Interactive
DocsTeach

Deborah Sampson Gannett: A Woman Soldier in the Revolutionary War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Fact or fiction: Women fought as soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The resource highlights the life of Deborah Sampson Gannett, a woman who disguised herself as a man to fight during the war. Academics decipher a legal document and...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Black Soldiers in the Civil War

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and Escalation of the Vietnam War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution propelled America's involvement into a bloody conflict—and it was based on a fallacy. Using the resolution and other documents from the Vietnam War, including declassified documents, young historians...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Fredericksburg 360

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Urban combat long preceded today's video games. Pupils today experience the battle of Fredericksburg—a major Civil War engagement in an American city—using a 360-degree interactive app. Users explore the battlefield online, using  a...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Antietam 360

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It was the single bloodiest day in Civil War history. Now, class members have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam using an interactive website. Supplemental resources include...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1863: Shifting Tides

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The victory at Gettysburg is forever immortalized in the famous speech given by Present Abraham Lincoln. Designed for secondary pupils, an interesting lesson plan explains how 1863 was a pivotal year for the Union. Academics explore the...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Battle of Saltville

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Battle Strategy

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Preserving Battlefields

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Save that site! Budding historians go on a rescue mission to save important Civil War battle sites using a project-based lesson. After carefully researching the importance of critical engagements and evaluating current threats, learners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chancellorsville 360

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Experience a Civil War battlefield up close. Chancellorsville 360 allows scholars to explore the battlefield in an interactive format. The site demonstrates the layout of the battlefield, strategies, and key events. Created for high...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Life At War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A thought-provoking lesson plan explores what life was like for Civil War soldiers. With a presentation, group discussion, and writing activity, academics learn about camp living conditions, what soldiers ate, and how they dressed. 
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Experiencing the Battle of Franklin

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Scholars watch videos, study an animated map, and read a firsthand written account to explore the impact of the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War. Academics analyze images, complete worksheets, and create journal entries to...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Common Civil War Soldier

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
If it were possible to step back in time, what would learners want to know about the Civil War? With the aid of discussion prompts, they now have that chance. Invite a Civil War re-enactor to your classroom and have all their questions...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While Joshua Chamberlain's name is not as iconic as Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee, he still played a pivotal role in the military engagements of the Civil War. Using two secondary sources—including one that draws heavily from his...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Jeremiah Handley

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Designed for middle school scholars, a instructional activity explores the life of Jeremiah Handley, a young man when the Civil War broke out. Pupils read Handley's personal story, accounts of battles, and view images to understand what...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

World War II Home Front - Mobilization in Alabama

For Teachers 6th
Ships, tanks, and planes—what does a military need to fight a war? An interesting lesson explains the government's military mobilization efforts in Alabama during WWII. Class members look at a PowerPoint presentation and discuss how the...
Activity
National WWII Museum

Strategic Decision Making in the Pacific Scenarios

For Students 7th - 12th
Individuals decide what they would do when faced with a difficult military decision that puts others' safety in jeopardy. The lesson also gives the real-life outcomes of the scenarios that occurred during World War II to give them a...
Activity
National WWII Museum

Picturing the War in the Pacific Photos, Datelines and Captions

For Students 7th - 12th
Young historians have the opportunity to see photos from the war in the Pacific and learn more about what each photo represents. Scholars use their knowledge of WWII to match dates and descriptions to real-life photos from the war. The...
Lesson Plan
Syracuse University

Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What was it like to enlist as a soldier in the Civil War? By using enlistment papers, young scholars consider this question. After they've looked at the primary source and discussed it, they create a short story of a fictional soldier to...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Dear Mother: Synthesizing Historical Evidence

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
It's one thing to read history, it's another to live it. Pupils examine secondary and primary sources that detail the training of soldiers before deployment. Then, they consider the impact of primary sources on how they understand the...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Sitting Bull: Spiritual Leader and Military Leader

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

The Red Ball Express: Statistics as Historical Evidence

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Historians use all kinds of information to make conclusions ... including statistics. Young scholars examine how two historians evaluate The Red Ball Express—a supply line staffed primarily by African Americans—using numbers. The...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Eisenhower on D-Day: Comparing Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to troops for D-Day is iconic. Individuals examine Eisenhower's words and compare that to historians' understanding of the epic events of that day using primary sources, an essay, and a Venn diagram to...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Iwo Jima: The View from the Front Lines

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the most grim fighting in World War II. Learners consider this fact while examining primary sources, including letters home, from those on the front lines. After they complete the analysis, scholars then...