Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...

Understanding the soldier's experiences during World War I sometimes takes a newscast. Learners see the importance of understanding multiple points of view with a newscast project surrounding the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Compare and...

Fact or fiction: Women fought as soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The resource highlights the life of Deborah Sampson Gannett, a woman who disguised herself as a man to fight during the war. Academics decipher a legal document and...

The Civil War, a war that divided a nation. Comparing and contrasting the Confederate and Union soldiers is not always an easy task, but the eighth of 15 resources makes it easy to teach the concepts. Exercises include watching videos in...

World War II and the Battle of the Bulge are the focus of a history resource. Exercises include analyzing images, writing letters in the mindset of a soldier, and even immersing oneself in a cold experience to better empathize with the...

Students explain how a history of slavery distinguishes American society from other societies. They study posters and documents from different eras in our history which document the practice of slavery, and civil rights violations.

It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...

African Americans fought in the Civil War, and they were recruited by both the Union and the Confederacy! By comparing the wording of posters—one directed at freedmen and another to the owners of enslaved people—young historians discover...

Young historians read and analyze a soldier's direct account of his participation in the battle of Gettysburg, as well as consider the overall strategy and tactics taken by the Union and Confederate troops.

Designed for middle school scholars, a instructional activity explores the life of Jeremiah Handley, a young man when the Civil War broke out. Pupils read Handley's personal story, accounts of battles, and view images to understand what...

It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...

Eighth graders explore the actions needed to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.  In this US History lesson plan, 8th graders analyze documents pertinent to the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Students examine the process...

Calling upon the legacies of Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, and Catherine the Great, Esther Reed rallied Southern women to support the American Revolution. Using a broadside by Reed and other primary sources, such as poetry, young historians...

What do the American Revolution, Monday, and remembrance have in common? These are three of the 63 words you'll find in this word search dedicated to the major symbols, events, and features of Memorial Day.

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...

What does it mean to be an American citizen? Lieutenant Colonel Commander William Barret Travis believed that it meant honor to country first—even above one's own life. Middle and high schoolers read his final letters from the Alamo that...

A thought-provoking instructional activity showcases Civil War battlefield monuments to demonstrate how fallen soldiers are remembered. High school scholars compare Union and Confederate monuments to learn how each group commemorated the...

The Battle of Fort Sumter was both the first and the least deadly battle of the American Civil War, with no soldiers lost during the lengthy bombardment. Learn more about the first shots of the Civil War with a short reading passage and...

Eleventh graders study the causes of the American Revolution. In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders read a story "Guns for General Washington. Students read and discuss statements about war. 

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...

Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's...

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...

Scholars find out how the government used propaganda to mobilize children to help in the war effort. Lesson exercises include analyzing a quote from Franklin Roosevelt, viewing propaganda images and posters, and participating in a lively...

Gain information about Clara Barton, a Civil War hero, and enhance reading comprehension skills with a learning exercise that challenges scholars to read an informational passage and answer five short answer questions.