Loc: Illinois Entered the Union 21st State

Middle schoolers review and analyze major topics presented by President Bush during his 2007 State of the Union Address. They generate research questions surrounding the president's claims and calls to action. They then research...

Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...

Young historians read and analyze a soldier's direct account of his participation in the battle of Gettysburg, as well as consider the overall strategy and tactics taken by the Union and Confederate troops.

Learners read New York Times articles, letters, and listen to songs written from a soldier's perspective during the Civil War in order to understand who was fighting in the Union Army. This is a great lesson, complete with weblinks,...

While the Constitution requires a "State of the Union" address, it doesn't give many details. In fact, it wasn't until Woodrow Wilson that the periodic update to Congress was given in-person. Using primary sources, recordings and...

How can word choice affect a political speech? Middle and high schoolers examine the text of the 1999 State of the Union Address, and then determine how newspaper articles and television reports describe and analyze the event. Use this...

How did Abraham Lincoln begin to change the minds of American citizens? Join him in his quest with a reading passage about Lincoln's experiences as a congressman and public denouncement of slavery. The resource contains reading...

Have class members eager to enter the workforce? They'll be glad to learn that things aren't how they used to be. Have your young historians examine then discuss four primary source images related to the negative effects of...

North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...

An interesting resource explores President Truman's decision to enter into the Korean War to contain the spread of communism. Historians analyze the document using an online worksheet before participating in group discussion on the...