Practice analyzing primary sources in a thought-provoking lesson on the impact of slavery. Young historians read a petition regarding the Fugitive Slave Law and answer a series of questions to understand the importance of the document....

Decode primary sources in a fast-paced activity. A quick guessing game helps pupils use visual clues to understand primary sources. Academics look at a picture of the cotton gin and must guess what it is without other knowledge or clues....

Out of the mouth of babes ... often times comes gems. The activity uses a letter written by a third-grader in 1974 regarding President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Scholars analyze the letter, complete a worksheet, and participate in...

Sometimes images tell shocking stories. Individuals examine a Lewis Hines picture of children packing beans and consider the impact working in a factory had on their young lives. A series of prompts emailed to the teacher helps them...

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...

War: unavoidable or a necessary evil? A thought-provoking activity explores the United States' long involvement in the Vietnam War as well as the aftermath. Scholars research and summarize primary documents and complete online worksheets...

Breaking news, President Johnson addresses the nation! Scholars watch a video of President Johnson's address to Congress regarding the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The activity focuses on the  motivation behind the resolution and the...

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...

Though December 7th, 1941 was a day "which would live in infamy," World War II had provided many infamous days, events, battles, and atrocities in the years before. So why were American forces so surprised when Japan attacked Pearl...

Warsaw, Poland, suffered much of the blunt of World War II—but according to Polish letters from the early days of Nazi occupation, other parts of the country were much worse off. High schoolers use the letters and contemporaneous...

Introduce young historians to primary source analysis with a lesson that teaches them how to use a four-step process to analyze a photograph of a 1913 Suffrage Parade. Groups practice the process and share their observations with the...

Benjamin Franklin was many things: a scientist, businessman, diplomat, politician. Learners explore facets of the legendary figure with a matching activity. By matching primary source documents to their descriptions, they analyze the...

The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...

Organized crime and speakeasies ... just another day during Prohibition. An intriguing activity explores the world of Prohibition and its consequences on life in the United States. Scholars analyze primary sources and place them on a...

Vote ... it's your right! An enlightening lesson examines the history of voting rights for Native Americans. Leaners analyze primary documents and place them in chronological order. Academics also create a list of other events that took...

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

This document or that? Historians compare crucial documents from both the American and French Revolution to gain a better understanding of the purpose and impact the documents had on each nation. Academics read excerpts from both...

An activity focuses on Lucy Ridsdale, a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. Scholars analyze primary sources and place them in the correct sequence. Academics also complete a worksheet and participate in group discussion to...

Just who was Clara Barton? Using an archive photo from the National Archives, class members consider the legacy of the founder of the American Red Cross. The activity includes the photograph, along with prompts to help young scholars...

A true glimpse of the past, Angelic La Moose smiles back from more than 100 years ago. Young learners examine the picture of a young girl on a Montana Native American reservation from 1913 to comb it for historical details. A form, which...

Before her career as a Supreme Court Justice, the Notorious RBG was a legal activist for women's rights. Using a letter from then-Professor Ginsburg, young historians carefully examine a letter from Ginsburg to a member of Congress...

Believe it or not, the plugs and wires on Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for telegraph improvements has a direct connection to devices today. Young historians examine the fine details of the patent application. After they...

How difficult was it to get everyone to agree on the contents of the Constitution? Historians analyze the task of the Founding Fathers in creating the United States Constitution. They research a directory of video clips, primary sources,...

Elementary scholars become Sherlock Holmes to analyze a lithograph showcasing the Boston Tea Party. Scholars view the image with some pieces missing and must write an observation. Individuals are then shown the whole image and asked to...