PBS
Observation
Students study making scientific observations . They conduct a "field study" in their attic and make observations about their family artifacts based upon physical attributes. In addition, they determine what characteristics of an object...
Curated OER
Animating a Historic Event
Research a historic event using textbooks, primary source documents, the Internet, and other library and media resources. Young historians will take the research they have gathered and write an attention-grabbing, historically accurate...
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
Using Truman Trivia as a Springboard to Research and Oral Presentation Skills
Students research Truman Library website and gather ten trivia facts. They prepare a short oral presentation on one of their questions, scoring each other on speaking and listening skills. Then they create a Truman campaign button.
Curated OER
Teaching With Primary Sources
Students examine primary sources. In this primary sources lesson, students evaluate 19th century advertisements. Students create and illustrate an advertisement.
Curated OER
People and Places
Fifth graders investigate how the geography of the land effected the human experience of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They research using primary and secondary sources, design a map.
Curated OER
Living to Tell Their Tales
Students explore ways in which the elderly can be valuable resources in learning about history. By conducting their own historical research through interviews with the elderly, students come to appreciate this resource first-hand.
Library of Congress
Loc: For Teachers: Analyzing Primary Source Documents
These student worksheets and activities help students analyze many different types of primary source documents. Life histories, objects, and photographs are all used to engage students.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Colonizing the Bay
John Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity" was delivered as a sermon aboard the Arabella, as the Puritans approached their destination of Massachusetts Bay in 1630. The speech spells out his vision of the society they hoped to create...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Mapping the Past
This lesson plan requires the students to examine past maps from various cultures in order to learn how the people from that time period interacted and understood their world.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Art to Zoo Playing Historical Detective
Students become detectives, reading and analyzing documents and artifacts as clues to the life of a nineteenth century woman, Annie Steel. The students then use various materials to create a series of collages.
US National Archives
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents
A collection of one hundred documents that are significant in shaping the history of the United States, beginning with the Lee Resolution of June 7, 1776, and ending with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Other
Object of History: Guide to Doing History With Objects
Explore the dimensions of America's rich history by taking a detailed look at objects from our past. Examine stories, important moments, and the evolution of the American people via primary documents, photos, and other artifacts.
Other
Archives Pei: Heritage Fair Projects a Guide to Sources [Pdf]
A comprehensive resource for students and teachers for planning and researching a project for a heritage fair. While it is intended for Prince Edward Island residents, it offers excellent tips, web links and books for guidance.
Other
The Road to Revolution
This is a site for a 14-day United States History unit on the events leading up to the American Revolution. The point of this unit is to help students form an understanding of events by using multiple primary accounts (teaching...
Other
Dwellings: The Message of Houses and Their Contents, 1780 1820
Architectural styles of the times reflected the economic status and taste of the individuals who owned the houses. As this turn of the century proceeded from 1780 to 1820, many changes occurred in communication, transportation,...
Other
Georgia Tech Research Institute: Chronicling America: Us News Map
A fascinating way to look at history, this interactive map lets you search for a person, event, issue, etc. over a specified time frame and it maps newspapers containing related content onto a map of the United States. An additional...
Other
Historical Scene Investigation: The Boston "Massacre"
In this activity, students examine primary sources to learn about the perspectives of the different parties involved in the Boston Massacre of 1770, and to form opinions about who was responsible for what happened and whether the verdict...
![Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf] Lesson Plan](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410042/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0ymjm1lwl2exnyai5qcgc.jpg?1589985000 "Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Library of Congress
Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf]
As the United States expanded westward, many cultural groups came into contact with one another, such as Native American tribes, Chinese, and various Europeans. In this set of exercises, students use primary source documents to explore...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Balancing Sources
This is from an American history course designed for teachers to enrich their knowledge and their teaching practice. This interactive is a set of nine exercises where teachers evaluate primary resources related to a specific event in...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Analyzing Artifacts
Learn the steps in the 5-step process that historians use when they analyze an artifact as you investigate what you can learn from Native American and other items.
Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: A Student's Guide to Historical Research
This resource focuses on teaching students how to do historical research via a series of steps. Historical photos and documents are included as examples.
PBS
Pbs: The Perilous Fight: America's World War Ii in Color
Online home of the PBS documentary "The Perilous Fight" provides access to an eclectic array of color photographs and films of World War II at home and abroad. Overviews, contextual clues, maps, letters, and similar resources can be...
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Virginians Respond
In this lesson, students use primary sources to explore how Virginians responded to the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court in 1954 that called for an end to school segregation. They look in particular at Virginia's...
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Bullock Museum: Artifact Gallery
A database of artifacts and articles related to Texas and its history. The artifacts are in different museums, or you can restrict your search to the Bullock Museum. You can search by time period from BCE to the present day, and by type...