Language and Runaway Slave Ads

With so many ways to follow the news today, it is imperative to think critically about the sources of information we are turning to. Here is a fantastic graphic organizer that will help your learners develop the skills to...

Young historians learn how to analyze various forms of primary source documents. The colorful packet is packed with all you need to engage kids in this essential skill.

To sign or not to sign? That is the question facing readers of the 1807 bill proposing an end to the slave trade. After a close reading of excerpts from the bill, readers are asked to advise Thomas Jefferson either to sign or reject the...

What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.

Uncle Sam wants you to support the troops. Learners use an engaging lesson plan to analyze primary and secondary sources to discover what life was really like for American citizens at home during WWII. Pupils complete...

Learners explore the usage of primary sources, what they are and how they originate. Artifacts are compared and contrasted as part of this historical inquiry as questions are formulated and conclusions drawn.

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....

From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...

Look critically at the slave laws instated in Colonial New York. Your class examines primary source documents, slave laws, a narrative account from a slave's perspective, and Slave Codes. They write diary or journal entries in response...