Eleventh graders watch and discuss various clips from the movie "Gettysburg". Using the video, they identify the main motivation for the Union and Confederate soldiers. They describe how soldiers motivation changed from 1861 and 1863.

Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...

Learners read an article about a woman who lost her fiance in Iraq. Reading a letter he left his son, they discuss how his words will affect his son once he is old enough to understand. They research the number of casualties in the war...

Students investigate the history of civil rights by viewing historical photographs.  In this U.S. history lesson, students discuss why Black Soldiers fought for their rights by joining the Union Army in the 1800's.  Students...

Students examine the social experiences of the soldiers on the battlefield. Using various viewpoints, they compare their daily life experiences and motives for fighting for the Confederate, Union and African-American soldiers. They...

World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...

Eighth graders read letters of soldiers in the Civil War from the state of Maine. They create a soldier profile from the letters and draw what they believe the soldier looked like.

Pupils 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.

Pupils explore U.S. history by researching disease in class. In this Civil War injury instructional activity, students identify the different causes of death most soldiers faced while fighting in the war. Pupils role-play and write a...

Students learn what it is like to be a child solider.

Often, the real-life experiences of soldiers gets lost back home when the war seems so far away. Scholars investigate the personal side of World War I in the trenches of Europe to complete a collaborative social studies activity. When...

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

While the Roman empire often conjures up images of soldiers and emperors, its culture was more complex. Using primary sources, including ancient historians and pictures of artifacts, pupils consider the religious influences on Roman...

The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...

Students explore how one uses examples from history to inform themselves of past and present events. After reading an article, they examine the significance of renaming a base in Germany after a soldier who survived the Holocaust. They...

Learners organize items in a "doohickey kit" distributed by the teachers, creating categories using classification schemes. For this classification lesson, students compare systems within groups and write questions that could be answered...

Learners explore U.S. history by listening to musical pieces in class. For this Civil War era lesson, students discuss the types of musical instruments that were available to soldiers during the war and the themes of their songs....

In this lesson, students are introduced to the contributions made by African-American soldiers that have been excluded from traditional textbooks. To gain an appreciation for these unsung heroes, students engage in research to ultimately...

Iwo Jima was the site of some of the most grim fighting in World War II. Learners consider this fact while examining primary sources, including letters home, from those on the front lines. After they complete the analysis, scholars then...

Pupils describe the conditions of a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. They analyze ways in whcih the soldiers dealt with prison life. They identify the location of any nearby prisoner of war camps.

Young scholars complete a post-trip discussion after visiting the capitol building in Austin. As a class, they review how soldiers received their allotment of land for participating in the Texas Revolution. Individually, they write a...

Students view a film about the role of the soldier during the Vietnam War. They discover what it was like to fight a war against a culture so unlike our own. They answer questions to complete the lesson.

Students view a film about soldiers returning to Vietnam years after the war. They discover the need of closure by the soldiers because the war was not won. They examine the results of the war and answer questions to complete the lesson...

Young scholars examine the battle of Prairie Grove and Arkansas's role in the Civil War. They discover the realities of war on the soldiers and civilians. They analyze historical documents for content.