Although Westward Expansion is often romanticized, its impact was devastating on Native American communities. Primary source documents, including pictures of United States troops invading indigenous lands and Native American tribes, tell...

World War II not only resulted in major loss of life, but it also displaced thousands of people. An eye-opening activity uses primary documents to explore the refugee crisis during World War II. Scholars compare the event to modern-day...

Out of the mouth of babes ... often times comes gems. The activity uses a letter written by a third-grader in 1974 regarding President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Scholars analyze the letter, complete a worksheet, and participate in...

Sometimes, a picture really does say it all. The activity uses a picture of astronaut Sally Ride to help elementary academics make observations and form conclusions. Young historians study the picture, complete short written prompts, and...

Jackie Robinson: A hero on and off the field. An eye-opening activity focuses on Jackie Robinson's social activism during and after the civil rights movement. Academics read a letter addressed to President Nixon, answer questions, and...

Seeing is believing when it comes to climate change. An informative activity explores the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its efforts to document environmental issues with photographs. Academics match images...

Travel the world with the First Lady!  Academics study images from Pat Nixon's travels as First Lady to discover her role in Richard Nixon's presidency. Historians match images to world locations, complete a worksheet, and...

Young historians turn into detectives in a thought-provoking activity on the Challenger Explosion. The activity uses an image of President Reagan watching the Challenger explode on live TV to help academics practice historical analysis....

The Space Race saw the Soviet Union and the US go from competitors to partners. Scholars read a letter regarding the first docking of the US and Soviet space craft. Young historians also complete a written assignment and participate in...

Sometimes one trip shakes up the entire world. When President Richard Nixon traveled to China, he defied international and political boundaries. Nixon was the first American president to visit mainland China, which was a communist nation...

A true glimpse of the past, Angelic La Moose smiles back from more than 100 years ago. Young learners examine the picture of a young girl on a Montana Native American reservation from 1913 to comb it for historical details. A form, which...

The end of a war means the causes were resolved, right? Not for World War I. By examining Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, budding historians consider imperialism, nationalism, militarism, and alliances, as well as Wilson's efforts to...

Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...

Many have traveled from around the globe searching for the American dream. Scholars research the life Miguel Miñan, an immigrant from Brazil, using ship and census records. The activity focuses on American diversity and highlights the...

Votes for women! The activity highlights the push for the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote. High school scholars learn how the Fifteenth Amendment giving African American men the right to vote helped to spark the...

Take the small step for man and giant leap for mankind with the Apollo astronauts using primary sources. Young historians explore the documents related to the American space program up through the lunar landing, including presidential...

After years of boiling tension, the presidency of Ronald Regan and the rise of Mikhail Gorbechev paved a new way forward for diplomacy between the United States and the Soviet Union. Using primary source documents, including letters...

Sometimes images tell shocking stories. Individuals examine a Lewis Hines picture of children packing beans and consider the impact working in a factory had on their young lives. A series of prompts emailed to the teacher helps them...

While a catalyst for the labor movement, 146 people lost their lives in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1913. A series of photographs of the aftermath of the tragedy help young historians consider the impact of the fire. The...

Drawings may be worth even more than a thousand words. Curious scholars query an artist's rendering of troops leaving a ship after they have arrived in Europe to fight in World War I. By zooming in and looking at the entire piece, class...

Fitting in to a dominant culture comes at a price—especially for native peoples. Class members consider this concept using a photo matching game of indigenous people in Alaska. Discussion questions help them consider to what extent these...

Imagine being forced to give up your culture and then being graded on how well you complied with orders to do so. Documents show young historians the price indigenous peoples paid as a result of the Dawes Act, which was essentially a...

White reformers thought they were "killing the Indian" to "save the man." Native children were taken from their parents and placed at boarding schools, such as the Carlisle School. Using a comparative photo analysis of children before...

Are sports essential to American life? Young historians ponder the question as they examine letters between the owner of the Boston Red Sox and Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War I. The owner wanted two star players...