Long before modern labor unions, guilds worked to ensure that workers had a fair wage. But, in medieval Europe, they also cooperated with the government. Using a simulation and primary source analysis, young scholars become hatters in...

The role women played in the Civil War, especially in relief efforts, is the focus of this seven-page resource. Groups examine primary source materials to determine how this work reflected and expanded the traditional roles women held in...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day instructional activity, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary...

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...

Pupils turn into investigative reporters throughout history to learn what it takes to balance different primary sources on the same topic. They use what they learn to create a narrative based on their own interpretation of a historic...

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...

While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...

Check those sources carefully. Scholars learn to analyze and critique primary sources with the work they completed in the previous activity. Learners compare and contrast sources that agree and disagree about Japanese-American internment...

Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...

What does social security reveal about the political and social culture of the 1930s? After beginning with a brief introductory video on the impact of the Great Depression and how various Americans, such as Huey Long and Francis...

In a lesson on The Metamorphoses, scholars compare how graphic artists use mythic imagery to represent Ovid's tales. Each group selects a work of art paired with Ovid's version of a myth and compares how both present the story.

What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...

Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...

After working in groups to analyze primary sources related to a historical hoax, learners will discuss how people managed to be fooled and work to identify one of the biggest April Fools jokes in history.

As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...

An interactive activity asks scholars to match the title of an Ernest Hemingway novel with one of seven photographs. 

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 construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third instructional activity in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children...

Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...

Following the book, Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal, readers complete an activity for each chapter, take part in discussions, and respond to several questions. To show what they know, scholars create an alphabet book using primary...

With throngs of Americans out of work and hungry, Franklin D. Roosevelt made the bold move to establish a social safety net with programs such as Social Security. The move was—and still is—controversial. Using documents from the 1930s,...

A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...

Don some detective caps and delve into the past to explore the evidence left behind after the attack on Pearl Harbor. An interesting activity uses primary sources to explore how the United States Navy was caught off guard and how the...

Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and...