Curated OER
Happy Birthday!: Internet Research and Historic Events
Talk about intrinsic motivation! Begin where your learners' natural interests lie -- with themselves -- and launch a variety of projects with this activity. Class members research important events that took place on their...
Annenberg Foundation
America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications Two
Reading between the lines helps discover important information! The 11th lesson of a 22-part series on American history has scholars use historical thinking skills to uncover the deeper meaning behind the words on a page. Using backward...
Curated OER
American Indian Art History Detectives
An art history detective; I want to be one of those! The class puts their heads together to hone their deductive and critical thinking skills in order to determine which Native American tribe created and used parfleche boxes. They'll use...
Speak Truth to Power
John Lewis: Non-Violent Activism
After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social...
Teacher.org
The History of Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving is the focus of a lesson that boosts reading comprehension and interview skills. Half the class reads about Pilgrims while the other half reads about the Native American, Squanto. After answering questions, pupils...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Newseum
Bias Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
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...
Curated OER
Harnessing the Olympic Spirit
Use the energy and excitement of the 2014 Winter Olympics to motivate your class to research and write.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin’s Fair Hand American Journalism
Scholars know him for his role in the American Revolution, but Ben Franklin was also a journalist and printer. Learners investigate his standards for what was fit to print using primary sources—including writings where Franklin explains...
Curated OER
Immigration History Firsthand
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this immigration lesson, students conduct research regarding Ellis Island and the American immigrant experience. Students use...
Curated OER
One Country's Slave Trade
Young scholars examine the slave trade. In this research skills lesson, students research the slave trade in a selected country. Young scholars use databases to locate pertinent information in order to prepare an oral presentation.
Curated OER
Create a "Hero" Trophy
Students identify American heroes. In this research skills lesson, students discuss the characteristics of heroes and examine society's definition of heroes. Students research selected American heroes of the 20th century and create...
Curated OER
Rain Forests
Students investigate claims of medicinal plants found in the rain forest. In this research skills instructional activity, students examine the validity of Internet sources as they visit websites in search of information about rain forest...
Curated OER
Test Your Research Skills-- You Either Know It Or You Don't! 6
In this research worksheet, students use Internet searches or a reference book to answer 15 questions on a variety of topics.
Curated OER
Research Project
Students fill out a form which asked the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY about the person they were assigned to research, they gather their information from different web sites on Lightspan and Yahooligans. They create a HyperStudio and...
Curated OER
All That Pertains to All That Remains
High school students can enhance their research skills through using the Internet to find the answers to these trivia questions. They ask for information about the band All That Remains. There are ten questions.
Curated OER
Land of Milk and Honey Relocated or Not (Lesson 3)
Fourth graders practice their research skills. For this North Carolina history lesson, 4th graders examine primary resources and draw conclusions regarding the birth of the city of New Bern, North Carolina.
Center for Civic Education
Women's History Wax Museum
Bring influential historical figures to life with a highly interactive and informative activity. Your class members will research important activists during the women's suffrage movement and then share what they have learned by role...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
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...
State of Victoria Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Long Wall of China
While some aspects of the Great Wall of China are known, other parts of its story are obscured by time. A research lesson asks scholars to consider what we know and don't understand about this wonder of the world. The class then compiles...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon A Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 1
As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 4
West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man introduces viewers to the remarkable finds on Santa Rosa Island. Archaeologist have discovered on this small island that is part of the Channel island chain, human and pygmy mammoth...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Using Primary Sources to Examine the History of Eugenics
Eugenics philosophy takes survival of the fittest to a whole new level. With a research-focused lesson, young scientists examine the history of the eugenics movement and its impact on society. Pupils engage with a video clip, primary...
ReadWriteThink
Looking for the History in Historical Fiction: An Epidemic for Reading
Combine informational reading skills with fictional text in an innovative historical fiction lessons. After reading a fictional text related to diseases, class members read non-fictional text to gain knowledge about specific infectious...