Curated OER
Primary Sources and Personal Artifacts
Connect historical text to primary sources. Researchers observe and discuss primary sources. Then, historians bring in their own personal artifacts and connect them back to their history.
MacArthur Memorial
In Their Shoes: WWI Through the Eyes of Early Participants
Several social activities provide showcase the perspective of many prominent figures in World War I history. Students read an assigned case study about a memorable person and complete several activities to further understand this...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2 James Madison: The Second National Bank—Powers Not Specified in the Constitution
How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...
Curated OER
The See Family
Third graders examine photographs as primary source documents. Students are broken into groups and are given photographs of the See Family.
Curated OER
Library Main Hall: Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Students choose a historical photograph or film and try to predict what happened after the photo or film in question.
Curated OER
Kids These Days!
Young scholars create a scrapbook of college student life during the 1960's using digital archives and Internet research. They read and discuss the article "What's the Matter With College?" and then compare college experience of today...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Soldier: Experiencing the Battle of Franklin
Fighting a war over home soil makes a living nightmare even more real. Class members describe the experience of a Civil War soldier during the Battle of Franklin, poised right at a major turning point of the war, after researching the...
Curated OER
Around the World in 1896
Middle schoolers work in groups to plan, take and document a trip using an Internet Database of primary sources "Around the Wolrd in the 1890's." This enables students to break old western perspectives of other nations as they analyze...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman
Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...
Curated OER
Forced to Flee: Famine and Plague
Students examine facts about the Irish Potato Famine and explore primary resources, such as newspaper articles, photographs, songs, and poems, related to the famine. Once research is complete, they create a small collage of their...
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo History Museum: Curriculum Guide
Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...
Curated OER
Conflict in the Frontier town of Deerfield
Students use primary sources to investigate, explore and represent varying perspectives on the 1704 Deerfield Raid. They consider the reasons Deerfield was at the center of English, French and Native American conflicts in the early 18th...
University of California
Anti-Communism at Home
Have you ever been accused of something without cause? The sixth installment of an eight-part series asks scholars to create a museum exhibit on the anti-communist activities in the United States at the start of the Cold War. To make...
Curated OER
Cloud in the Classroom
Students describe the relationship between animals and humans. For this biology lesson, students research about the history of horses in America. They present a mock news broadcast about their research.
Smithsonian Institution
Mary Henry: Journal/Diary Writing
A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...
PBS
Women's History: Parading Through History
Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...
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
Personal Stories and Primary Sources: Conversations with Elders
Learners learn from their elders. In this oral and social histories lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the America in which their grandparents grew up. Learners conduct interviews with elders in...
New York City Department of Education
Colonial America and The American Revolution
How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...
National History Day
How Did the Food Administration Convince Americans to Make Sacrifices during World War I?
During American's involvemnt in World War I, citizens on the home front became directly involved in the war effort. Scholars uncover just how Americans helped the war an ocean away with primary documents, investigative skills, and...
Curated OER
Geothermal Energy in Latin America
Here is a wonderful series of lessons designed to introduce learners to the variety of renewable, clean energy sources used by people all over the world. Geothermal energy is the resource focused on. This particular sources of energy...
Curated OER
Solar Heating in the Himalayas
A fascinating activity on how solar power is utilized by people who live in the Himalayas is here for you. In it, learners perform a case study which will help them understand that solar energy is a renewable resource, that geography...
Curated OER
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Read All About It!
Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.
Curated OER
Exploring the Design Process
Students analyze the design process and architecture of Ludwig van der Rohe. In this architecture and art analysis lesson, students explore the design process through photographic documentation and architectural plans. Students use...