Learning to Read Primary Documents

Kids might know how to walk like an Egyptian but in this lesson they will learn how to read primary source documents like a historian developing critical thinking and research skills.

Young scholars explore the history of Colorado's fur trade. Using a series of primary source documents and the included graphic organizer, learners examine the causes influencing the growth of this industry and the effects it had on both...

Can we learn a thing or two about history by looking at pictures from the past? As young historians view 2-D and 3-D primary source photographs, they respond to a series of worksheets that guides them toward unveiling clues about the past. 

Use primary sources to delve into seven different perspectives of the Boston Massacre. Here, historians read and examine images taken from the Boston Massacre's witnesses and participants. Then, they answer questions dissecting each...

Discover the rich Native American culture that existed at the time of early European exploration into the Chesapeake region through analysis of several primary and secondary sources.

Your young learners will delve into the language of primary source documents in order to identify the characteristics, benefits, and costs of nonviolence. The lesson includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...

By reviewing and analyzing these nine selected points from Martin Luther's 95 Theses, your young historians will discern the major tenets of the revolutionary challenge made against the Catholic Church in the seventeenth century. This is...

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day instructional activity, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary...

Primary sources provide historians glimpses into the past; organize findings visually using this lesson plan demonstrating the educational program, Inspiration. While this lesson plan is useful independently, it is intended to guide...