National Endowment for the Humanities
The Metamorphoses and Later Works of Art: A Comparison of Mythic Imagery
In a lesson on The Metamorphoses, scholars compare how graphic artists use mythic imagery to represent Ovid's tales. Each group selects a work of art paired with Ovid's version of a myth and compares how both present the story.
National Endowment for the Humanities
David Walker vs. John Day: Two Nineteenth-Century Free Black Men
What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...
Digital Public Library of America
The Poetry of Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...
Curated OER
Twentieth Century Entertainment: When Work is Done
Students determine how Americans enjoy leisure time. In this 20th century America lesson, students research primary sources to study how Americans gained leisure time during the century and what they did with it.
University of North Carolina
Evaluating Print Sources
Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies instructional activity. Learners of all ages...
Curated OER
Exploring Race Through Literature
Provide your class with an opportunity to examine race through a variety of literary works. They read and analyze a chosen poem, interview, speech, or story describing race in America. They then use key words from the original work to...
National History Day
“The Art of War”: Trench Art of World War I
Teach pupils how veterans used art to deal with PTSD and shell-shock from trench warfare during World War I. Scholars use graphic organizers, a cartoon analysis sheet, and their own inferences to analyze primary source art work by veterans.
Curated OER
Examining Women's Roles through Primary Sources and Literature
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this women's history lesson, students examine the role of women prior to and following the suffrage movement. Students also read selected pieces of women's...
TCI
What Are the Biggest April Fools Jokes of All Time?
After working in groups to analyze primary sources related to a historical hoax, learners will discuss how people managed to be fooled and work to identify one of the biggest April Fools jokes in history.
Middle Tennessee State University
The Invention of the Telephone
All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his sketch of the...
Curated OER
The Women’s Suffrage Movement
A set of lessons about the women's suffrage movement will bring history to life for your middle schoolers. Learners study primary documents, learn about famous suffragettes, and compare the suffrage movement to current events...
Curated OER
The Poetry of Chinese Immigration
Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...
Curated OER
A Bracero Remembers Working Near Chicago
In this primary source analysis activity, students analyze an interview with a bracero who describes his memories of working near Chicago. Students respond to 3 short answer questions based on the interview.
Curated OER
A Bracero Describes Work in New Mexico
In this primary source analysis activity, students analyze an interview with a bracero whose boss tried to take his money. Students respond to 3 short answer questions based on the interview.
Curated OER
Interpreting Primary Sources: Letters
In this primary source analysis worksheet, young scholars examine letters and respond to 8 short answer questions regarding their content.
Curated OER
Voices from Little Rock: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement through Primary Sources
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...
College Board
Evaluating Sources: How Credible Are They?
How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...
K20 Learn
Bavaria Has Issues...Experimental Components
New ReviewDo you want to be a detective by analyzing situations? An engaging lesson provides young historians with the tools to help them understand the difference between data types and how to analyze them to draw conclusions. Scholars complete...
DocsTeach
Ernest Hemingway: Life and Works
An interactive activity asks scholars to match the title of an Ernest Hemingway novel with one of seven photographs.
DocsTeach
Around the World with Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was a traveler and added evidence of these travels to his works. An engaging activity asks readers to analyze 20 photographs of the author, then drag the images to the correct location on an interactive map.
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. The why...
We are Teachers
Read Like a Detective
Encourage your young readers to become true detectives in their next literary adventure! Here you'll find an attractive display that will prompt your learners to constantly be looking for clues, asking questions, making cases about the...
Curated OER
Mapping My Spot in History
Students create their own town's history. They place themselves on the map in a literal as well as figurative sense. Students produce portions of an updated version of an early twentieth century panoramic map. Students gather information...