Who is Mary Maverick and why is she important? the focus of this, the second in a series of five lessons that are designed to introduce middle schoolers to how historians use primary source documents to understand the past, is on...

Discover the rich Native American culture that existed at the time of early European exploration into the Chesapeake region through analysis of several primary and secondary sources.

Uncle Sam wants you to support the troops. Learners use an engaging lesson plan to analyze primary and secondary sources to discover what life was really like for American citizens at home during WWII. Pupils complete...

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...

Invite your learners to take a look at life during the term of United States president George Washington through analysis of an interesting primary source. The document summarizes American manufacturing capacities, as detailed...

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...

Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...

Franklin D. Roosevelt's April 14, 1938 Fireside Chat on economic conditions provides young historians an opportunity to polish their primary source comprehension skills. A great resource to add to you curriculum library.

Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? Tackle this question with primary source analysis and an essay. The packet includes historical background, a writing prompt, a combined outline and checklist, and ten primary documents paired with...

With so many ways to follow the news today, it is imperative to think critically about the sources of information we are turning to. Here is a fantastic graphic organizer that will help your learners develop the skills to...

Scholars become detectives in a lesson that focuses on primary sources. Learners practice their observational skills by examining the teacher's artifact and visiting the Show and Tell Museum that highlihgts items from peers and...

Let's take a walk—a gallery walk. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment relating to Unbroken by taking a gallery walk to view the various primary source mediums. They then use organizers to select three sources and respond to...

Historical events can be viewed from multiple perspectives. This simple truth is brought home in a lesson that examines primary source documents related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny,...

What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...

Your young learners will delve into the language of primary source documents in order to identify the characteristics, benefits, and costs of nonviolence. The lesson plan includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...

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...

Standard Oil's stranglehold on the US government is the subject of a 1904 political cartoon. Kids use the questions on the provided worksheet to prompt their analysis of this primary source.

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...

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

What freed enslaved people? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Using a set of online documents and writing prompts, young historians examine a series of primary sources, including a letter from a woman asking if she was freed and...

Ronald Reagan's 1983 speech to the National Association of Evangelicals (also know as the "Evil Empire Speech") offers readers with an opportunity to practice their skills at reading informational text, specifically primary source...

Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...

Through close analysis of a primary source document and discussion questions, learners gain great insight into how Abraham Lincoln viewed his duties as president of the United States, as well as his response to those who criticized...

A key challenge in teaching kids how to read informational text, particularly primary source documents, is finding suitable resources and then developing questions that guide readers. Never fear, help is here in the form of a series...