Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
Curated OER
Create a Magic Lantern Show; Freed People in the Reconstruction South
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...
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Family and Household Structure
Students examine what the word "family" means today. They identify cultural traditions that are still popular in the United States. They read primary source documents and discover how advice is passed on from generation to generation.
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Introduction of Primary Sources
First graders are introduced to photographs and newspaper articles to be used as primary sources. Using a projecter, they are shown photographs of a famous person to prove they were real and not make believe. In groups, they use...
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"my Dear Little Boys..." Using Wwii Primary Documents: a Letter Home From the War
Students read letters written by soldiers during World War II in order to analyze the soldier's feelings about the war. They explain how these primary sources teach appreciation for the World War II soldier's experiences.
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Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition: Corridos
Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition instructional activity, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In...
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Primary Sources
Students write personal facts on a photograph of themselves to create a Primary Source. They then define Primary Source and list examples as a class of places where they could find primary sources. They also discuss the importance of...
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Historical Interview Project
Young scholars practice effectively interviewing a subject and then use that interview to create a movie.
100 People Foundation
100 People: Global Issues Through Our Lens
If the world were 100 people...17 would not have access to safe drinking water, 18 would not be able to read or write, and 52 would not have a primary education. Using the theme of "100 people," this resource explores other major issues...
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US Immigration
Learners examine the history of immigration in the United States. Using primary source documents, they identify the areas of origin for people settling in Minnesota and describe the push and pull factors that brought them there. They...
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A Brief History of Fairfax County
Students brainstorm a list of things they already know about the history of Fairfax County, Virginia. After reading a primary source document, they discuss the similarities and differences between their prior knowledge and what they...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
An African American Represents Alabama during Reconstruction
The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...
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Immigration: Our Changing Voices
Students identify how immigration affects the family and or community. In this Immigration lesson, students examine traditional migration and how immigration has changed over time. Students will consider their own families and history...
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Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression
Students conduct interviews, analyze primary sources including docuements and images to gain an inderstanding of the causes and effects of he Great Depression and immigration.
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Clues From the Past: Daily Life
Middle schoolers discover the ways different cultures gathered and made food. In groups, they read excerpts from primary sources about the food people in Mesopotamia liked to eat. They work together to make a batch of goat stew and a...
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Qur'an: Sacred Scripture of Islam
Students discover the strong emphasis Islam puts on education. Using the Internet, they identify advancements in ethics, math and astronomy. They explain the importance of madrasahs, or traditional places of learning in Islam, and...
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Children in the Fields: The Life of the Hispanic Child Laborer During California's Agriculture Explosion
Fourth graders examine the agriculture explosion in California in the late 1800's to the early 1930's. They analyze primary source material putting themselves into the shoes of a child laborer. They also gain an understanding of...
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African American Homesteaders
Pupils analyze the reasons African-Americans settled in the area to be known as Nebraska. Using primary source documents, they read about the challenges they faced and compare their growth and distribution of African-Americas in the...
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Wartime and the Bill of Rights: The Korematsu Case
Twelfth graders work together in groups to examine the discrimation Japanese Americans felt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Using primary source documents, they analyze and discuss the case of Fred Korematsu who was placed in an...
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Lincoln's Political Theology
Learners continue to examine the events of the Civil War. Using primary source documents, they identify how Lincoln's religious beliefs affected the decisions he made during this time period. They discuss the meaning of his "Meditation...
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ourney Through Time: Art Tells the History of Nebraska
Fourth graders discuss early Nebraskan history. They view and discuss the painting "Sodhouse Family." Students are directed to the artistic elements of the painting, such as the horizon line. They follow a prescribed procedure to create...
Park City Historical Society & Museum
Oral History Interview Questions Worksheet
What is an oral history interview? What goes into the planning and what should be said? Why is it important that we know and learn from oral history? This is an excellent worksheet to support your young historians as they conduct...
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Sybil Ludington's Ride - a poem
Fourth graders examine the role a teen from the Hudson Valley played in the American Revolution. They view the map of Sybil's ride and calculate the distance using the map's legend.
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Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream
Learners investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class. In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...