In this activity, young scholars practice working with primary documents by comparing accounts of the Chicago Fire and testing the credibility of a Civil War diary.

This Lest We Forget site is the result of a project conducted by students of Smiths Falls, Ontario. The project had students research fallen soldiers from Smiths Falls using primary sources in hopes to tell the story of each Canadian...

This cross-curricular lesson plan guides students to compare primary documents from Jamestown, Virginia to find the changes in life during the first few years of the settlement. This is an excellent plan that provides a link to an...

This unit uses first- and second-hand accounts to explore the life of Ruby Bridges and revolves around the book "Through My Eyes" by Ruby Bridges. This detailed lesson plan includes a full literacy unit, tips for small group and...

Architectural styles of the times reflected the economic status and taste of the individuals who owned the houses. As this turn of the century proceeded from 1780 to 1820, many changes occurred in communication, transportation,...

In this lesson students examine primary source documents including photographs, film, maps, and essays to learn about Chicago at the turn of the 20th century and Carl Sandburg's famous poem. After examining the poem's use of...

In this lesson plan from EDSITEment, students will discuss the significance of the labor movement, the industrialists involved and the attitude of the American people toward working conditions in the United States. Contains links to many...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson in which students investigate several sources to determine why the Roman Empire persecuted Christians. Inlcudes downloadable lesson plan, PowerPoint, original documents, teacher and student...

The War of 1812 was the first war in which Congress used its power of declaring war. Using primary sources such as the Constitution and the War Manifesto of June 3, 1812, students will understand why and how Congress decided to declare...

This great lesson plan from EDSITEment uses primary sources, an interactive timeline, and guiding questions to examine the debate in the United States over the merits of isolationism vs. internationalism after the passage of the...

This lesson uses primary sources to take a look at the Chinese perspective on the issue of the Exclusion Act and the effects of prejudice and discrimination on the Chinese population in the United States in the late 19th century.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson in which students use primary sources to evaluate the plan to partition India in 1947. Lesson plan, PowerPoint and original documents are included.

Learning module from Newberry Library uses primary resources to explore British colonialism in India, examining why individual Britons went to India, what they expected to find there, and what experiences did they share.

Learning resource using primary sources in which students study de facto segregation in the North following the Civil War and examine how African-Americans responded to segregation and racism compared to the South.

This collection uses primary sources to explore polio. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Battle of Gettysburg. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Food Stamp Program started in 1939 to assist those living below poverty levels. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.

This set uses primary sources to explore the financial practices that contributed to the Panic of 1837 and the impact of the crisis on America's politics, economy, and people.

A close reading of "The Yellow Wall-paper" employing the analysis of such literary concepts as setting, narrative style, symbol, and characterization. Students will write an essay discussing what the story suggests about middle-class...

[Free Registration/Login Required] An inclusive unit on the New Deal and World War II with lessons about Social Security, the Zoot Suit Riots, the Dust Bowl, Mexican migration in the 1930s, the atomic bomb, Japanese internment, and the...

The "Journey of Discovery" project through Yad Vashem serves to make sure we know the stories behind the victims of the Holocaust in order to see them as humans and not numbers. Using the database and information on Yad Vashem, students...

This massive archive holds more than 30,000 photographs detailing life in the American West from 1860 to 1940. Easy to use it can be searched by key word, topic,or a name index.

In this lesson plan, middle schoolers examine the reasons for protests by reading about the riots in Newark, New Jersey, in 1967. By using primary source documents, learn historical reasons for protesting and compare them with the...

In this lesson plan, students learn about the riots in Newark, New Jersey, in 1967. Using primary sources, identify the causes of the disturbance in July, 1967. Links to the relevant information is provided.