Research famous figures from history through the primary sources they created! Explore how these types of documents can enrich our study of the past with your middle and high school learners. They create picture books to illustrate...

Teach young researchers how best to choose sources. This PowerPoint presentation underscores the need for accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Why is it important to preserve historical documents and artifacts? Examine the role of primary source documents and the availability of these documents on the Internet. Middle and high schoolers write a journal about the nature of...

While this focuses on Ancient Rome, the objectives are improved research and information evaluation skills. In one class period, class members narrow their topic, research it, select the best information, log useful sources, and discuss...

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...

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...

Historians explain what happened during the Holocaust, but only primary sources portray the true horror of places such as Auschwitz. Using accounts from those who survived the camps, as well as a Nazi government official's memoirs, class...

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,...

Distinguish between primary and secondary source documents using the theme of philanthropy. Middle schoolers discuss Anne Frank: The Diary of Young Girl as a way to study the past using a primary source. Then they investigate how to...

Pupils turn into investigative reporters throughout history to learn what it takes to balance different primary sources on the same topic. They use what they learn to create a narrative based on their own interpretation of a historic...

Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore...

Although popular culture tells the story of the American West simplistically, its reality is far more complex. Native American tribes—while already on the land—didn't have the same interests, and conflicts between white settlers and...

Many teenagers don't have adequate access to health and nutrition information beyond a quick Internet search. Guide them into health advocacy and proficiency with a lesson focused on MedlinePlus as a reliable source for health...

Given all the recent criticism of the news media and coverage, it's crucial that young people are given the tools they need to evaluate what they see, hear, and read about current events. A video interview from "News Goggles" introduces...

Students examine copies of primary source documents and determine the document's value to a researcher. They analyze and evaluate the document for bias or contradiction. They know the difference between a primary and secondary source.

Investigate different types of documents with your middle schoolers. They look at newspapers, letters, maps, reports, etc. and answer a list of questions provided. Introduce them to different primary sources!

Young scholars examine and evaluate the Treaty of Versailles. They read and discuss primary source documents, explore various websites, develop a list of postwar goals for France, Germany, and the U.S., and evaluate whether the treaty...

What sunk the Sultana? Scholars become investigators to uncover the facts behind the 1865 sinking just after the end of the Civil War. Through group work, videos, and primary documents, they research and analyze why 1,800 men died....

Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....

How can we decide between candidates on election day? After contemplating various issues and qualities, your learners will go through a step-by-step process of researching and evaluating sample candidates and determining their...

Fake or fact? Learners must decide while looking at two published "news" stories. A reading about why fake news exists and a checklist on how to evaluate sources rounds out the activity. 

How has your local neighborhood changed throughout recent history? Young researchers evaluate census data, images, and primary source descriptions describing the living situation in the antebellum Five Points neighborhood. They consider...

Young historians compare and contrast differences in the laws that regulated the activities of slaves and servants. They review and analyze a series of primary source documents to explain the social constructs related to slaves and...