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...

Young scholars analyze primary source documents and images to determine how African American soldiers were denied their civil rights during World War I.

Young historians examine a memorial sculpture of the first African American regiment in the Civil War, and then compare how the experiences of the regiment are portrayed in letters and poetry, as well as in the motion...

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...

To gain an understanding of the treatment of African American soldiers during World War I, class members watch an excerpt from the History Detectives film, Our Colored Heroes, and then examine three recruitment posters from that...

The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...

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...

Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball legend; he was an activist, too. An interesting resource explores Robinson's time in the military using primary sources. Scholars examine the racially inspired event that led to a court martial...

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...

Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War. 

The final activity in a unit study of American slavery asks young historians to synthesize what they have learned about how slavery in America changed over time. Revisiting the many documents they have examined, they consider the...

Phillis Wheatley's poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is the focus of a lesson that asks readers to consider how the poem is a critique of slavery. Groups comprise a list of words and phrases they notice as well as questions...

As part of a study of the American Revolution, class members engage in an inquiry-based lesson that has them watch a scene from the play Slave Spy, examine multiple primary source documents, and then discuss the similarities and...

Imagine being on the front line of the Civil War —from the front porch of your own house. Scholars use visual evidence from primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of the Civil War on all Americans. They examine the research...

This is an excellent resource for teachers to use for incorporating the motion picture Glory into the classroom! Breaking down the film into particular noteworthy and telling scenes, the guide offers important considerations for...