Stanford University
Migrant Mother Significance
What was life like for Migrant Mothers during the Great Depression? High school scholars complete a short assessment relating to primary sources.The assessment tests academics' ability to analyze primary sources by correctly identifying...
Stanford University
Greensboro Sit-Ins
The Greensboro sit-in was an important event of the Civil Rights Movement, but why? Secondary learners analyze a photo from the sit-in to explain what made the event historically significant. The assessment explains what qualifies as a...
Stanford University
Mexican American Rights
What's the best way to date a primary source? A thought-provoking assessment uses written responses to test learners' knowledge of primary source analysis. High school scholars compare text excerpts to determine which documents were...
Stanford University
Arabian Peninsula
How do cultural differences affect our view of history? The assessment geared towards high school historians, focuses on the credibility of primary sources. Young academics analyze a text and complete short answer questions to determine...
Stanford University
Great Plains Homesteaders
"Westward, ho!" may have been their cry in spite of the hardships. Using a series of photographs by Solomon D. Butcher of those who ventured west, class members consider what life was like in the 1800s for those who embarked on the...
Stanford University
Fort Sumter
The headlines screamed what everyone knew was coming: War! While Fort Sumter was considered the first battle of the Civil War, the engagement played differently in newspapers at the time. Using coverage from Northern and Southern...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
American Indians and their Environment
People could take a page in ingenuity and survival from the Powhatans. Deer skins became clothes, and the members of the Native American group farmed the rich Virginia soil and hunted in its forests for food. Using images of artifacts...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Founding Documents
Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson plan challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: January 2011
Using primary and secondary sources—including classics such as the Communist Manifesto—class members consider the effects of these ideas on the course of history. Another essay prompt explores geography and history, while multiple-choice...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2011
Those who lived during the Great Depression could clearly draw a line between the roaring 1920s and the desolation of the following decade. Class members examine these two periods and compare them using an essay question prompt and...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: August 2010
Geography has played a complex role in America history. The Atlantic Ocean has served as a buffer to protect the United States from European Wars, but its proximity to Cuba, however, left it vulnerable to nuclear war during the Cuban...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2011
The Mongols, Spanish, and Ottomans all rewrote history with their conquest and control of empires. Yet, each made its mark differently. Using a variety of secondary and primary sources, pupils consider the similarities and differences...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: June 2011
People in Ukraine, Rwanda, and Cambodia have all faced challenges to their human rights and even genocide. Using primary and secondary sources, scholars evaluate these challenges and the international community's role in them. The...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2010
Three major faith traditions have shaped world history: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Using secondary sources from textbooks, as well as primary source documents, such as Aztec legends, pupils explore the interplay of these...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: June 2010
Using a set of primary source documents, such as descriptions of climate phenomena and images of weather events, pupils consider how climate shapes history. A second essay prompt and multiple-choice questions with documents engage...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: August 2011
Using primary source documents, pupils consider how the United States' democratic story has evolved over time. A second essay question examines the role of geography in history, and multiple-choice questions sharpen test-taking skills.
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2010
Just how successful were the reform movements of the ninteenth and twentieth centuries? Using documents ranging from the writings of Mother Jones to the marriage vows of Lucy Stone, individuals consider the question in a scaffolded...
Smithsonian Institution
Latino Patriots
Pupils may not be familiar with Bernardo de Gálvez or Juan Seguín, but these Latinx patriots played important roles in American history. Using biographies of the Revolutionary War hero and Texan politician, historians consider how Latinx...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: January 2010
Agriculture was more revolutionary than some might think. Using a primary source set—including photos of artifacts from Mesopotamia and an amusing comic—learners consider the impacts of the neolithic, agricultural, and green revolutions....
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2011
The presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan were defined by the Cold War. Using primary source documents and scaffolded analysis questions, pupils explore the effect the Cold War had on these presidencies. A...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2010
From the trade of the colonial era to the Clean Water Act, water has shaped American history. Class members unpack how water affected the American story using primary sources that span events including the Lewis and Clark expedition to...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2012
The reform movements—such as abolition, the push for women's suffrage, and the labor movement—shaped modern America. A document analysis activity and essay prompt help learners consider why. Other items in the high-level exam include an...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2013
While the 1950s seemed to be a time of peace and prosperity, Sputnik, the Korean War, and the Montgomery bus boycott were symptoms of the turmoil that loomed under the surface. Using documents, class members investigate what these events...