Curated OER
The Mystery of History-Original Sources
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...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
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...
Curated OER
Using Primary Source Documents
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.
Curated OER
Introduction to Primary Sources
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.
Curated OER
Communities in Crisis Lesson 1: Primary Source? What is That?
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...
Curated OER
Understanding Primary and Secondary Sources
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...
Briscoe Center for American History
Identifying Primary Source Documents
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...
Curated OER
The Crittenden Conway Duel
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...
Curated OER
We Are History: Family Stories
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...
Curated OER
African American Experiences: Window to the Past
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...
Curated OER
Signature History
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....
Curated OER
Slavery in America at the Time of the Civil War: Sources
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.
National Woman's History Museum
Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution
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...
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
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.
Curated OER
Primary and Secondary Documents for Colonial Times
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...
Curated OER
My Story and History: Peeking into the Past with Paintings
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...
Curated OER
Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester
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"...
Library of Congress
Determining Point of View: Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre
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...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Where Is Angel Island? An Introductory Geography Lesson
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...
Curated OER
The Mystery of History - Original Sources
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.
Curated OER
Brutal British
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...
Curated OER
Meet Hannah the Weaver
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...
Curated OER
Developing Writing Skills Through Japanese Folk Music
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.
Curated OER
Queen Anne's War and Its Impact on Deerfield
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.