New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2010
Three major faith traditions have shaped world history: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Using secondary sources from textbooks, as well as primary source documents, such as Aztec legends, pupils explore the interplay of these...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: June 2010
Using a set of primary source documents, such as descriptions of climate phenomena and images of weather events, pupils consider how climate shapes history. A second essay prompt and multiple-choice questions with documents engage...
Smithsonian Institution
Latino Patriots
Pupils may not be familiar with Bernardo de Gálvez or Juan Seguín, but these Latinx patriots played important roles in American history. Using biographies of the Revolutionary War hero and Texan politician, historians consider how Latinx...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: January 2010
Agriculture was more revolutionary than some might think. Using a primary source set—including photos of artifacts from Mesopotamia and an amusing comic—learners consider the impacts of the neolithic, agricultural, and green revolutions....
Syracuse University
American Industrial Revolution
While the Industrial Revolution may have fueled America's rise to the top of world markets, the child laborers often faced dangerous conditions. Using primary source images and other information, scholars consider what these children...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
Syracuse University
Erie Canal
While canals are not the way to travel today, in the first half of the nineteenth century, they were sometimes the best way to move goods and people. Scholars examine primary sources, including maps and pictures, to investigate the role...
Big History Project
Human Migration Patterns
Humans have been on the move for millennia. Using an article from The Smithsonian, pupils chart human movement before written history on a world map. In addition, they examine the modes of transportation used by different waves of human...
National WWII Museum
Dear Mother: Synthesizing Historical Evidence
It's one thing to read history, it's another to live it. Pupils examine secondary and primary sources that detail the training of soldiers before deployment. Then, they consider the impact of primary sources on how they understand the...
College Board
Evaluating Sources: How Credible Are They?
How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 2: What Happened in July 1967? How Do We Know?
Even in a world in which dozens of participants and curious onlookers record every controversial event, the basic facts of what happened are often in dispute. Revolution '67, Lesson 2 explores 1967 Newark, New Jersey using an examination...
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Designing Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World
How do you convey someone’s creativity? Individuals answer the question as they design exhibitions to showcase the intellect and genius of Benjamin Franklin. After conducting research, classmates work in groups to try to capture and...
University of North Carolina
Evaluating Print Sources
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...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 12
How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...
PBS
1000 Words
A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...
Library of Virginia
You are Clever Enough to Examine a Historical Source!
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...
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Teaching Primary and Secondary Sources
What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo History Museum: Curriculum Guide
Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...
Center for History and New Media
The Daily Experience of the Laurel Grove School, 1925
What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....
Center for History and New Media
Founding of the Laurel Grove School and Other "Colored" Schools in Fairfax County, 1860–1890
The right to public education was not always so clear in American history. Readers study several primary and secondary source documents, including property deeds, maps, and photographs, about the founding of local schools during the...
Center for History and New Media
Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
Los Angeles Unified School District
World History Medieval and Early Modern Times
A slew of graphic organizers, worksheets, and student activities are packaged here for your world history pupils. From comparing and contrasting the Qur'an and Sunnah, studying cultural diffusion across eastern nations, or examining...