Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Early English Settlements History Detectives

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact. 
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Teaching With Documents: U.S. Constitution Workshop

For Teachers 4th - 12th
What does it mean to be American? Explore the constitution and what it really means to be a citizen here. First, learners of all ages will investigate different primary source documents. Then, they establish each document's...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Lewis Hine Shedding Light on Child Labor through Photographs

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The Industrial Revolution: long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions. An eye-opening activity explores the darker side of industry and exposes the realities of child labor with photos. Scholars view four photos from the famous...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Reading the Work of B. Franklin, Printer

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...
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 Woman's History Museum

Unsung Voices: Black Women and Their Role in Women's Suffrage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Reclaim perspectives often left out of the narrative about the suffrage movement with an activity that lifts up the voices of African American women. Using primary sources and biographical details of Fannie Barrier Williams' life, young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edison and the Light Bulb

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore the impact of inventions on society, specifically Edison and the light bulb. In this technology lesson, students use online resources and listen to a story about Edison to develop an understanding of how the light bulb...
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: George Washington, Farewell Address

For Students 8th - 11th Standards
Invite your young historians to consider how the first president of the United States envisioned the future of the new nation with this primary source analysis worksheet on George Washington's Farewell Address.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Letter from Leonardo da Vinci to Sforza

For Students 9th - 12th
Expose your class to words directly from Leonardo da Vinci with this primary source document. Learners analyze the document, a letter from Leonardo da Vinci to Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and respond to 3 short answer questions....
Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Thomas Edison's Lightbulb

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Watch lightbulbs go off in learners' heads as they look at a patent for Thomas Edison's most famous invention. After examining the light bulb patent, young historians speculate on how the invention changed life in the 1880s and its...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Racism and Removal: Japanese Incarceration During World War II

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
During World War II people saw how far the government's control would go, but it was at the expense of its citizens. The resource brings the conditions of Japanese American internment camps to light using primary documents. Scholars...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Strength in Solidarity: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Campaign for Fair Food

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Not all food is created equal. The lesson dives into the world of migrant farm workers to show their struggles to earn livable wages and better working conditions. Academics learn why the Coalition of Immokalee Workers was created and...
Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

From Ben’s Pen to Our Lives

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Designing an Ecologically Sound City

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders design an "ecologically sound" city. They write laws for the city to help make all citizens aware of their ecological responsibilities and propose alternative power sources for light and heat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lights, Sounds, Fabrics and Designs: Careers in the World of Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the broad range of jobs that can be found in the world of design. Students explore sound design, language architecture, etc. Young scholars design a resource book and post it on a website for others to share.
Activity
PBS

1000 Words

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Making Choices

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What factors go into a decision to enter a war? Use a collection of primary source documents and images to prompt a discussion about the American Revolution and the reasons for entering a war against Britain.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of the Telephone, Radio, and Light Bulb

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students research and discuss the history of the telephone, radio, and light bulb. In this invention history lesson plan, students access Internet sites to explore the inventors and the invention of the telephone, the radio, and the...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Is Anyone to be Punished for This?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The stories of bodies falling to the pavement and girls dying in their seats echo to the present day. The New York City Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—which killed 147 people, mostly young women and girls—galvanized the labor movement...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reporter Rights vs. Legal Access...

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore cases that have occurred in the past in which reporters refuse to reveal their confidential conversations with government sources and investigate the status of the current bills in Congress. Students use this information...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Why did the Aztec and Inca civilizations disappear?

For Students 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers can analyze primary source documents to answer the question, "Why did the Aztec and Inca civilizations disappear?" They will read the provided excerpts then answer 11 different questions to uncover the ultimate answer.
PPT
Curated OER

Nuclear Energy

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Atomic theory as a philosophical study was explored even by the Ancient Greeks. The knowledge of atoms was developed in the 17th century.  This PowerPoint explains how by the 1940's, splitting of the atom was discovered and since...
Worksheet
Student Handouts

Examining Primary Sources: Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” (1899)

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Combine literature and history with the poem "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling. Pupils read the poem and answer four questions about the text. 
Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Abraham Lincoln, Letter to General William T. Sherman

For Students 8th - 11th Standards
A brief letter can speak volumes. Your young historians will analyze a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to General Sherman, and discover the significance of the capture of Savannah, as well as gain insight into Lincoln's role as...

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