Students examine and discuss the differences between primary and secondary sources. They brainstorm examples of each, locate examples of primary and secondary sources on the Internet, and identify three primary sources from home.

Eleventh graders investigate New Deal programs. In this Great Depression lesson, 11th graders read the provided source materials that detail the agendas of 3 New Deal agencies. Students complete the provided analysis sheets and then...

Eleventh graders consider the case for Progressive politics. In this Progressive Era instructional activity, 11th graders read excerpts from The Jungle as well as articles about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Students also...

Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...

Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this American Civil War  lesson, students research diaries, letters, and photographs of women involved in the war.

Students analyze political cartoons. In this historical perspectives lesson, students use the provided cartoon analysis worksheet to examine the political cartoons that their instructor shares with them.

Fifth graders define propaganda, evaluate World War II propaganda posters to analyze media literacy, complete War Poster Analysis worksheet, and create and share their own propaganda posters containing subject matter pertaining to war in...

Students delve into primary research. In this Japanese Internment lesson plan, students make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages...

Middle schoolers research occupations of Jamestown settlers using census data, and evaluate the data to show the needs and activities of the colony.

Students review and discuss War of 1812, analyze the taking of Washington and the personal feelings of Dolley Madison by reading and discussing her famous letter to her sister, and respond to Dolley Madison in a one or more page letter...

Students examine the happenings at the Battle of Antietam from all sides. In this American Civil War lesson, students analyze newspapers accounts from different perspectives regarding the battle and then write their own accounts of the...

Seventh graders explore the West through the eyes of a settler. For this Westward Expansion lesson, 7th graders read excerpts from the diary of Narcissa Whitman as she journeyed West from Pennsylvania. Students respond to critical...

Political cartoons serve as primary source documents in a short, straightforward history assignment. After viewing two cartoons on the Monroe Doctrine, learners answer several comprehension questions about the circumstances depicted in...

What is the sharecropping system? What role did it play in the post-Civil War economy of the South? Who were the sharecroppers? Who employed them? How were they paid? To answer these questions, kids examine a series of sharecropper...

This is a straightforward handout for your class members to use when reviewing an article. It includes spaces to identify basic article information, summarize the article's contents, and construct a final critique.

Students organize the Canadian Loyalist primary source documents and add more information to their primary source document concept maps.