Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Iwo Jima: The View from the Front Lines

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the most grim fighting in World War II. Learners consider this fact while examining primary sources, including letters home, from those on the front lines. After they complete the analysis, scholars then...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Dear Mother: Synthesizing Historical Evidence

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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...
Assessment
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New York State Education Department

Global History and Geography Examination: June 2011

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Eisenhower on D-Day: Comparing Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to troops for D-Day is iconic. Individuals examine Eisenhower's words and compare that to historians' understanding of the epic events of that day using primary sources, an essay, and a Venn diagram to...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Evaluating the US Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While the use of the atomic bomb was the definitive end of World War II, the terrible weapons left new questions. Young scholars use primary sources and analytical worksheets to consider the implications of the fateful decision. Then,...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Battle of Saltville

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While women's suffrage is often believed to be the result of a single constitutional amendment, the effort of women to secure the vote spanned decades and continents. Using primary sources in online archives, class members explore the...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony: Petitioning for the Right to Vote

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...
Lesson Plan
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Historical Thinking Matters

Rosa Parks: 5 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...
Lesson Plan
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City University of New York

Women's Suffrage and World War I

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect...
Lesson Plan
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Elizabeth Murray Project

Gender and Opportunity in Colonial America

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What was life like for women in Colonial America? What restrictions were placed upon them and what opportunities were they afforded? A case study of Elizabeth Murray offers high schoolers a chance to investigate primary source...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Whose Manifest Destiny? Westward Expansion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Your land is my land! Young historians investigate the concept of Manifest Destiny used by the United States government to justify western expansion. Jigsaw groups read primary source documents to gain an understanding of the movement...
Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Franklin, Master Diplomat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While many often associate Ben Franklin with his kite electricity experiments, budding historians find out he contributed much more. They discover Franklin's political savvy by examining primary sources in the informative installment of...
Lesson Plan
National Constitution Center

Federalism, the Commerce Clause, and the Tenth Amendment

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
How do the state and federal governments relate to each other? The Constitution has a lot to say about that! Using an interactive online tool, pupils explore the Tenth Amendment. They apply their knowledge to political cartoons and news...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Mexican Revolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The legacies of the Mexican Revolution are visible today—even if some history classes don't cover them. Using primary sources from leaders in Mexico at the time of the popular uprising and other evidence, such as railroad maps, young...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Unsung Voices: Black Women and Their Role in Women's Suffrage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Reclaim perspectives often left out of the narrative about the suffrage movement with an activity that lifts up the voices of African American women. Using primary sources and biographical details of Fannie Barrier Williams' life, young...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 3: Britain, Napoleon, and the American Embargo, 1803–1808

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the French were once the allies of Americans, the Napoleonic Wars saw the United States almost drawn into a war with its one-time friend. Wars in Europe threatened to draw in the early republic. A primary source-based activity...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 2: The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 1: The United States Confronts Great Britain, 1793–1796

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After the Revolutionary War, the success of the United States was far from guaranteed. Foreign powers coveted the new land, and Great Britain challenged American sovereignty. Learners consider the challenges facing the new nation using...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Home Front

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Eleanor Roosevelt: An Agent of Social Change

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
First ladies often take a back seat to their husbands' policies, but Eleanor Roosevelt broke that mold. Interested historians examine primary sources written by Roosevelt, including a speech and articles. Completing a round-robin of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding and Using Primary and Secondary Sources in History

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore primary and secondary sources in this historical analysis lesson. Young researchers define the terms primary source and secondary source. They read a primary source document provided by the teacher and answer questions about...

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