PBS
Cesar Chavez: Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist
Cesar Chavez believed so much in the cause of farmworkers that he put his money where his mouth was. Chavez quit his well-paying job to organize them into labor unions. Using a speech, photograph, and short biographical video, pupils...
Curated OER
Worksheet for Analysis of a Poster
In this primary source analysis worksheet, learners respond to 25 short answer questions that require them to analyze the provided poster from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
Curated OER
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: How to Analyze a Historic Photograph
Young scholars analyze historical images. In this primary source analysis lesson, students examine an photograph of Hershey, PA from the 1920's. Young scholars collaborate with one another and their instructor to note the details in the...
Curated OER
Immigrating to America
Students study the American immigration experience. In this Ellis Island lesson, students research primary documents from the immigration station, take a tour of the station, and then prepare and perform dramatic presentations based on...
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
A Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington
Students read primary source newspaper articles from mid 19th century United States. The topics of the articles are slavery, abolitionism and colonization. Students are given several options for activities based on the readings.
Curated OER
World Cup: Did England rig the results?
Students discuss a rugby match to understand its world implications. In this rugby lesson, students read and analyze primary documents to find how sports effect world relations. Students answer critical thinking questions related...
Curated OER
Stowage of the British slave ship Brookes under the Regulated Slave Trade Act of 1788
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze the diagram of regulated slave trade cargo. Students respond to 2 short answer questions about the diagram.
Curated OER
President Roosevelt Seeks Feedback on New Deal Programs
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze a letter from President Roosevelt to clergymen regarding New Deal programs. Students respond to 1 short answer question about the letter.
Curated OER
The Real World Revisited
Class members participate in a series of hands on, online, and multimedia activities to identify the difference between primary and secondary sources. They watch a related video and visit a variety of sites to locate primary and...
Curated OER
World War I
Eleventh graders investigate propaganda used during World War I. In this World War I activity, 10th graders examine propaganda from the war and analyze war posters. Students then create their own propaganda posters on listed topics.
Curated OER
The Railroads in Texas
Seventh graders differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources, such as biographies from the Handbook of Texas. They analyze the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations, such as the railroad,...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Fueling the Future
Future mechanical engineers and automotive technicians read about various solutions to using gasoline in cars. Included are electric, fuel-cell-powered, and hybrid vehicles.
Mr. Roughton
The Maya Files
Class members adopt the role of Law and Order history investigators and examine primary source documents to determine the legitimacy of Marco Polo's claim that he traveled to and traded in China. A cleverly crafted...
National Endowment for the Humanities
People and Places in the North and South
North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...
Curated OER
A State Divided - Maryland in the Civil War Era
Students use primary sources to see how Maryland was a divided state during the time leading up to the Civil War. For this Civil War lesson plan, students go over vocabulary, and look at maps that show the division of opinions of people...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Soldier: Experiencing the Battle of Franklin
Fighting a war over home soil makes a living nightmare even more real. Class members describe the experience of a Civil War soldier during the Battle of Franklin, poised right at a major turning point of the war, after researching the...
Center for History and New Media
The Daily Experience of the Laurel Grove School, 1925
What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....
DocsTeach
Patent Analysis: Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone
Believe it or not, the plugs and wires on Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for telegraph improvements has a direct connection to devices today. Young historians examine the fine details of the patent application. After they...
Simon & Schuster
A Teacher's Guide to 1776 by David McCullough
David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 1776, is the focus of a 28-page teacher's guide. The guide includes pre-reading questions, background information about key British and American figures, and chapter-by-chapter lessons.
Freedom Archives
Special St. Augustine Issue
The articles and images in the June 1964 edition of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Newsletter detail the events in St. Augustine that were instrumental in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The stirring...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Camps
Britain's decision not to bomb German death camps in World War II has provided many questions for historians, but with a primary source analysis lesson, high school students may be a step closer to finding out the truth. Learners read...
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Japan and the Atom Bomb
Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...