Handout
Concordia University

Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Show your class the difference between primary sources and secondary sources. The first page provides a list of examples of each type of source. While they research, pupils can refer back to the list quickly to make sure they are reading...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Source Documents in the Classroom

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students use primary documents to explore the past. They consider the source of the documents and identify and biases that the author may have held. They identify any questions about the historical event that may remain after reading the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is a Primary-Source Document?

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students discover what a primary-source document is, what different types there were back in 1867, and what newer kinds there are today. They play a form of bingo using printed cards that reproduce documents related to Confederation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Death and Dying in Puritan New England: A Study Based on Early Gravestones, Vital Records, and other Primary Sources Relating to Cape Cod, Massachusetts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the time in which the Puritans lived in colonial New England. In groups, they research the Puritans view on life and death and discuss as a class. They read gravestones, diaries and other primary sources to discover...
PPT
Curated OER

How Do We Know About People From The Past?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
It's not enough to see or just read a primary source document; one has to analyze them fully to understand their historical implications. First learners are introduced to what primary and secondary sources are, then they read a bit of...
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Grant E. Hamilton, “I Rather Like That Imported Affair”

For Students 8th - 11th
Political cartoons are primary source documents and learning to read them can be a challenge. Challenge the reading skills of your class with a political cartoon featuring rough and ready, Teddy Roosevelt. 
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Udo J. Keppler, “Next!”

For Students 8th - 11th
Standard Oil's stranglehold on the US government is the subject of a 1904 political cartoon. Kids use the questions on the provided worksheet to prompt their analysis of this primary source.
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Theodore Roosevelt, Excerpt from “The Square Deal” Speech

For Students 8th - 11th
Talk about a timely resource! As part of a series of primary source exercises, individuals read and respond to questions about Theodore Roosevelt's "The Square Deal" speech. Roosevelt reminds us of what our social system should be.
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Excerpts from Fireside Chat on Economic Conditions

For Students 8th - 11th
Franklin D. Roosevelt's April 14, 1938 Fireside Chat on economic conditions provides young historians an opportunity to polish their primary source comprehension skills. A great resource to add to you curriculum library.
Worksheet
3
3
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

For Students 8th - 11th
Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mystery of History-Original Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research the events surrounding the Alamo in 1863, and explore the differences between primary and secondary sources of information. They brainstorm lists of items used to research a subject and categorize them as primary or...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Historical Thinking Matters

Rosa Parks: 5 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Iwo Jima: The View from the Front Lines

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the most grim fighting in World War II. Learners consider this fact while examining primary sources, including letters home, from those on the front lines. After they complete the analysis, scholars then...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Dear Mother: Synthesizing Historical Evidence

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
It's one thing to read history, it's another to live it. Pupils examine secondary and primary sources that detail the training of soldiers before deployment. Then, they consider the impact of primary sources on how they understand the...
Assessment
1
1
New York State Education Department

Global History and Geography Examination: June 2011

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
People in Ukraine, Rwanda, and Cambodia have all faced challenges to their human rights and even genocide. Using primary and secondary sources, scholars evaluate these challenges and the international community's role in them. The...
Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Lesson Plan
2
2
National Endowment for the Humanities

Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Evaluating the US Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
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,...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Battle of Saltville

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While women's suffrage is often believed to be the result of a single constitutional amendment, the effort of women to secure the vote spanned decades and continents. Using primary sources in online archives, class members explore the...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony: Petitioning for the Right to Vote

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...
Lesson Plan
Personal Genetics Education Project

Using Primary Sources to Examine the History of Eugenics

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
1
1
City University of New York

Women's Suffrage and World War I

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Elizabeth Murray Project

Gender and Opportunity in Colonial America

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What was life like for women in Colonial America? What restrictions were placed upon them and what opportunities were they afforded? A case study of Elizabeth Murray offers high schoolers a chance to investigate primary source...

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