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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mystery of History-Original Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research the events surrounding the Alamo in 1863, and explore the differences between primary and secondary sources of information. They brainstorm lists of items used to research a subject and categorize them as primary or...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Center for History and New Media

Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860

For Teachers 4th - 11th Standards
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore primary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Source Documents

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine copies of primary source documents and determine the document's value to a researcher. They analyze and evaluate the document for bias or contradiction. They know the difference between a primary and secondary source.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Primary Sources

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students explore the usage of primary sources, what they are and how they originate. Artifacts are compared and contrasted as part of this historical inquiry as questions are formulated and conclusions drawn.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Communities in Crisis Lesson 1: Primary Source? What is That?

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Distinguish between primary and secondary source documents using the theme of philanthropy. Middle schoolers discuss Anne Frank: The Diary of Young Girl as a way to study the past using a primary source. Then they investigate how to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students identify legends in Tennessee and U.S. history, and differentiate between primary and secondary sources. They list examples of primary and secondary sources, participate in a field trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and...
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Lesson Plan
Briscoe Center for American History

Identifying Primary Source Documents

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Who is Mary Maverick and why is she important? the focus of this, the second in a series of five lessons that are designed to introduce middle schoolers to how historians use primary source documents to understand the past, is on how to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Crittenden Conway Duel

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore primary and secondary sources. In this primary and secondary source lesson, students investigate a crime scene. Students search for evidence around the classroom and evaluate their findings. Students write a crime report...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We Are History: Family Stories

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine their own family heritage and share family stories with the class. They differentiate between primary and secondary sources, and bring in and write about three artifacts from their family. They conduct an interview...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Experiences: Window to the Past

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson plan, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Signature History

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slavery in America at the Time of the Civil War: Sources

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners discover how to use primary and secondary sources in research. In this Civil War instructional activity, students conduct research on slavery as they distinguish between primary and secondary sources regarding the same events.
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson plan that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads...
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Lesson Plan
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TPS Journal

Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Primary and Secondary Documents for Colonial Times

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students investigate the Colonial Era by completing a template on their computers.  In this U.S. History lesson, students discuss the differences between primary and secondary sources and identify several different sources as one or the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Story and History: Peeking into the Past with Paintings

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Consider how you can use a visual source, such as a painting, to learn about a historical time or event. Young learners discuss primary sources and how they differ from secondary sources, then analyze the painting Mother and Child by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Explore New England government in the 1700's with your class. They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Library of Congress

Determining Point of View: Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
If you're teaching point of view, this is the lesson for you! First, decipher the writer's point of view from a primary resource, then compare and contrast the primary source with a secondary source to explore the Paul Revere's engraving...
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Lesson Plan
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Where Is Angel Island? An Introductory Geography Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Prepare young historians for a study of Angel Island Immigration Station with a lesson examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. Using what they have learned, individuals create a map of Angel Island, labeling...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mystery of History - Original Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine and discuss the differences between primary and secondary sources. They brainstorm examples of each, locate examples of primary and secondary sources on the Internet, and identify three primary sources from home.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brutal British

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet Hannah the Weaver

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students analyze primary and secondary sources to explore slavery and emancipation, and write letter or diary entry from point of view of slave Hannah Harris or plantation owner Robert Carter. Students then dramatize their creative...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Developing Writing Skills Through Japanese Folk Music

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students listen to Japanese folk songs to get inspired to create a writing piece about Japan.  In this writing lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to add information about Japan. 
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Queen Anne's War and Its Impact on Deerfield

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.