Young historians learn how to analyze various forms of primary source documents. The colorful packet is packed with all you need to engage kids in this essential skill.

Primary sources—even those that seem mundane—offer a window into those who experienced history. Using a Red Cross map offered to soldiers stationed in Paris after World War II alongside worksheet questions, scholars consider what life...

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Looking for a new and exciting way to teach young historians the art of primary source analysis? Jazz up your lesson with a resource that asks class members to analyze photos, travel documents, and letters written by some of New Orleans'...

What would be in your life's scrapbook? Scholars use short video clips, primary and secondary documents, and photos to investigate a 1909 scrapbook. They analyze and uncover what the Rogue Book tells them about the past in Western...

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...

What did Jo write her stories with? How did the March sisters dress? A primary source set designed for Louisa May Alcott's Little Women prompts learners to look over images of household items and clothes from the 1860s before...

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...

Middle schoolers break into groups and closely investigate primary sources associated with the seven different continents. After deciding which continent their primary sources relate to, representatives from each group present their...

Spy games are not just for professionals anymore! Scholars use short video clips, primary documents, and photographs to investigate Nazi spies in America during World War II.  The young detectives analyze the paranoia warfare can...

Teach your class about colonial America through an examination of primary documents. First though, start vocabulary notebooks for content-specific and academic vocabulary. Pupils can keep this record during the entire module. Once this...

Your young learners will delve into the language of primary source documents in order to identify the characteristics, benefits, and costs of nonviolence. The activity includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...

A packet of 13 primary sources provides young historians with insight into the anti-lynching activism of civil rights Ida B. Wells. Included are images of Wells, her letters, a political cartoon, newspaper lynching announcements, and a...

Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the focus of a teaching guide that introduces readers to some of the many controversies surrounding the use of the novel in classrooms. The packet includes 15 primary source excerpts and...

Scholars become detectives in a lesson that focuses on primary sources. Learners practice their observational skills by examining the teacher's artifact and visiting the Show and Tell Museum that highlihgts items from peers and...

The Boston Massacre is the focus of a lesson that explores primary sources. Scholars examine two primary source images and discuss the different perspectives on the historical event. After groups read a researched account, they perform a...

Let's take a walk—a gallery walk. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment relating to Unbroken by taking a gallery walk to view the various primary source mediums. They then use organizers to select three sources and respond to...

Historical events can be viewed from multiple perspectives. This simple truth is brought home in a instructional activity that examines primary source documents related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Doctrine of Discovery and...

Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...

How has your local neighborhood changed throughout recent history? Young researchers evaluate census data, images, and primary source descriptions describing the living situation in the antebellum Five Points neighborhood. They consider...

Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...

Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather laws? Scholars study the systematic ways African-Americans were kept from voting even after it was made a law. They analyze a series of primary source documents, complete a worksheet, and engaged...

What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...