DocsTeach
The Long Struggle for LGBTQ+ Civil Rights
Academics analyze 10 primary documents and photos to create a timeline of the LQBTQ+ movement. The activity includes an online worksheet. Scholars also participate in a group discussion to understand the long struggle the LGBTQ+...
City University of New York
Woman's Suffrage and World War I
How did women use President Wilson's ideals and rhetoric in their bid for suffrage? To answer this essential question, class groups analyze primary written documents and visual images.
Curated OER
Abigail’s War: The American Revolution through the Eyes of Abigail Adams
Four lessons, performed over four weeks, pay special attention to Abigail Adams. Fifth graders analyze primary and secondary sources, read texts, discuss and write about Adams' experience during the Revolutionary War—the Battle of Bunker...
Huntington Library
Everyday Life - Exploring the California Missions
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...
Captioned Media
Creating Dramatic Monologues from The Grapes of Wrath
Set in Oklahoma in the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath presents a powerful view of life during the Great Depression. An insightful lesson plan takes a closer look at the characters in John Steinbeck's classic novel, combining the...
American Battle Monuments Commission
Honoring Service, Achievements, and Sacrifice: A WWI Virtual Field Trip
The largest offensive in United States military history comes alive in a online interactive resource. Young historians explore the Meuse Argonne battlefield and scour the landscape for evidence from the battle. They then use primary...
DocsTeach
The Titanic Disaster: Measuring Loss of Life, Property and Injuries
One man's unsinkable dream became a disaster for many. An intriguing activity uses primary sources to examine the claims made by Titanic survivors against the White Star Line. Scholars analyze the claims, complete a worksheet, and...
Center for History Education
Civil Rights and Cold Warriors
Three presidents, three views on civil rights. Scholars compare the administrations of President Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy to understand how each addressed the issue of civil rights. The lesson plan uses primary sources and graphic...
National WWII Museum
Pearl Harbor: Analyzing FDR's Pearl Harbor Address
FDR's words calling the attack on Pearl Harbor a "day in infamy" have been immortalized. Learners use analysis and discussion questions to consider the origins and drafting of the famed speech that brought the United States into World...
Albert Shanker Institute
Who Was Bayard Rustin?
Who was Bayard Rustin? Pupils analyze a series of primary source documents to learn about this important figure in the civil rights movement. The lesson contains a short film to watch along with guiding questions and other resources...
EngageNY
Analyzing Author’s Point of View: Earthquake Excerpt of “Comprehending the Calamity”
How do authors convey their points of view? Using the resource, scholars read an excerpt from a primary source document about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Then, they complete graphic organizers to analyze the author's point of view.
Mr. Roughton
How to Analyze Art
How does analyzing art differ from analyzing text? Young historians consider a piece of Italian Renaissance art and practice another type of primary source analysis through a close look and discussion of Bernardo Zenale's...
Library of Congress
Oral History and Social History
Learners examine the Great Depression. In this oral and social histories instructional activity, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the America in the 1930's.
Curated OER
What was Rationing?
Students analyze primary source documents to learn about World War II. In this world history lesson, students use cheese and bread rationing coupons issued during the second World War to gather information about the documents and the...
Curated OER
Tools of the Historian: Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Students identify the difference between primary and secondary sources. They discuss the importance of evaluating all sources they might use. They read primary and secondary sources that relate to the colonial period.
Curated OER
Courtship and Marriage
Students research the concept of courtship and marriage as it pertains to early New England and explore the values and culture that shaped our history. In this courtship and marriage lesson, students examine primary source documents that...
Curated OER
The Poetry of Chinese Immigration
Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...
Curated OER
Teacher Notes
Gathering information, distinguishing between arguments, preparing an oral presentation; these skills are fostered as 10th graders explore aspects of global trade and politics. They use the Internet to gather information about NATO, The...
Curated OER
The Question of Annexation
Middle schoolers examine the sequence of events that led up to the annexation of Texas to the United States. They create a timeline of significant events, analyze primary source letters from this time period, and write a letter from the...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"
Your class examines F.D.R.'s speech for examples of repetition, alliteration, emotionally charged words, etc. They listen to the speech and interview a person who heard it delivered. They finish by writing an article about the experience.
Polk County Public Schools
The French and Indian War
Sharpen those pencils and get to writing with a series of document-based questions about the French and Indian War. High schoolers focus on maps, letters, and other primary documents from the 18th century before answering writing prompts...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's Secession in 1861: Embraced with Joy and Great Confidence. Why?
From December 20, 1860 to June 8, 1861, eleven states seceded from the Union. Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Why did so many white Alabamians want to secede? Why did they believe the South could win the war? These are the essential...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Cells for Sale - Convict Leasing in Alabama
The benefits and drawbacks of convict leasing following the Civil War are the focus of a lesson that asks groups to examine primary source materials to gain an understanding of the program before individuals decide whether they...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson...