A thorough and well-designed resource for older students, this lesson focuses on Chaucer's character the Wife of Bath from his classic novel, The Canterbury Tales. As a way of understanding Chaucer's complex characterization and...

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...

A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...

As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

Almost every big city has a war memorial, and many have memorials specific to WWII. This is a preparatory lesson for learners going on a trip to visit a local war memorial site. They are introduced to WWII through a simple time line of...

Through a series of readings and handouts, learners will study the shifts in perception that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. The history lesson plan focuses on periods of change in post WWII German history that led to a changed...

Class members use primary sources to craft an essay about early Champlain Valley History. I would use this as a homework assignment.

Young historians learn more about the history of Angel Island Immigration Station through their analysis of primary source images. Guided by a list of inferential questions, scholars learn how to make and record observations on a...

Why did many Tennesseeans support the 1925 Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution? Using several primary source documents and a brief video clip, your young historians will draw connections between the broader historical...

Using an incredibly engaging activity and detailed lesson plan, your learners will serve as advisors to President Madison on whether to participate in what would become the War of 1812! Utilize a variety of effective instructional...

To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...

Teach pupils how veterans used art to deal with PTSD and shell-shock from trench warfare during World War I. Scholars use graphic organizers, a cartoon analysis sheet, and their own inferences to analyze primary source art work by veterans.

The Vietnam War and World War I were two very important—and different—wars. To understand the differences, and similarities, class members watch videos, examine primary source documents, and then create a newscast that examines the...

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...

Scholars view comics from two different perspectives; one paints the Alfred Dreyfus as innocent, while the other portrays the exact opposite. They solve the mystery of what happened by analyzing the source, working in groups, and...

Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary source...

In this project-based learning lesson, young social scientists investigate Stacey Abrams' campaign to protect the voting rights of people across the nation. Investigators learn how to annotate assigned articles, watch videos, and collect...

Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a instructional activity that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting...

Empowered by the previous lesson where they interviewed a family or community member, young historians examine Angel Island immigrants' oral histories. They use a matrix to record their interpretation of the feelings of the immigrant....

Case files for Angel Island immigrants are kept at the regional archives in San Bruno, California. Groups study one such case file to understand the life histories and different experiences of the internees and then report out their...

Ernest Hemingway was a traveler and added evidence of these travels to his works. An engaging activity asks readers to analyze 20 photographs of the author, then drag the images to the correct location on an interactive map.

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...

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...

How have Russian politics affected countries on a global stage? The discussion of the Russian Revolution and World War I begins with an analysis of primary resource letters. Learners finish with a project where they create a timeline of...