American Institute of Physics
Eunice Foote: Scientist and Suffragette
The greenhouse effect and climate change are hot topics in today's news. Young scientists may be surprised to learn that the concept is not a new one. In fact, Eunice Newton Foote, scientist, inventor, and suffragette, discovered the...
American Institute of Physics
African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics
A two-part instructional activity focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by...
University of California
Maurya Connections
While many can name important European explorers, the Maurya empire and its role in building global trade is often neglected in world history curricula. Expand teaching on ancient India topic. Resource set includes ancient texts, such as...
University of California
Jewish Holidays
Modern Jewish holidays have ancient roots with many connections to today. Using photographs of primary sources, such as fragments of a shofar, as well as texts, such as the Hebrew Tanakh, learners explore how Jewish holidays reflect...
University of California
Tenochtitlán
Behold, the Great Aztec empire! Scholars use primary sources to understand the impact of the Aztec city Tenochtitlan. Academics complete a worksheet and participate in group discussion to understand how Tenochtitlan was a melting pot for...
University of California
Sikhism
How does a new religion start? The informative resource highlights the Sikhism religion. Academics learn how the religion was created and spread throughout the ancient world. Scholars view a series of primary sources and complete a...
University of California
Was Slavery Always Racial?
The lesson focuses on slavery in the ancient world and asks academics to decide if it was always about race. Scholars view primary sources, participate in a short discussion, and complete a worksheet to understand how slavery in the...
University of California
Interactions in Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate
An interesting resource focuses on the cultures of different peoples that have lived in Baghdad and their interactions. Academics view 11 sources to understand how Baghdad has been home to people of many faiths and cultures throughout...
University of California
Religious Influences
While the Roman empire often conjures up images of soldiers and emperors, its culture was more complex. Using primary sources, including ancient historians and pictures of artifacts, pupils consider the religious influences on Roman...
University of California
Silk Roads
We take for granted globalization today, but its roots run deep within China centuries ago. Using texts from ancient Chinese historians and photographs of items showing growing Eurasian trade, scholars look at the traces of...
University of California
Hellenistic Culture
It doesn't take long to change the world! Alexander the Great's reign may have been short-lived, but his vision for a multi-cultural Hellenistic world shaped Afroeurasia for centuries. Pupils examine documents, such as excerpts from...
University of California
Contact among Mesopotamia, Egypt, Kush, and Other Societies
Trade has always been a global affair. Explore what global trade meant for ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Kushites using a collection of documents from the historic societies. By examining literary works such as the Epic of...
University of California
Migration of Early Humans: Evidence and Interpretations
While much of prehistory is cloaked in mystery, ancient ancestors left evidence in DNA, languages, and materials from their time. Using photographs of items such as cave paintings and ancient tools, as well as maps of linguistic patterns...
National Park Service
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
Center for History Education
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Iran-Contra Affair: Was Oliver North a Patriot, a Pawn, or an Outlaw?
If you had to write a song about Oliver North, would it be a ballad or a dirge? If you had to put him on a trading card, would he be a hero or the bad guy? Young historians decide for themselves after examining documents from the...
DocsTeach
Two Moments in the Life of Rick Rescorla: Vietnam and 9/11
He saved a group of men under fire from the Viet Cong, and he urged those fleeing the burning Trade Center Towers on 9/11 to "be calm, be strong." Rick Rescorla was last seen going back into the twin towers to bring others to safety....
Center for History Education
Guatemalan Coup of 1954: How Did the Cold War Influence American Foreign Policy Decisions?
Was it all about the bananas—or the fear of a communist threat? Young historians use a history lab to examine documents from the American-led 1954 Guatemalan coup. Using graphics, government documents, and speeches, they examine the...
Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...
Center for History Education
The Louisiana Purchase: Real Estate Deal of the Century?
It's about real estate! Almost overnight, Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase about doubled the size of the young United States ... but was it constitutional? Using a variety of secondary and primary sources, including Jefferson's own...
DocsTeach
The Suffrage and the Civil Rights Reform Movements
It's the American way to put one foot in front of the other and march. Using images of protests from the civil rights and women's suffrage movements, young historians analyze similarities between the two watershed moments of social...
PBS
Decoding Media Bias
Alternative facts? After watching the We The Voters film, "MediOcracy," viewers compare how cable news outlets CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC report the same story about politics or public policy. After a whole-class discussion of their...
Center for History Education
Where Did Thomas Jefferson Stand on the Issue of Slavery?
Thomas Jefferson was a complicated man with a complex legacy. Middle schoolers examine a series of primary source documents to gather evidence for an essay in which they answer where Jefferson stood on the issue of slavery.
DocsTeach
The Vietnam War Timeline: Understanding the Nature of a Controversial Conflict
The story of the Vietnam War is often told through images. Young historians analyze images and primary sources —including the Vietnamese Army's Seven Commandments poster and photos of the daily life of soldiers—to construct a timeline of...
Center for History Education
African Americans and the Democratic Party
Why did African American voters switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic party during the Depression Era? That is the question young historians attempt to answer as they study primary source documents from the period. The focus...