Students consider the advantages and disadvantages of eyewitness accounts as records of history. They research several accounts of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and then compare and contrast each version to arrive at a final picture.

Learners examine documents describing the experiences of survivors of the Great Chicago Fire, and write condolence letters.

Students compare and contrast the experiences of two survivors of the Great Fire of Chicago using a Venn Diagram.

Young scholars research the causes of the Great Fire of Chicago and draw conclusion as to the most probable cause and preventative actions that could have minimized the damage.

Students examine the role of John and Mary Jones in the abolitionist movement. Using primary source documents, they discover the importance of an oral history and take notes on the Jones' role. They write a summary of the data to...

Students dramatized the O'Leary hearing regarding the Chicago fire using the transcript from the original hearings as a script.

Students write a persuasive letter asking James Cameron to choose their disaster for his next movie.

The most famous American disasters - natural and otherwise - of the late 19th and early 20th century are the focus of this presentation. Detailing the 1865 sinking of the USS Saldana, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the Influenza...

This lesson enables teachers to use blues music to explore the history of African Americans in the 20th century. By studying the content of blues songs, students can learn about the experiences and struggles of the working-class...

Your class can explore standard and expanded notation, as well as computation with regrouping. They listen to a make-believe story about cavemen and the origin of numerals and place value. Then apply what they learned about renaming and...

Students become familiar with the art and architecture and history of the Chicago World's Fair.  In this public arts project lesson, students compare and contrast fine art and public art through a study of the exhibits at the...

Before the implementation of tenure in 1886, female teachers were sometimes fired for wearing pants or staying out too late at night. Scholars research the debate topic to decide if teachers should get tenure. They review the history of...

Students explore how foods and their preparation differ over time and from culture to culture. An ancient recipe for the preparation of goat, found by archaeologists, is examined and discussed by the students.

Learners study the Miller-Urey Experiment including its history and criticism.  In this origins of life lesson students repeat this experiment to see how it works.

In this reading comprehension worksheet students read a biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Students answer 6 questions.

In this Fact Monster search engine activity, students access the Internet to a specific search engine to find the answers to five questions with multiple choice answers.

Middle schoolers discover the ways different cultures gathered and made food. In groups, they read excerpts from primary sources about the food people in Mesopotamia liked to eat. They work together to make a batch of goat stew and a...

In this specific or unspecific worksheet, students read the sentences and decide if the sentence is describing something specific or unspecific. Students complete 7 problems.

This resource provides information, and accounts about the Great Chicago Fire.

A rich source of historical information on Chicago. Search through entries, historical sources, maps, and special features.

Read a letter by Horace White of the Chicago Tribune to a fellow editor in Cincinnati in which he describes first-hand during the days of the Chicago Fire of 1871.

A letter written by an eye-witness of the Great Fire of 1871, it gives details about how the fire spread quickly and efforts to fight the fire.

This online exhibition provides chronological information, eye witness accounts, primary source documents, photographs, and a mix of other resources that chronicle both the event itself and the ways in which it has been remembered over...