Smithsonian Institution
Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
Curated OER
Prairie Voices: Community Development, Investigating Local History
Students investigate local history. In this research skills activity, students examine historic landmarks, tax records, fire maps, town plans, historic photographs, newspapers, and other primary sources to learn about local communities...
Curated OER
Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local
Young scholars explore personal, local, state, and national history. For this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local,...
PBS
Document This
Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...
Curated OER
Real-Life History: Looking at Our Community
Spend several days with your class exploring local history. Learners brainstorm and categorize sources of historical information as primary or secondary; collect and present artifacts from family/community; construct a definition of...
Teaching Tolerance
Dismantling Racial Caste
It's time to end racism. The final installment of the series encourages scholars to consider what is needed to ended the racial caste system in the U.S. Young historians complete group discussion, written prompt, and a hands-on-activity...
Curated OER
Exploring Community Through Local History: Oral Stories, Landmarks and Traditions
Students explore the history of their local community. In this local history lesson, students analyze primary documents to develop an understanding of the local culture and traditions of their local community.
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 They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
Polar Trec
Arctic Smorgasbord!
Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...
Curated OER
Past and Present
Students research their community history and choose on aspect to create an iMovie on. They use digital photographs and old images of community place that show how they have changed.
Curated OER
Examining the Spanish Flu of 1918
Eighth graders take a closer look at the Spanish influenza breakout of 1918. In this research skills activity, 8th graders examine primary sources gathered by their instructor and identify how communities prepared (or did not prepare...
Curated OER
North Platte Canteen and World War II
Students employ primary resources to investigate the rise and decline of a canteen in World War II. The significance of volunteerism and the use of the railroad for troop transportation are examined.
Curated OER
2002 City of Newark Mayoral Campaign
High schoolers research community issues and develop a consensus of issues they think the next mayor should address and study the candidates' positions they have chosen to track.
Curated OER
Discovering the Local Community
Third graders create a mini-atlas of the human and physical characteristics of their local community, which includes landforms, climate, vegetation, population, and economics. They use nonfiction map-related resources to obtain ...
Curated OER
How to incorporate local history into your Arkansas History class
Fifth graders explore their local history through research and then providing reenactments about the history.
Curated OER
Life of a Civil War Soldier
Eighth graders write about the physical hardships endured by soldiers of the Civil War. They compare the losses between two communities during the Civil War. They analyze personal letters to understand what a battle was like. They...
Curated OER
Kids Can Make a Difference
What is a philanthropist? We can all be philanthropists! After assessing the needs of the school and listening to literature about how they can help others, primary learners develop a class project and maintain a journal of their...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Asian Islam and Arab Islam
Focus on the impact and practice of Islam throughout Asia and the Middle East. Learners review the seven major religions, the spread of Islam, and Islamic tenets commonly practiced. They then research one country that practices Islamic...
Facing History and Ourselves
What Makes Memphis a Community?
Sixth graders explore the community identity of Memphis, Tennessee. After examining primary and secondary sources, class members describe the city and its attributes that make it a unique community.
Smithsonian Institution
Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis
Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...
Curated OER
Different Viewpoints - Loyalist or Patriot
Third graders use primary sources to study U.S. history and government. In this primary sources lesson, 3rd graders practice gathering information from "eye witness" accounts of history.
Virginia Department of Education
A Salt Marsh Ecosystem
What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion...
Curated OER
Becoming A Local Historian
Students practice the art of being a historian. They compare primary and secondary resources to conduct a critical thinking assignment. Students compare the map of the Baton Rouge area to a modern one in order to make inferences about...