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.

As part of their study of the US Presidential election process, class members research a presidential candidate's position on a specific topic or topics. Formatting their research as a pro/con question ("Should the Death Penalty Be...

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...

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Why is it important to preserve historical documents and artifacts?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...

Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...

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...

Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...

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...

Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....

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.

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....

Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.

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...

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...

Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...

Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify...

How can digital technology of today link us to the events of the past? Scholars use technology to uncover the vast number of historical resources available in lesson 12 of a 22-part America's History in the Making series. Using databases...

What was it like to enlist as a soldier in the Civil War? By using enlistment papers, young scholars consider this question. After they've looked at the primary source and discussed it, they create a short story of a fictional soldier to...

Young reporters have an opportunity to craft a news story about a topic that interests them. Class members brainstorm events and issues that affect them and possible sources of information. Individuals then select a topic, research it,...

Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...