Living to Tell Their Tales

A historic site marks a place where a relevant historical event occurred, no matter how many people know about it. Small groups choose their own historical sites, including a place where a class member was born, or even a football field...

How far back is 40,000 years? Scholars research the first indigenous people in Aboriginal Australia. Using museum artifacts, maps, and background readings, they form conclusions on the life of the first Australians and their struggles to...

Scholars know him for his role in the American Revolution, but Ben Franklin was also a journalist and printer. Learners investigate his standards for what was fit to print using primary sources—including writings where Franklin explains...

A 12-minute virtual tour introduces viewers to the newest exhibition at the Plymouth Plantation museum. The video, featuring artifacts from an archaeological dig at historic Patuxet and Plymouth, begins with Wampanoag displays and moves...

Context is key when it comes to historical research. Prior to field research, class members learn as much as they can about the site they are going to visit. Groups investigate and prepare presentations about the history of the site, the...

Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...

Guess Who? The first lady edition! Scholars read documents to figure out the first lady that is being described. The activity focuses on Pat Nixon, the wife of President Richard Nixon. Academics then work in pairs and share their...

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...

Because the monsters Scylla, Charybdis, and Polyphemus in Homer's Odyssey are fictional, scholars may assume the Iliad is also entirely fictional. A carefully researched video describes Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of the historical...