Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
Mr. Roughton
Cold Case Rome
Pupils are transformed into detectives in the case to solve the motive behind the assassination of Julius Caesar. This resource includes eight engaging "exhibits" of unique primary and secondary sources for students to analyze...
K20 Learn
Bavaria Has Issues...Experimental Components
Do you want to be a detective by analyzing situations? An engaging lesson provides young historians with the tools to help them understand the difference between data types and how to analyze them to draw conclusions. Scholars complete...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 12
How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...
Mr. Roughton
The Travels of Marco Polo
Were the stories of Marco Polo's travels and interactions with the Mongols actually true? Using an excerpt from the book The Travels of Marco Polo, your young historians will answer guiding questions to discuss the accuracy and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 2: What Happened in July 1967? How Do We Know?
Even in a world in which dozens of participants and curious onlookers record every controversial event, the basic facts of what happened are often in dispute. Revolution '67, Lesson 2 explores 1967 Newark, New Jersey using an examination...
PBS
Primary Sources
Students see how to use primary and secondary sources to investigate history. Whether it is a photograph, book, map, letter, postcard, newspaper, or official document, students can use sources to reconstruct and relive history.
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2011
The Mongols, Spanish, and Ottomans all rewrote history with their conquest and control of empires. Yet, each made its mark differently. Using a variety of secondary and primary sources, pupils consider the similarities and differences...
Center for History and New Media
Founding of the Laurel Grove School and Other "Colored" Schools in Fairfax County, 1860–1890
The right to public education was not always so clear in American history. Readers study several primary and secondary source documents, including property deeds, maps, and photographs, about the founding of local schools during the...
Curated OER
Signature History
Students review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....
Curated OER
Activity 10: Primary and Secondary Sources
Students sort documents into primary and secondary sources and analyze their reliability. In this history research lesson, the teacher gathers a selection of document images, then discusses primary and secondary sources and their benefits.
Shmoop
ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1
Do your pupils know what a primary source is? How about a secondary source? Provide them with the information here about different types of documents and then test their knowledge with a brief quiz. The quiz is made up of two documents....
American Battlefield Trust
Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan
While Joshua Chamberlain's name is not as iconic as Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee, he still played a pivotal role in the military engagements of the Civil War. Using two secondary sources—including one that draws heavily from his...
PBS
1000 Words
A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...
Library of Virginia
You are Clever Enough to Examine a Historical Source!
Your students are obviously clever, but now they can be C-L-E-V-E-R! Enhance a research project with an exercise that prompts learners to identify the creator, location, era, and value of the information source, as well as provide an...
Curated OER
Revolt
Knowing what questions to ask and knowing how to organize information found is often difficult for young researchers. Consider using this instructional activity to help guide a revolutions research project. Researchers are first directed...
Curated OER
Document Analysis Sheet
Sometimes all kids need is a little guided practice and then they can be on their way. They can use an analysis learning exercise to help them analyze a primary or secondary source document. They answer several questions describing the...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: January 2011
Using primary and secondary sources—including classics such as the Communist Manifesto—class members consider the effects of these ideas on the course of history. Another essay prompt explores geography and history, while multiple-choice...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: August 2010
Geography has played a complex role in America history. The Atlantic Ocean has served as a buffer to protect the United States from European Wars, but its proximity to Cuba, however, left it vulnerable to nuclear war during the Cuban...
National Woman's History Museum
Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...
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...
Newseum
Getting to the Source
Reliable news stories are based on facts from reliable sources. Young journalists learn how to evaluate the reliability of news sources by watching a short explainer video. Teams apply their new source-digging skills to a current news...
Idaho State Department of Education
Lessons for Social Studies Educators
Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...
Curated OER
Sources of Information
For this sources of information worksheet, students respond to 7 fill in the blank questions regarding primary and secondary sources.