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.

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...

Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...

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...

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 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...

The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...

Critical events force change. World War II forced a change in perceptions of and attitudes toward women. When thousands of men joined the military American factories were left shorthanded. Young historians investigate how media was used...

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...

In order to understand the challenges the Continental Army faced during the American Revolution, class members analyze primary source materials including a soldier's journal and an officer's letter, and watch a short reenactment video.

How did the beginning of the Vietnam War factor into the Cold War with the Soviet Union? As part of a study of American involvement in Vietnam, class members read a letter address to President Kennedy and his response in which...

The final lesson 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 economic,...

If it were possible to step back in time, what would learners want to know about the Civil War? With the aid of discussion prompts, they now have that chance. Invite a Civil War re-enactor to your classroom and have all their questions...

Sophia's War, Avi's novel that tracks the adventures of Sophia Calderwood, a fictional character, as well as the true stories of British Major John Andre and General Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution, is the anchor...

The Mexican-American war marked a significant moment in United States history, as well as in the history of American media. The mid-nineteenth century saw the introduction of the Penny Press, which provided many American citizens with...

A picture can speak 1000 words. Scholars research the Vietnam War through the lens of a camera. Examining photos from the collection of Christopher D. Ammons allows open interpretation of life during one of America's darkest conflicts....

A thought-provoking lesson plan explores what life was like for Civil War soldiers. With a presentation, group discussion, and writing activity, academics learn about camp living conditions, what soldiers ate, and how they dressed. 

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...

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. 

As part of a study of the Civil War, class members conduct a WebQuest to create a timeline of battles fought by the 10th Alabama Infantry Regimen. They then use Google Earth to pinpoint these battles of the Civil War on a map of Alabama.

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...