Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...

Your class is getting ready for its first big research project. While they know how to use the Internet, do they know how to find academic information? Do they know how to find credible sources? Give them this packet and bring them to...

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...

Pupils turn into investigative reporters throughout history to learn what it takes to balance different primary sources on the same topic. They use what they learn to create a narrative based on their own interpretation of a historic...

Responsible decision making relies on the ability to a recognize, analyze, and evaluate claims. The worksheets and activities in this 32-page packet teach learners how to distinguish among opinions, reasoned arguments, facts, and logical...

Invite your learners to research three different websites that pertain to a topic focused on in your syllabus. Students fill out a chart by answering questions about each site. Then, they compare how useful the sites are to one...

Investigate different types of documents with your middle schoolers. They look at newspapers, letters, maps, reports, etc. and answer a list of questions provided. Introduce them to different primary sources!

High school juniors learn how to construct a strong argument by crafting a claim and using neutral language backed by evidence from reliable sources. To do so, they learn to evaluate sources and evidence to support claims. They then...

Was Nat Turner a hero or a violent criminal? Using primary sources and images that discuss the rebellion of enslaved people he led in antebellum Virginia, scholars consider the question. Then, they create memorials to Turner and...

Pop-ups, banner ads, grammar mistakes ... these are all signs of an untrustworthy website. With the handy Legit-O-Meter poster, scholars can now double-check their sources to ensure accurate, reliable information. The color-coded poster...

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...

People in Ukraine, Rwanda, and Cambodia have all faced challenges to their human rights and even genocide. Using primary and secondary sources, scholars evaluate these challenges and the international community's role in them. The...

War brings a whole new set of ethical dilemmas. From deciding whether to enlist in a segregated and racist Army to whether to sacrifice civilian lives to prepare for a critical D-Day invasion, leaders during World War II faced many...

"I want to be the president who educated young people to the wonders of their world." Readers examine the vision Lyndon B. Johnson presented for his presidency in this excerpt from his "The American promise" message delivered to Congress...

Strong writers support their points with direct evidence and details. A series of free-response questions from the 2011 AP® English Language and Composition exam require the use of details to obtain a good score. The first prompt...

Was Joseph Stalin desperate or exaggerating the USSR's need for assistance on the Eastern Front in 1942? History students examine two differing opinions on Stalin's position and the reality of the Eastern Front just three years before...

"Equal opportunity . . . is not enough." Johnson's 1965 commencement address to the students at Howard University provides an opportunity for participants to see how education was a key element in his vision for civil rights.

As part of a case study of U.S. immigration during the first part of the 20th century, class members examine a variety of primary sources that present multiple perspectives of the responses of those in favor of immigration and those...

If someone yelled for eight years and eight months, they could produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee. A lesson on energy encourages scholars to research 10 different energy sources in groups before playing a game. Twenty...

In this personal health media literacy worksheet, students use the eight questions on this sheet to evaluate a health news report on television. Students write paragraphs the determine whether the reports are valid sources of information.

How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...

Historians use all kinds of information to make conclusions ... including statistics. Young scholars examine how two historians evaluate The Red Ball Express—a supply line staffed primarily by African Americans—using numbers. The...

Looking for some ways to practice primary source analysis or multiple-choice strategies with your scholars? Check out a helpful standardized test. Multiple-choice questions based on primary sources, a writing prompt about human and...

Where does it fit in history? Learners consider the choices historians make when evaluating events by constructing a timeline of World War II. Using photographs of events in the conflict, they create a chronology. Once finished,...