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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Qualifying to Vote Under Jim Crow

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather laws? Scholars study the systematic ways African-Americans were kept from voting even after it was made a law. They analyze a series of primary source documents, complete a worksheet, and engaged...
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Grant E. Hamilton, “I Rather Like That Imported Affair”

For Students 8th - 11th
Political cartoons are primary source documents and learning to read them can be a challenge. Challenge the reading skills of your class with a political cartoon featuring rough and ready, Teddy Roosevelt. 
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Udo J. Keppler, “Next!”

For Students 8th - 11th
Standard Oil's stranglehold on the US government is the subject of a 1904 political cartoon. Kids use the questions on the provided instructional activity to prompt their analysis of this primary source.
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Theodore Roosevelt, Excerpt from “The Square Deal” Speech

For Students 8th - 11th
Talk about a timely resource! As part of a series of primary source exercises, individuals read and respond to questions about Theodore Roosevelt's "The Square Deal" speech. Roosevelt reminds us of what our social system should be.
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Excerpts from Fireside Chat on Economic Conditions

For Students 8th - 11th
Franklin D. Roosevelt's April 14, 1938 Fireside Chat on economic conditions provides young historians an opportunity to polish their primary source comprehension skills. A great resource to add to you curriculum library.
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Worksheet
3
3
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

For Students 8th - 11th
Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Sources

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine primary source documents about slavery in the United States. They evaluate the documents for the evidence they provide, reliability and bias. They present their evaluation to the class.
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Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Iwo Jima: The View from the Front Lines

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Iwo Jima was the site of some of the most grim fighting in World War II. Learners consider this fact while examining primary sources, including letters home, from those on the front lines. After they complete the analysis, scholars then...
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Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Dear Mother: Synthesizing Historical Evidence

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
It's one thing to read history, it's another to live it. Pupils examine secondary and primary sources that detail the training of soldiers before deployment. Then, they consider the impact of primary sources on how they understand the...
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Assessment
1
1
New York State Education Department

Global History and Geography Examination: June 2011

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Assessment
Stanford University

Iranian Constitutional Revolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What makes a good primary source? The assessment tests pupils' knowledge of how to use primary sources with written responses. Designed for high school social studies, it requires scholars to read and analyze a text excerpt concerning...
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Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Eisenhower on D-Day: Comparing Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to troops for D-Day is iconic. Individuals examine Eisenhower's words and compare that to historians' understanding of the epic events of that day using primary sources, an essay, and a Venn diagram to...
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Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
National Endowment for the Humanities

Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
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Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Evaluating the US Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While the use of the atomic bomb was the definitive end of World War II, the terrible weapons left new questions. Young scholars use primary sources and analytical worksheets to consider the implications of the fateful decision. Then,...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Battle of Saltville

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While women's suffrage is often believed to be the result of a single constitutional amendment, the effort of women to secure the vote spanned decades and continents. Using primary sources in online archives, class members explore the...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony: Petitioning for the Right to Vote

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Franklin, Master Diplomat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While many often associate Ben Franklin with his kite electricity experiments, budding historians find out he contributed much more. They discover Franklin's political savvy by examining primary sources in the informative installment of...
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Lesson Plan
Middle Level Learning

Philip Reid and the Statue of Freedom

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Approach the concept of freedom in United States history from a variety of angles and delve into rich primary source analysis practice. Pupils study the Statue of Freedom, which sits atop the dome of the Capitol building in Washington...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Historical Thinking Matters

Rosa Parks: 5 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
City University of New York

Women's Suffrage and World War I

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect with...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Elizabeth Murray Project

Gender and Opportunity in Colonial America

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What was life like for women in Colonial America? What restrictions were placed upon them and what opportunities were they afforded? A case study of Elizabeth Murray offers high schoolers a chance to investigate primary source documents...

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