DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Motel Garber (Beginner)
Young detectives delve into the past in an exciting series exploring immigration. The activity uses primary sources to teach elementary scholars historical analysis. Academics read records to understand the life of Motel Garber, from...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2013
How successful has American foreign policy been in the past? Pupils consider the question as part of a state examination in American history. Other prompts include a document analysis and essay of important civil rights cases decided by...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Photographs of Lewis Hine: Documentation of Child Labor
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this child labor lesson, students examine photograhs by Lewis Hines and discuss the implications of child labor in America.
Curated OER
The Adventure Begins: A Historical Fiction
Seventh graders create a piece of historical fiction documenting the immigrant experience in New Brunswick, Canada in the 1800s. Using Internet research from a web exhibit, 7th graders synthesize historical facts with their description...
Curated OER
Powerful Signatures
Students experience famous historical documents that were initiated and propelled by signatures such as Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution. They create a school amendment using the information gathered.
Curated OER
Straight to the Source
Research famous figures from history through the primary sources they created! Explore how these types of documents can enrich our study of the past with your middle and high school learners. They create picture books to illustrate...
Curated OER
Create a Magic Lantern Show; Freed People in the Reconstruction South
Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments
Provide your class with an opportunity to investigate an important historical document. Without identifying the document, distribute copies of the original Bill of Rights, as transcribed by John Beckley, Clerk of the House of...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Participants examine two documents related to Rosa Parks and the bus boycott, sources that challenge some of the commonly held preconceptions about Rosa Parks. They then respond to discussion questions to reinforce...
Library of Congress
Women's Suffrage Movement Across America
An engaging resource provides many primary source materials to inform a study of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Suggestions include building a timeline of the fight, using the documents as the basis of a DBQ, and/or using a Venn...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
End of the Cold War
How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...
Center for History Education
Women's Rights in the American Century
Today, many young people find it hard to understand why it took over 150 years for women in the United States to get the right to vote—why there was even a need for the suffrage movement. As they read a series of primary source...
Google
Intermediate 1: Picking the Right Search Terms
A search can be strengthened by unique terms. With the activities and presentation included here, show your class how to target their searches with unique terms and context terms. They can then practice their search skills with...
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...
Brockman Elementary School
Living History Timeline
As part of a living history research project, learners research a chosen historical figure that they will study and physically represent in a gallery walk. This resource includes a project description, letter to parents,...
Curated OER
Documenting Texas Women’s History through Photographs
Young scholars explore women’s history. In this women’s studies lesson, students will examine seven photographs that depict prominent female figures from Texas’s history. Young scholars will engage in a discussion of the photographs as a...
Tennessee State Museum
Deciphering the Document: Unlocking the Meaning of the Emancipation Proclamation
Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...
Curated OER
MLA Documentation Exercises
Has your school adopted the MLA style for documentation? If so, use this activity to assess whether or not your class members know the rules. Young researchers complete of series of documentation exercises using the MLA format. They...
Curated OER
Declare the Causes: The Declaration of Independence
Students study the Declaration of Independence and the process our founding fathers went through to get it written and signed. They analyze other similar historical documents and draft and present their own declarations.
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Curated OER
Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester
Explore New England government in the 1700's with your class. They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
National Constitution Center
Thirteenth Amendment Poster
President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Concept Analysis
Tap into the information included in this in-depth analysis of Running Out of Time when planning your unit. The document includes a plot summary, analysis of the literary elements in the novel, implications for various student groups,...
Newspaper Association of America
Game On: Constitution Activities for Elementary through High School
Who would've guessed that a document written over 200 years ago would still have a lot to teach us today? A set of folder games incorporates parts of a newspaper to teach about the Constitution and how it still applies to life...