US National Archives
Docsteach: The New Deal: Revolution or Reform?
Students will analyze primary sources related to the New Deal. They will analyze specific documents to determine if overall the New Deal represents a revolution or a reform in our history.
US National Archives
Docsteach: To Sign or Not to Sign
Middle schoolers will consider the arguments made by members of the Continental Congress regarding whether or not to sign the Declaration of Independence. They will also have the opportunity to analyze each section of the Declaration to...
US National Archives
Docsteach: National Monuments Express National Values
In this activity, students will identify and analyze national monuments and buildings to discover how they represent American people, ideas and institutions.
US National Archives
Docsteach: We the People
In this activity, students will examine the original and final drafts of the Constitution and evaluate the significance of the selection of the words 'We the People.'
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Legislative Process: Congress at Work
Students will analyze historical records of the House and Senate to understand the sequence of steps in the legislative process. The students will work collaboratively to study documents and identify the step in the process that each...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Finding American Symbols
Students will identify symbols used in the original design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782) and assess how the symbols connect with important American ideas.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Guess Who?: Analyzing Einstein's Citizenship Application
Students will examine and interpret information from a Declaration of Intention document to discover the individual applying for citizenship in the United States - Albert Einstein.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Prequel to Independence
In this activity, students sequence key events leading to the Declaration of Independence by placing documents in chronological order.
US National Archives
Docsteach: We Shall Overcome: March on Washington
Students will discover the reasons behind the March on Washington and analyze the impact and consequences on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Where Was the New Deal?
In this activity, young scholars will identify three New Deal programs - the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) - locate where projects associated with each took...
US National Archives
Docs Teach: "A Date Which Will Live in ": Two Versions of Fdr's Infamy Speech
This activity presents young scholars with two versions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous speech following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor-an earlier typewritten draft and his final reading copy. Students will read,...
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Article I (Lab Team 1)
In this activity students will analyze the Oaths of Senators for the Impeachment Trial of William Jefferson Clinton and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article I, sections 1-7 of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Article I (Lab Team 2)
In this activity young scholars will analyze the Declaration of Intention for Albert Einstein and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article I, sections 8-10 of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Article Ii (Lab Team 3)
In this activity students will analyze the Senate Journal of the First Congress and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article II of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Article Iii (Lab Team 4)
In this activity students will analyze the Opinion of the Court by Chief Justice Earl Warren in the Case of Miranda v. Arizona and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article III of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Article Iv (Lab Team 5)
In this activity students will analyze the Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article IV of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Benjamin Franklin: Politician and Diplomat
In this activity, students will review and analyze the founding documents of the United States and understand Benjamin Frankin's contributions and connections to these founding documents. Franklin was the only man to help shape all of...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Assimilation of American Indians
In this activity, students will analyze primary sources to determine the role and activities the federal government undertook in an attempt to 'Americanize' or assimilate Native Americans.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Titanic Disaster: One Survivor's Story
In this activity, students will follow the story of one Titanic survivor, Lucy Ridsdale. A fifty year old nurse from Great Britain, Lucy would survive the Titanic disaster aboard lifeboat 13.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Titanic Survivors: One Ship, Two Different Worlds
This short analysis activity asks students to examine two claims filed by survivors of the April 15, 1912 Titanic disaster to understand the vast class differences between a first class passenger and a steerage passenger. Students will...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Inevitable Accident or Wrongful Act: Judging the Titanic Disaster
This activity asks students to analyze evidence presented in the 'In the Matter of the Petition of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Limited, for Limitation of its Liability as owner of the steamship TITANIC' case that began after...
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Titanic Disaster: Measuring Loss of Life, Property and Injuries
Students will analyze claims filed by survivors, families of victims and owners of cargo of the Titanic disaster. They will examine claims for loss of life, loss of property and injuries that were filed as part of 'In the Matter of the...
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Constitution in Action: Articles V,vi,vii (Lab Team 6)
In this activity students will analyze Senator Lyndon B. Johnson's Oath of Office and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article V,VI, or VII of the Constitution in action.
US National Archives
Docs Teach: Analyzing Evidence of the Pearl Harbor Attack
This activity is intended to get students thinking about where information comes from, how it is presented, how its presentation affects understanding, and how information is used. Because the featured document relates to the Japanese...