DocsTeach
Documenting Key Presidential Decisions
It's match time! Academics participate in an exciting matching game using primary sources. The activity uses documents of key decisions and matches them to the presidents that they are attributed to. Scholars also make a list of key...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Battle of Britain
Had Britain not emerged as the victors of the 1940 Battle of Britain, World War II would have ended much differently—and the world as we know it would be catastrophically altered. Learn more about this pivotal moment that kept the Nazis...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Deception and Bluff
World War II left the British desperate for help in any form—including in the form of a magician! High schooler conduct research on Jasper Maskelyne, a stage magician who used his talents to deceive the Germans on the war front, before...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Invasion
Without the benefit of history, Western Europe in the 1940's had no idea what was about to befall them. Class members use primary sources, including political cartoons, videos, and internal documents, to analyze how much of a threat...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Camps
Britain's decision not to bomb German death camps in World War II has provided many questions for historians, but with a primary source analysis lesson, high school students may be a step closer to finding out the truth. Learners read...
iCivics
DBQuest: The Nashville Sit-In Movement
What was it like to be a part of the sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement? Learners consider the question and whether the protests were effective using an online documents-based investigation. The program allows for virtual...
CK-12 Foundation
Graphs of Functions Based on Rules: Plotting Profits
Profit from this interactive on graphing and interpreting functions. An interactive allows learners to plot a square root function representing a company's profits. They answer some challenge questions that require interpreting this...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin
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,...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Occupation
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...
US National Archives
WWII: Asia 1939-45 – Burma
Because World War II encompassed most of the globe in one way or another, many pivotal battles and events are not as visible in the history books, leaving veterans of these conflicts feeling overlooked by more famous skirmishes. High...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Hamburg
Was bombing German cities an effective means to an end, or was it a war crime? Could it be both? Young historians ponder these questions with an activity that prompts them to use primary sources to summarize the debate surrounding RAF...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Stalingrad
Acts of civilian courage in Great Britain—and in one case, the island of Malta—often receive the George Cross, instituted by King George VI at the beginning of World War II. After the valiant defense of Stalingrad by its inhabitants,...
DocsTeach
Senators' Pay in the First Congress
Senators are public servants but they do get paychecks. The activity focuses on historical analysis and a treasury document from the first Congress. Scholars read the document, answer questions, and participate in group discussion to...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – D-Day
D-Day, also known as the Normandy Invasion, was a true turning point for the Allied forces and one of the most successful campaigns of World War II. After researching the factors that contributed to the campaign's success, high schoolers...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – End of the War
You are Winston Churchill, and on May 9th, 1945, you receive millions of grateful cards and telegrams. How do you respond? High schoolers put themselves in the Prime Minister's chair with an activity that prompts them to respond to a...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Ukraine
Was Joseph Stalin desperate or exaggerating the USSR's need for assistance on the Eastern Front in 1942? History students examine two differing opinions on Stalin's position and the reality of the Eastern Front just three years before...
US National Archives
WWII: Asia 1939-45 – Singapore
The fall of Singapore in World War II was shocking news for the Allied forces—but why? High schoolers explore primary source documents and videos to determine why February 15, 1942 was a wake-up call to the British Empire and its allies...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Iwo Jima
Of the images that have permeated history to define American courage, perseverance, and patriotism, the 1945 photograph of United States Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most well known. After researching the pivotal...
US National Archives
WWII: The Atlantic 1939-45 – Battle of the Atlantic
The most dangerous line of attack during World War II wasn't the German planes soaring above Britain, but the U-Boats cutting off their supplies of food and equipment. Learners research the Battle of the Atlantic, the German campaign to...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Pearl Harbor
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...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Japan and the Atom Bomb
Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Resistance and SOE
Germany seemed to be unstoppable in the early years of World War II, but the tireless and sacrificial work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) helped to steer the war in another direction. After exploring primary source documents,...
DocsTeach
Analyzing Jackie Robinson's White House Letter
Jackie Robinson: A hero on and off the field. An eye-opening activity focuses on Jackie Robinson's social activism during and after the civil rights movement. Academics read a letter addressed to President Nixon, answer questions, and...
DocsTeach
Why Did Women Want the Right to Vote?
No taxation without representation may have been the battle cry of the American Revolution, but women used the same argument when demanding their right to vote in the late 1800 and early 1900s. Young historians examine petitions from...