+
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
+
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans and Life in a Secret City

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Imagine the lure of being offered a job at a secret site, working on a secret project, and earning higher wages! Such was the approach used to recruit African Americans to Hanford, Washington, one of several sites used to develop...
+
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Tulsa Race Massacre

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is the focus of a lesson that explores the causes and consequences of the destruction of the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pupils examine primary source images, a video clip covering the riots, and...
+
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

U.S. Foreign Policy and the Iran-Contra Affair: Was Oliver North a Patriot, a Pawn, or an Outlaw?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
If you had to write a song about Oliver North, would it be a ballad or a dirge? If you had to put him on a trading card, would he be a hero or the bad guy? Young historians decide for themselves after examining documents from the...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Cold War Case Files: The Rosenberg Trial - Was Justice Fairly Served?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Rosenbergs—executed for their role in a Soviet-era spy ring—continue the captivate the American imagination. Using a history lab format, young historians examine the trove of documents associated with the case, including photographs...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

To What Extent Were Women's Contributions to World War II Industries Valued?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Women rose to the challenge when the nation's war effort called them—but were sent home when the GIs came back from World War II. Young historians consider whether the United States valued women's contributions during the war using a...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

How Have Americans Responded to Immigration?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While America says it welcomes from other countries the tired and poor yearning to be free, the record is mixed on whether there has been a warm reception for immigrants. Class members use an interactive graphic scale and primary source...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Guatemalan Coup of 1954: How Did the Cold War Influence American Foreign Policy Decisions?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Was it all about the bananas—or the fear of a communist threat? Young historians use a history lab to examine documents from the American-led 1954 Guatemalan coup. Using graphics, government documents, and speeches, they examine the...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

What Kind of Leader Was General Douglas MacArthur?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
For five decades, General Douglas MacArthur shaped US military involvement around the world. His career ended when he went toe to toe with President Dwight Eisenhower over the Korean War. Young historians evaluate the complicated command...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Is Anyone to be Punished for This?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The stories of bodies falling to the pavement and girls dying in their seats echo to the present day. The New York City Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—which killed 147 people, mostly young women and girls—galvanized the labor movement...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Transforming the West: Did the Reality Match the Expectations for Kansas Homesteaders?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
They expected good soil and hearty crops ... but they found buffalo chips and grasshopper plagues. Using an advertisement encouraging famers to go west, budding historians examine primary sources including letters, photographs, and...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1

The Formation of the Western Alliance, 1948–1949

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Silence is golden—even when debating post World War II foreign policy. Using a silent debate format, young historians deliberate whether the United States should have kept a foothold in West Germany after World War II. A series of videos...
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Decoding Media Bias

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Alternative facts? After watching the We The Voters film, "MediOcracy," viewers compare how cable news outlets CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC report the same story about politics or public policy. After a whole-class discussion of their...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

The Vietnam War Timeline: Understanding the Nature of a Controversial Conflict

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The story of the Vietnam War is often told through images. Young historians analyze images and primary sources —including the Vietnamese Army's Seven Commandments poster and photos of the daily life of soldiers—to construct a timeline of...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Contextualizing a Historical Photograph: Busing and the Anti-busing Movement in Boston

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The anti-busing movement in Boston is the focus of a lesson that asks young historians to examine primary source documents to identify the causes and consequences of busing pupils from one area of the city to another in the attempt to...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

Cultural Diplomacy and the Smith-Mundt Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
During the Cold War, the United States used everything from bookmobiles to radio stations to improve its image globally. Using documents from the programs, including photographs and official memos, individuals consider how the United...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

Cultural Diplomacy and Propaganda During the Cold War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There's a fine line between diplomacy and propaganda. Young historians consider that boundary by examining documents from the Cold War, including memorandum about the lunar program and Peace Corps in addition to a propaganda film. Using...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

Civil Rights or Freedom? When Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement Clashed

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
When Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand against the Vietnam War, interests collided. With a letter from Jackie Robinson to Lyndon B. Johnson, the baseball legend urges the president to remain firm in his resolve for civil rights. Young...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Letter from Ruth Bader Ginsburg

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Before her career as a Supreme Court Justice, the Notorious RBG was a legal activist for women's rights. Using a letter from then-Professor Ginsburg, young historians carefully examine a letter from Ginsburg to a member of Congress...
+
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Letter to Congress About Bloody Sunday

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
The brutality of Bloody Sunday—when non-violent protesters who supported voting rights for African Americans were beaten by police—captured a nation. Young historians examine the letter of one horrified American to Congress to consider...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Post-War Suburbanization: Homogenization

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The results of World War II made waves all the way to suburban life today. Examine the flight from the cities using images and documents from the 1950s building boom, including a quote analysis and political cartoons. The resource...
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Continuity or Change? African Americans in World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While World War II was a pivotal moment in history, historians debate its importance to the civil rights movement. Class members consider the implications of segregation and the war using a series of documents and a jigsaw activity....
+
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Franklin Roosevelt's Proposal for Reforming the Supreme Court: 168 Days of National Debate

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Was it overreach or wise executive functioning? Scholars have long debated Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing scheme when he attempted to stack the court with justices friendlier to his New Deal measures. Now, learners pick up the...