Curated OER
Positive Perspectives Posters
Sixth graders create a poster using one-point visual perspective. After exploring several examples of one-point perspective, 6th graders create a drawing around the theme of school community. Posters are illustrated and installed...
C-SPAN
Voting Discrimination and the Effects of Shelby County v. Holder
Show learners that every vote counts as they debate the federal government 's role in protecting voting rights in historically racially discriminated areas. In the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder, the high court found that...
Historical Thinking Matters
Rosa Parks: 3 Day Lesson
How can evidence and perspective challenge even the most well-known of stories? Through primary and secondary source analysis, think-alouds, and discussion, young historians evaluate the historical narrative of Rosa Parks across multiple...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Introduction to Historical Thinking
Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.
Curated OER
Lessons in Looking: Contraband in Paintings
Using the paintings On to Liberty and A Ride for Liberty, 10th graders analyze historical perspectives on life after the Civil War. They attempt to determine what the Civil War meant for free slaves, then read a paragraph highlighting...
Museum of Tolerance
Documents That Shape Society
The Bill of Rights is a foundational document of American democracy, much like the Nuremberg Laws were a foundational document of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. But that's where their similarities end. Engage high schoolers in a...
Curated OER
Sacred Places: California Missions from Different Perspectives
Students create a project poster displaying photos, drawings, and journal writings that incorporate the major themes of California's missions, and use perspective and point of view both visually and in writing.
Alberta Learning
Creating Authentic Diaries
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "What is history but a fable agreed upon?" A series of lessons encourages learners to look beyond the basic fable agreed upon related to events in history and consider multiple accounts of the event. The...
Curated OER
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) in the History Classroom
SAC is a specific approach to discussing history and controversial issues. Rather than adhering to an either/or debate-style paradigm, it fosters speaking and constructivist listening to enable learners to build consensus through...
Curated OER
Understanding and Using Primary and Secondary Sources in History
Explore primary and secondary sources in this historical analysis instructional activity. Young researchers define the terms primary source and secondary source. They read a primary source document provided by the teacher and answer...
Curated OER
Perspectives on Slavery
Pupils examine various perspectives on slavery. They read and evaluate historical writing and primary source documents, define vocabulary words, and complete worksheets.
Smithsonian Institution
Battle of the Bulge: America Responds to a German Surprise
World War II and the Battle of the Bulge are the focus of a history resource. Exercises include analyzing images, writing letters in the mindset of a soldier, and even immersing oneself in a cold experience to better empathize with the...
Curated OER
Historical Perspective
Learners research the different perspectives of important groups and figures involved in the American Revolution and apply their findings to write and perform monologues depicting this pivotal time in history.
Curated OER
Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Young scholars identify and analyze land use changes over time with historical aerial photographs. They classify different land use into categories.
K20 LEARN
Examining The Boston Massacre Through Primary Sources
The Boston Massacre is the focus of a lesson plan that explores primary sources. Scholars examine two primary source images and discuss the different perspectives on the historical event. After groups read a researched account, they...
DocsTeach
Indian Nations vs. Settlers on the American Frontier: 1786–1788
Once Americans won the Revolutionary War, their quest to gain land did not end. An interesting activity focuses on Americans' expansion into the frontier following the war and how it conflicted with Native Americans living in the area....
DocsTeach
U.S. Policy and the Holocaust Refugee Crisis
How did the United States respond to the Holocaust refugee crisis during World War II? The activity focuses on the United States' foreign policies and the arguments for and against offering assistance. Scholars analyze historical...
Digital Public Library of America
Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi
Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...
Curated OER
Food Insecurity in a Global World: Perspectives from Africa
Students investigate food shortages. In this global issues lesson, students examine how food scarcity issues have impacted the people of Eastern Africa. Students use the information they gather to consider how historical, political, and...
Curated OER
Tolerance
Students explore the concept of tolerance. In this diversity instructional activity, students discover what tolerance is and then research tolerance in historical perspectives. Students explore how to promote tolerance in the future.
Curated OER
Civil War Diaries
Fifth graders examine excerpts from a diary of a Confederate soldier and his experiences in a Union prison camp. After receiving character cards, they write diary entries from the perspectives of their Civil War identity. As an...
Curated OER
Billy the Kid: Perspectives on an Outlaw
Learners examine the life of Billy the Kid. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students use Internet and print sources to research the contributions of gunfighters to the settlement of the American West.
Curated OER
Mapping Perceptions
Learners create and read maps. In this map skills lesson plan, students draw a map of their neighborhood, then use skills acquired during map-making to interpret a classmates map and a map of the Ming Dynasty.
Curated OER
Local Government: Caring for Your Community
Seventh graders investigate the role of local governments. In this government lesson, 7th graders examine historical photographs and determine what services are being performed in the photographs. Students research how the services are...