Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson about evaluating digital sources. The lesson starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and several...

Discuss ways to determine if the information middle and high schoolers gather online is accurate. Using the Internet, they cite two sources that show conflicting points of view on a subtopic of conservation. They summarize and analyze...

How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event. 

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...

Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...

Are you working on a research and citation unit? Have your young writers listen to a lecture on how to cite research sources correctly and how to distinguish new information that requires citing. They compile a list of works cited from...

Though this assignment may be thought madness, there is an actual method. Scholars perform a close reading of the original text of the soliloquies in Hamlet and modern translations to ensure they understand the speeches. They then select...

Young scholars explore the purpose and requirements for a bibliography. They examine where to find bibliographic information in a variety of print and non-print sources on an assigned topic. Students prepare a bibliography online using a...

Practice citation skills with this activity, which takes learners to the Library/Media center. There, they will view a Powerpoint presentation and practice collecting data in both print and non-print sources. All necessary materials are...

What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...

The history of women's education can be traced back to the delicate stitching of student samplers from the 19th century. Modern-day pupils examine and analyze four primary sources, three of which are images of embroidered samplers, which...

Scholars write letters as if they were someone who heard the story of John Brown's raid. The resource, a standalone, covers information from primary sources that is important to West Virginian history: the Harpers Ferry Letters.

How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...

John Brown is considered by many to be a martyr for abolition and civil rights. The resource covers an important event in West Virginian history, the raid by John Brown, as a standalone that discusses Brown's last words and his reaction...

Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...

An informative resource covers the event of John Brown's Raid, an event that became an important part of West Virginia history. It serves as a standalone and covers the event and John Brown's life in depth using group work, online...

When we use images or ideas from the Internet, we might be infringing on someone's rights. Give your class the opportunity to understand copyright and creator's rights as they evaluate fair and legal use of media found online. As they...

Should the United States ban the death penalty? Scholars use real-life examples of criminal activity to come to their own conclusions on the death penalty. Primary source documents, as well as video clips, open the issue of capital...

With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...

Students cite information for reports or projects when conducting research on the internet. They collect information by using a citation worksheet and complete a form for citing sources and/or use a citation website.

Have women always had the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts? Young historians read an 1819 essay by Emma Willard on the state of female education in the 19th century before discussing their views regarding women's...

The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...

An Online NewsHour article about scholarly ethics launches this study of plagiarism. Since historians are supposed to bring original ideas and perspectives to their publications, they must give credit to the ideas of others. After a...

Young scholars describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources you find, and cite arguments for and against these solutions.