National Endowment for the Humanities
A Journalist’s Report: The Better Vision for Black Americans
After reading a series of primary source documents detailing the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, class members craft newspaper columns assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each man's vision, and present their...
City University of New York
The Split Over Suffrage
Compare and contrast Frederick Douglass's and the National Women's Suffrage Association's stances on equal rights and suffrage with a series of documents and worksheets. Learners work together or independently to complete the packet, and...
Museum of Tolerance
The Pursuit of Democracy and Diversity: The Trial of Pro-Social Injustice in Historical Documents and Accounts
Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...
MacArthur Memorial
In Their Shoes: WWI Through the Eyes of Early Participants
Several social activities provide showcase the perspective of many prominent figures in World War I history. Students read an assigned case study about a memorable person and complete several activities to further understand this...
Curated OER
The Great Depression
Students analyze the causes of the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students listen to their instructor present lectures regarding the Dust Bowl, stock market crash, and Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Students conduct further...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Abraham Lincoln, Draft of the Gettysburg Address
Young historians closely examine the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with this primary source analysis worksheet.
Curated OER
Lines From Behind the Lines
Fifth graders create a timeline of events in a soldiers life. For this World War I lesson, 5th graders learn about the Great Depression and World War I. Students watch video segments about World War I and examine primary...
Curated OER
Great Depression
Examine the Great Depression with your pupils. First you'll discuss the causes of the Great Depression, such as the stock market crash of 1929. Then, you'll examine key facts, like the Dust Bowl, the New Deal, and economic recovery.
Center for History Education
Daily Lives of Slaves - What Really Happened?
The stories of enslaved people are preserved forever thanks to the Great Depression. Budding historians explore slave narratives gathered by a federal government initiative to discover what life was actually like for enslaved people....
Curated OER
The Great War Was Not Great Enough To End All Wars
Students examine the causes and military actions of World War I. In this World History lesson, students study the sacrifices made by Americans and Europeans. Students read and analyze primary sources related to World War I....
Curated OER
World War I: The War to end all Wars
Recap your WWI unit with this presentation. Provided are major war-time statistics, causes/results of the war, a list of countries involved, and escalation. This would be best used as a review tool.
Friends of Fort McHenry
Was the War of 1812 Our Second War of Independence?
Though it occurred almost 40 years later, could the United States have been fighting for their independence again in the War of 1812? Using appropriate primary source material from each of the two wars, compare and contrast the situation...
Washoe County School District
Eyewitness to the Holocaust
Scholars investigate the Holocaust through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor. They analyze and research a firsthand account of events inside the gas chambers moments before hundreds died. Using Holocaust Reading Passages and...
Center for History Education
Who Fired the Shot Heard Round the World?
Take a closer look. Young academics become detectives in an engaging instructional activity on the American Revolution. Scholars work in groups to analyze documents to uncover whether the American colonists or British soldiers fired the...
Curated OER
War Consumes Europe
How did the world react to Austria's declaration of war? This activity, guided by the McDougall Littell text, World History, has historians examining the beginnings of WWI through cause and effect analysis. Groups reference the text as...
Curated OER
The Great Migration: An Oral History
Students research the factors which contributed to the great migration and write a well organized research paper using multiple sources. They incorporate quotations into their paper, both direct and paraphrased, in accordance with MLA...
Curated OER
The Great Depression
In this Great Depression study guide worksheet, students respond to 18 short answer questions. The questions correlate to assigned readings in a textbook.
Curated OER
Time Traveler Blues: The Great Depression
Learners research the Great Depression Era and its effect on the world. They create a multimedia presentation over the Great Depression from many angles.
Curated OER
Introduction to the Early Origins of the Cold War
In this Cold War worksheet, students read an article titled "Introduction to the Early Origins of the Cold War," and then make a list of key dates and events from the selection.
Curated OER
World War I (1914–1919)
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 9 short answer questions about World War I. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
Curated OER
World War II
Offering a comprehensive overview of the beginning of World War II, this resource could be a useful addition to a unit on this topic. It could be used as a way to lead a discussion on the war, or as a review tool before a test. Either...
Annenberg Foundation
Antebellum Reform
Scholars investigate the Antebellum period in the United States in an engaging lesson. Groups analyze technological, religious, economic, and social changes occurring during the time period prior to the Civil War. Using their new...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
K12 Reader
Two Viewpoints of the Same Event: Lee Surrenders to Grant, 1865
How did Union General Ulysses S. Grant view the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1865, which effectively ended the United States Civil War? After reading an excerpt from Grant's autobiography, your young historians will...