US National Archives
Docsteach: Birth of the Environmental Protection Agency (Epa)
By the late 1960s, issues of unchecked land development, urban decay, and air, noise, and water pollution came to Americans' attention. In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a large-scale...
US National Archives
Docsteach: How Effective Were the Efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau?
In this activity, young scholars will analyze documents from the War Department's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands - better known as the Freedmen's Bureau - that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War...
US National Archives
Docsteach: To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 1)
Students will examine several historical congressional records from the Reconstruction period to assess whether they show evidence that the Reconstruction period of American history should or should not be viewed as a revolution. The...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Wwi America: Babe Ruth's Draft Card
Students will examine the language of the WWI draft card for George Herman 'Babe' Ruth to try and determine differences between American society during World War I and the present day.
US National Archives
Docsteach: A Famous Person and Event Revealed: Examining an Arrest Record
This activity requires students to examine the arrest record of an un-named person. Students will analyze and evaluate the data contained in the document, applying prior knowledge, to discern what happened in the incident and the...
US National Archives
Docsteach: A Famous Person and Event Revealed: Examining Where Rosa Parks Sat
In this activity, students will examine a diagram of the bus in which Rosa Parks took a seat. Ms. Parks' name has been blacked out. Students will analyze and evaluate the document, then apply prior knowledge to discern what this document...
US National Archives
Docsteach: To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 2)
This activity is a continuation of the lesson for Part 1. In it, students will examine the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and determine whether their analysis of this document changes their responses to the guiding question in Part 1...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Effects of Food Regulation in the Progressive Era
In this activity, students will see and read about the differences in food manufacturing practices before and after the new food laws passed in 1906: the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Compare Wwi Posters Urging Americans to Conserve Food for War Effort
Middle schoolers will speculate why the U. S. Food Administration created posters urging Americans to conserve wheat in multiple languages and what techniques the administration used to appeal to citizens.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The First Amendment
In this activity students will analyze documents that span the course of American history to determine their connection to the different phrases found within the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Uncle Sam and the American Diet
For this activity, learners will closely examine two food nutrition guideline posters from the USDA to determine the government's purpose in creating such guidelines and how they have changed over time. Students will also question how...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Americans on the Homefront Helped Win World War I
In this activity, young scholars will match documents to visualize ways that Americans contributed to the war effort on the homefront during World War I. Students will see a payoff image related to the armistice celebration and reflect...
US National Archives
Docsteach: u.s. V. Amistad: A Case of Jurisdiction
Students will analyze specified passages from the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Libellants of Schooner Amistad to explore the concept of jurisdiction and how a case travels through the federal court system.
US National Archives
Docsteach: The School Lunch Program and the Federal Government
Learners will draw upon the visual and textual data presented in photographs and documents to gain an understanding of how the federal school lunch program is a direct result of the Great Depression, how it became a permanent part of the...
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Suffrage and the Civil Rights Reform Movements
This short comparative analysis activity involves comparing and contrasting two images of marches for freedom - a 1917 march of suffragists and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Civil Rights leaders. Students will...
US National Archives
Docsteach: The New Deal: Revolution or Reform?
Students will analyze primary sources related to the New Deal. They will analyze specific documents to determine if overall the New Deal represents a revolution or a reform in our history.
US National Archives
Docsteach: To Sign or Not to Sign
Middle schoolers will consider the arguments made by members of the Continental Congress regarding whether or not to sign the Declaration of Independence. They will also have the opportunity to analyze each section of the Declaration to...
US National Archives
Docsteach: National Monuments Express National Values
In this activity, students will identify and analyze national monuments and buildings to discover how they represent American people, ideas and institutions.
US National Archives
Docsteach: We the People
In this activity, students will examine the original and final drafts of the Constitution and evaluate the significance of the selection of the words 'We the People.'
US National Archives
Docsteach: The Legislative Process: Congress at Work
Students will analyze historical records of the House and Senate to understand the sequence of steps in the legislative process. The students will work collaboratively to study documents and identify the step in the process that each...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Finding American Symbols
Students will identify symbols used in the original design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782) and assess how the symbols connect with important American ideas.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Guess Who?: Analyzing Einstein's Citizenship Application
Students will examine and interpret information from a Declaration of Intention document to discover the individual applying for citizenship in the United States - Albert Einstein.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Prequel to Independence
In this activity, students sequence key events leading to the Declaration of Independence by placing documents in chronological order.
US National Archives
Docsteach: We Shall Overcome: March on Washington
Students will discover the reasons behind the March on Washington and analyze the impact and consequences on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.