Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...
University of Pennsylvania
Using Comic Strips to Teach Multiple Perspectives
Scholars view comics from two different perspectives; one paints the Alfred Dreyfus as innocent, while the other portrays the exact opposite. They solve the mystery of what happened by analyzing the source, working in groups, and...
Library of Congress
Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal: An Educational Voyage
Following the book, Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal, readers complete an activity for each chapter, take part in discussions, and respond to several questions. To show what they know, scholars create an alphabet book using primary...
American Battlefield Trust
1862: Antietam and Emancipation
Was the Emancipation Proclamation a revolutionary document or just a military strategy? It proclaimed that all those enslaved in Confederate states would be "forever free." Logistically, though, it did little. The order, however,...
Center for History Education
Civil War Weaponry and Medicine: A Disastrous Mismatch
Ironically, science was the reason why the Civil War was so deadly. Despite the use of medical practices now considered barbaric—such as conducting surgery with bare, dirty hands—developments in weaponry meant that more men died on and...
DocsTeach
Why Did Women Want the Right to Vote?
No taxation without representation may have been the battle cry of the American Revolution, but women used the same argument when demanding their right to vote in the late 1800 and early 1900s. Young historians examine petitions from...
K20 LEARN
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death: The Journey to Revolution
The words of "Common Sense" and Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech ring throughout history. Scholars explore the nuances of each patriot's argument using excerpts from the famous pamphlet and speech and a recorded...
DocsTeach
Black Soldiers in the Civil War
Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Ukraine
Was Joseph Stalin desperate or exaggerating the USSR's need for assistance on the Eastern Front in 1942? History students examine two differing opinions on Stalin's position and the reality of the Eastern Front just three years before...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin
The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
How "Grand" and "Allied" Was the Grand Alliance?
Learn more about the Grand Alliance with a scaffolded lesson plan that includes four activities. Class members use primary sources to complete a map exercise, understand the goals and objectives of each individual nation, and participate...
National Endowment for the Humanities
How to Win a World War
High schoolers are have begun to learn the art of diplomacy with each other, but do they understand how diplomacy works at a global level? The second in a series of four lessons, guides scholars in evaluating primary sources....
Curated OER
FDR's Tree Army: Personal Turning Points in the CCC
What's the "deal" with the Civilian Conservation Corps? Primary sources help historians discover the impact of this landmark legislation. After an introductory slideshow and 7-minute video, groups analyze packets of images and a primary...
Curated OER
Coming to America: U.S. Immigration
Analyze primary source documents relating the conditions under with prompted American immigration. Learners will analyze information in order to create a six-panel pamphlet. Much of the lesson is not available but the key objectives are....
Curated OER
Create a Migrant's Scrapbook from the First Great Migration
Help young historians personally engage in the stories of African Americans during the Great Migration! Assessing a migration route map, learners create a migrant character's experience, adding details while studying primary sources. A...
Curated OER
The assassination of the Archduke: Exploring Perspectives
Use political cartoons for a multiple-perspectives strategy, as pupils learn about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After an anticipatory discussion, they are split into 2 groups. The class reads a primary source account...
Curated OER
Analyzing The Maryland Gazette,October 10, 1765
Can you access a copy of The Maryland Gazette dated October 10, 1765? Although no link to the document is provided in this lesson, the questions on the worksheet do lead researchers through the steps necessary to form an analysis of a...
Curated OER
Immigration in America
Students use primary sources to study immigration. In this immigration lesson plan, students analyze photographs, posters, letters, and documents from Ellis Island. Students complete analysis worksheets as they evaluate the primary sources.
Curated OER
Soldiers' experiences with medicine and hospitals in the Civil War
Young scholars explore medicine and hospitals during Civil War using primary sources.
Curated OER
What Can We Learn From the Past?
What would future archeologists learn from your scholars' personal belongings? Have them bring in a box of "primary sources" from their home. Discuss the difference between observations and inference, using some of your own items to...
Curated OER
The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play
This is a fun, thought-provoking lesson plan. Learners use census data from 1855, primary source documents, their historical knowledge, and information regarding the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 to construct and engage in a...
PBS
Malcolm X: Minister and Civil Rights Activist
Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...
Syracuse University
Ancient World Writing System
Most twenty-first century pupils don't know how to interpret cuneiform. Examining images of cuneiform and papyrus writing and using a chart and Venn diagram, young historians extrapolate what life may have been like for people who lived...
Syracuse University
World War I
World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...