DocsTeach
Analyzing a Photograph of a Young American Indian
A true glimpse of the past, Angelic La Moose smiles back from more than 100 years ago. Young learners examine the picture of a young girl on a Montana Native American reservation from 1913 to comb it for historical details. A form, which...
DocsTeach
Evaluating a Needlework Sampler as Historical Evidence
Needlework isn't just for home decor; it can also help record family history. Academics analyze a needlework sampler to understand how they were used to record marriages and births. The activity includes a series of written questions,...
National Woman's History Museum
Utilizing Historic Sites for National History Day Research
The National History Day Research program is designed to permit young historians to interview the staff at any historic site. As part of Women's History Month, class members select a site that focuses on the contributions of women. Using...
Curated OER
Grapes of Wrath: Setting up Historical Context
Discuss life in the 1930s in relation to the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, then do a cross-media analysis. Here you'll find background information on film maker John Ford, writer John Steinbeck, and 1930s America. You can compare the...
American Institute of Physics
African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics
A two-part lesson focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by examining his...
DocsTeach
Comparing American and French Revolutionary Documents
This document or that? Historians compare crucial documents from both the American and French Revolution to gain a better understanding of the purpose and impact the documents had on each nation. Academics read excerpts from both...
Curated OER
American Studies
Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
Scholastic
Thomas Jefferson and Monticello: An Introduction to Writing Historical Fiction
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
An African American Represents Alabama during Reconstruction
The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...
Annenberg Foundation
Taming the American West
Have you ever seen a movie about the romance of the American West with its buffalo, horses, cowboys, and endless frontier? The 13th installment of a 22-part series on American history presents the myths associated with the American West....
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Curated OER
Not Only Paul Revere: Other Riders of the American Revolution
Students examine circumstances surrounding rides of the American Revolution other than Paul Revere's, explore why posterity treated them differently than Revere's ride, and create original poems based on historical fact.
Curated OER
Understanding American Values
Scholars read books and discuss emotions that lead up to the American Revolution. They also discuss vocabulary and use reference materials to research the Internet for causes and sentiment that led to the American Revolution.
Library of Congress
To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
Curated OER
Unit 1: Building Historical Background Knowledge: The Road to Revolution 1754–1776
What were the conditions that led to the American Revolution? What are the conditions that lead to revolution in other times and places? Class members examine primary source materials and use evidence drawn from these documents to craft...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...
California State University
The American Revolution
Invite your class on a ride through the American Revolution. Young historians travel through time as they explore the events that led to the foundation of the United States of America. Over the course of eight lessons, this unit provides...
Curated OER
The American Currency Exhibit
Examine the historical structure, the purposes, and functions of the United States monetary system. Your class engages in a scavenger hunt to compare U.S. currency notes from specific eras throughout U.S. history. They work to identify...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
Center for History Education
Japanese American Internment During World War II
World War II turned nations against each other and neighbors into enemies. An eye-opening lesson explores the dark past of Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Scholars learn of the fear and distrust toward Asian Americans...
K20 LEARN
Analyzing Early American Figures: Analyzing History
Who were they? High school freshmen brush up on their research skills by investigating an important person in American history. They select a name, fill out a KWHL chart, and research why their person is important. Scholars then complete...
Stanford University
Evaluating Historical Sources on Juana Briones
Most have never heard of Juana Briones, the incredible woman who came to own property and divorce her husband in 1850s California. Yet, her relatively unknown life reflects the historical dynamics of the American West, particularly those...