How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...

It's match time! Academics participate in an exciting matching game using primary sources. The activity uses documents of key decisions and matches them to the presidents that they are attributed to. Scholars also make a list of key...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

What does it mean to be American? Explore the constitution and what it really means to be a citizen here. First, learners of all ages will investigate different primary source documents. Then, they establish each document's...

Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...

Does the United States parallel the Roman Empire in any way? Young historians work with four documents in order to answer this query as part of a structured DBQ assignment.

Is basketball ladylike? A pressing debate in the nineteenth century explored the issue in the sports world. Using images, news reports, and the rules of the game, young scholars decide whether the sport helped advance the cause of women...

Did the New Deal fundamentally shift the role of the American government in the economy? Your class members will examine the interpretations of various historians in answering this question, and use a variety of primary and secondary...

This document or that? Historians compare crucial documents from both the American and French Revolution to gain a better understanding of the purpose and impact the documents had on each nation. Academics read excerpts from both...

Pupils learn about the various types of business documents and discover how to enhance them using word processing tools. Next, they respond to hypothetical business scenarios by writing professional letters.

When in the course of a course on historic American events, it becomes necessary for learners to examine, with decent respect, the Declaration of Independence, it becomes evident that there are six separate and equal parts of that...

Talk about a quantum shift in educational thinking. The shift in attitudes toward the fundamental purposes, the shifts in the use of assessments, the shift in the response of educators when students don't learn, the shift in the work of...

The Bill of Rights is a foundational document of American democracy, much like the Nuremberg Laws were a foundational document of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. But that's where their similarities end. Engage high schoolers in a...

Imagine going from being one of the richest, most important cities in the world to one of the poorest. Imagine the history captured in the architecture of such a city. Imagine these same now abandoned buildings being destroyed. How would...

Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...

How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...

Guess Who? The first lady edition! Scholars read documents to figure out the first lady that is being described. The activity focuses on Pat Nixon, the wife of President Richard Nixon. Academics then work in pairs and share their...

To sign or not to sign, that is the question. Scholars review the Declaration of Independence and discuss the Framers' decisions for signing the document. The activity uses primary text, a worksheet, and group discussion to help...

Out of the mouth of babes ... often times comes gems. The activity uses a letter written by a third-grader in 1974 regarding President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Scholars analyze the letter, complete a worksheet, and participate in...

Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? That is the question facing class members as they examine excerpts from documents that relate to Jefferson's beliefs about slaves and slavery.

President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...

This resource is rich with primary and secondary source material regarding major events in the Atlantic world during the Age of Revolution. While there are suggested classroom activities toward the beginning of the resource, its true...

When women demanded their right to vote, did the Constitution already protect it? The New Departure Strategy in the women's suffrage movement made this claim through court hearings. Using documents, such as transcripts from Susan B....

Using the harrowing story of the Crafts, a couple enslaved in the South who escaped to freedom, young historians trace the story of the Fugitive Slave Act. After examining documents, including affidavits and arrest warrants for the...