Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and the Five-Dollar Note

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Students study Presidential history by researching Abraham Lincoln.  For this U.S. history lesson, students discuss the changes in the 5 dollar bill and create a timeline of Abraham Lincoln's life.  Students complete a puzzle...
Graphic
Library of Congress

Loc: Primary Sources by State

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
An interactive map to search for extensive collections of primary sources for each of the United States.
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Many Pasts

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
These primary source documents are about ordinary Americans throughout US history. There is a full search feature. All the historical documents, whether they are text, image, or audio, have been vetted by a historian. They are initially...
Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: For Teachers: Analyzing Primary Source Documents

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
These student worksheets and activities help students analyze many different types of primary source documents. Life histories, objects, and photographs are all used to engage students.
Professional Doc
Library of Congress

Loc: For Teachers: Classroom Materials Using Primary Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
This excellent teacher resource features lessons that use primary source documents in an engaging way. Included are lesson plans created by teachers, themed resources, primary source sets, presentations and activities, and collections...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Personal Stories and Primary Sources

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
Students will explore the value of personal stories and first-hand accounts when exploring history, in this case, the events of the early twentieth century, which included World War I and the Great Depression. Through this five-unit...
Website
BBC

Bbc History Trail: Local History

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
How can you trace the history of a community? What are the historical clues and tips you can use to find out what shaped its past? This site explains the techniques historians can use and provides great examples.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Predicaments of Early Republican Life

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Primary resource material focusses on predicaments in early American history. Students read primary source text to answer questions surrounding the nature of society following the American Revolution, learning about the hopes and fears...
Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Web Guides: Primary Documents in American History

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
An extensive collection of primary source documents of early development of the new United States. Resources include a wide variety of details about the Northwest Ordinance.
Graphic
Indiana University

The Center on Congress: Congressional Moments: Primary Sources Gallery

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
View a wide variety of primary source materials that relate to these six topics: Child Labor, Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights, National Park Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and The Marshall Plan. Transcripts are available for...
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Your Brain and Moral Decision Making

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this segment from Curious, scientists conduct an experiment to learn how different areas of the brain are stimulated when making moral decisions.
Website
CNN

Cnn: Anatomy of a Story

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A fun interactive site for finding out what happens in all departments of a broadcast newsroom.
Interactive
Beacon Learning Center

Beacon Learning Center: If You've Seen One Source, You've Seen Them All. Right?

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
This is a tutorial teaching the difference between primary and secondary research sources. It provides specific examples and asks students to answer questions along the way. Java is required.
Primary
Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Resource Center After Liberation

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Yad Vashem has the largest collection of Holocaust resources than anywhere else in the world. Their main objective is preserving all the stories of this time period so it is not forgotten or repeated. They have broken down the Holocaust...
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A collection of one hundred documents that are significant in shaping the history of the United States, beginning with the Lee Resolution of June 7, 1776, and ending with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Activity
Other

Archives Pei: Heritage Fair Projects a Guide to Sources [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A comprehensive resource for students and teachers for planning and researching a project for a heritage fair. While it is intended for Prince Edward Island residents, it offers excellent tips, web links and books for guidance.
Graphic
Howard University

Moments in Black History: Milestones in African American Journalism

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site contains six pages of a timeline with individual events of African American history in journalism. Starts in 1541 with event in Mexico.
Website
Other

University of Virginia: Center for Politics

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This non-partisan site serves "as readily accessible resource for scholars, reporters, officeholders and the general public on issues central to our system of government."
Website
Other

Abyz News Links

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides listings of links to online news sources from all over the world. Just type the country you're looking for in the search box or use the front page links. The news sources for each country are labeled either broadcast...
Website
Other

Pi: A Search Engine for Politics and Policy

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
At this site you can search through thousands of political sites and news for research. Also available are news headlines and top political news. Awesome research site.
Website
Other

Usc Annenberg: Online Journalism Review

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A review of journalistic issues and news, the OJR covers journalism worldwide, especially in cyberspace.
Lesson Plan
Other

Curriculum Associates: Determining Theme or Central Idea [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
In this reading comprehension lesson unit, learners are guided in learning how to find the main theme or idea of a text and understanding how details in the text convey that. Includes lots of exercises and examples, as well as...
Graphic
Other

Georgia Tech Research Institute: Chronicling America: Us News Map

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A fascinating way to look at history, this interactive map lets you search for a person, event, issue, etc. over a specified time frame and it maps newspapers containing related content onto a map of the United States. An additional...
Unit Plan
Other

Historical Scene Investigation: The Boston "Massacre"

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
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...