame and it maps newspapers containing related content onto a map of the United States. An additional...
Unit Plan
Other

Historical Scene Investigation: The Boston "Massacre"

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this activity, students examine primary sources to learn about the perspectives of the different parties involved in the Boston Massacre of 1770, and to form opinions about who was responsible for what happened and whether the verdict...
Website
Other

Reuters: World News

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Get the latest world news from the world's largest international multimedia news agency, Reuters. There is also coverage on the latest entertainment, technology, sports, science, and political headlines.
Website
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Opb American History Interactive: Evaluating Evidence

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Use this interactive lesson to practice evaluating evidence from primary sources in order to draw conclusions about a historical event. In this particular case, the event is the Civil War. The challenge is to decide for yourself which of...
Unit Plan
University of Houston

University of Houston: Extra! Extra! What's the Big Idea?!

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Get the feel of running a newspaper by selecting articles and pictures. If you are interested in checking out real newspapers, there is a clickable list of online newspapers for younger readers.
Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: History Firsthand: Primary Source Research

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
History Firsthand has been designed to provide elementary children with experiences which enable them to begin understanding primary sources. Students move from personal artifacts to the vast American Memory collections and learn how...
Primary
Other

University of North Texas Libraries: Texas Digital Newspaper Program

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This collection of digitized newspapers represents and preserves Texas history, and begins with publications from 1829 and continues through the present.
Activity
Georgetown University

Legal Research Guides: Secondary Sources Research Guide

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This tutorial discusses how to perform legal research in a library--from locating relevant cases, statutes, and regulation to using secondary sources that include Periodical Indexes, Treatises, Legal Encyclopedias, and Annotated Law...
Activity
US National Archives

National Archives: Bring History to Life

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
How can you actually bring history to life? Here are some tools from the National Archives that allow students to create their own projects using primary-source based activities that develop historical thinking skills. Special historical...
PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Research Sources: Websites

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This slideshow lesson focuses on the use of websites for research sources. It gives the pros and cons to using websites as sources and discusses the need to evaluate websites and what to look for.
Primary
Other

Primary Source: Online Curriculum

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
A collection of three teacher-developed curricular units that use primary resources. Topics include the Ottomans, river pollution in India, and Chinese bronze bells. Additional units are available for a reasonably priced membership.
Primary
Wyzant

Wyzant: History and Politics Out Loud

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A searchable archive of politically significant audio materials for scholars, teachers, and students.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Primary Sources: The Census: Who We Think We Are

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
An hour-long professional development workshop on teaching the function and significance of the census through the use of primary source documents. Features experienced teachers. Materials and a complete lesson plan are also provided.
Lesson Plan
New York Times

New York Times: Evaluating Sources in a 'Post Truth' World: Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Need help determining fake news from real news? This seems to be a problem today. Find practical activities and questions to help navigate a media landscape in which it is increasingly difficult to tell...
Primary
PBS

Pbs: Ken Burns America

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Find assets by location and call up specific item information including films, connected themes and related classroom resources. A wealth of primary source images from events in American history.
Website
Stanford University

Beyond the Bubble: History Assessments

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A collection of innovative assessments, interactive rubrics, and annotated samples of student work with an emphasis on primary source documents for the use in a wide range of history concepts.
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Evaluating Sources

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Are all historical sources equally trustworthy? How might the reliability of a historical document be affected by the circumstances under which it was created? In this activity, students sharpen their...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Snapshot Autobiography

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] What is history? And why do historical accounts differ? In this lesson, learners create brief autobiographies and then reflect on the process to better understand how history is written. Exploring these...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Stamp Act

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learners solve a problem surrounding a historical question by reading primary source documents. This historical inquiry activity allows students to engage in key aspects of historical thinking as they...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian:sourcing Classroom Poster

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Sourcing asks students to consider who wrote a document as well as the circumstances of its creation. Who authored a given document? When? For what purpose? This poster reminds students before reading a...
Website
CNN

Cnn

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is news site features daily world and US news, weather, business, sports, technology, space, health, entertainment, politics, law, travel, food, arts and style, books, and an in-depth section. Includes video.
Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: 100 Years Ago Today

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment...
PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Evaluating Digital Information: Tutorial

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this slideshow tutorial, students will review how to evaluate digital sources. During the digital evaluation process, students are directed to analyze the following: authority, accuracy, objectivity, and currency. After the tutorial,...