Outlines the process of historical investigation for students by teaching them the steps of research, analyzing evidence, and making interpretations.

This resource focuses on teaching students how to do historical research via a series of steps. Historical photos and documents are included as examples.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A fight breaks out in the lunchroom and the principal needs to figure out who started it. But when she asks witnesses what they saw, she hears conflicting accounts. Why might these accounts differ? As...

A comprehensive lesson training students to analyze historical objects to determine features, reliability, authenticity, and provenance through observation skills encouraged through a variety of activities.

In this activity, students examine primary sources to learn about the perspectives of the different parties involved in the Boston Massacre of 1770, and to form opinions about who was responsible for what happened and whether the verdict...

Teachers will find this a superb guide book for teaching students how to critically examine documents from the past. The guide contains lessons and resources for Wisconsin history but the teaching methodology can be adapted for anywhere.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson on Mansa Musa uses primary resources for historical investigation. Includes lesson plan, PowerPoint, and original documents.

Students perform an historical investigation by unraveling the mystery of Sam Smiley's demise.

Got a research project? Read this site from the UC Berkeley Library. A great guide on finding the best primary sources for your research. Defines both narrow and broad ideas of primary source, links to online archives of primary sources,...

Why did great civilizations fall? War, disease, overpopulation or natural disasters? Interactive content and activities allow you, by sifting through archaeological evidence, to investigate the collapse of the Mayan civilization, the...

Learn the steps in the 5-step process that historians use when they analyze an artifact as you investigate what you can learn from Native American and other items.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Housed at the New York State Historical Society, this extensive collection of more than 60,000 documents detailing the political and social history of the United States is searchable and allows students...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Are all historical sources equally trustworthy? How might the reliability of a historical document be affected by the circumstances under which it was created? In this activity, students sharpen their...

Activity in which students act as detectves to investigate an historical issue. In this activity students analyze primary source material to learn about controversy surrounding the U.S. Constitution when they are asked to find out what...

Students will work with primary resources such as diary entries to investigate a historical situation: the starving time in Jamestown. This interactive site raises questions that will enable students to use 21st century skills to...

Activity in which students play the role of detective and follow the life story of a slave to investigate changing slave laws and conditions in the 1600s. Through their investigation, students read and analyze the evidence in the form of...

An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson, they investigate changes in population for different Texas counties, and the...

In this Earth Science indoor laboratory inquiry, students will create their own geologic time scale based on observation of teacher supplied, historically correct fossil data and also relevant rock samples with the age of the rock sample...

An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson, they examine the Texas Constitution and the Texas Bill of Rights and record their...

In this lesson unit, students investigate how justice is perceived and addressed in different cultures and times by examining literature from around the world. Texts examined include: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, A Sport of Nature by...

This site summarizes what a historian does, what tools they use, and how to prepare to ask a historical question.

After learning to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, students will examine four primary documents and address a set of questions for each.

Practice historical investigation skills with this mystery object activity. Look at the image and try to determine its story.

A lesson in how to conduct historical research using family photos and doing interviews, and newspaper stories from the past. The second part of the lesson is a photo analysis exercise using a photo of children and a cow.