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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Many Bens: Character Revealed in Writing

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Benjamin Franklin may be known as a Founding Father, but he was also a prolific writer. Scholars examine his better-known pieces to learn about genre, voice, and early American history. The resource includes options for various...
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment

For Teachers 8th Standards
How did the Emancipation Proclamation lead to the Thirteenth Amendment? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents including the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, political cartoons, photographs, and prints to understand the...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, although dissimilar in their backgrounds, were united in their views about slavery. A set of 14 primary sources permits scholars to examine the views of these two powerful men.
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Lesson Plan
Personal Genetics Education Project

Using Primary Sources to Examine the History of Eugenics

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Eugenics philosophy takes survival of the fittest to a whole new level. With a research-focused lesson, young scientists examine the history of the eugenics movement and its impact on society. Pupils engage with a video clip, primary...
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Worksheet
Student Handouts

Working with Primary Sources: The Spanish-American War

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Examine the introduction to Our Islands in Their People, written by Major-General Joseph Wheeler. The excerpt, which is about two-and-a-half pages long, is included here along with six questions about the text. Pupils can learn about the...
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Worksheet
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Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Excerpt from Reagan's Speech "A Time for Choosing"

For Students 8th - 11th
An excerpt from Ronald Reagan's October 27, 1964 speech in support of presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, "A Time for Choosing," is the text for primary source analysis activity. After reading the document, learners respond to seven...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore personal, local, state, and national history. In this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local, state, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Documents: "Agreeable to His Genius"

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Young scholars use primary sources to reconstruct events in the life of John Partidge Bull.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World War II Through Primary Sources

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore, analyze and study World War II through primary sources to assess the differences and impact of a "world war" vs. "a small war." They critique liberated prisoner letters, describe what they see in photographs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Primary Sources and Archaeology in the Study of Ancient Mediterranean Trade

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders begin the lesson by plotting trade routes, major empires and items traded. Using primary sources, they examine their own values regarding trading items for royality. They participate in a role-play exercise in which they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interpreting Primary Sources: Letters

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students examine letters and respond to 8 short answer questions regarding their content.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

FDR's Tree Army: Personal Turning Points in the CCC

For Teachers 10th - 12th
What's the "deal" with the Civilian Conservation Corps? Primary sources help historians discover the impact of this landmark legislation. After an introductory slideshow and 7-minute video, groups analyze packets of images and a primary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping My Spot in History

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students create their own town's history. They place themselves on the map in a literal as well as figurative sense. Students produce portions of an updated version of an early twentieth century panoramic map. Students gather information...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coming to America: U.S. Immigration

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Analyze primary source documents relating the conditions under with prompted American immigration. Learners will analyze information in order to create a six-panel pamphlet. Much of the lesson is not available but the key objectives are....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Drafts of the Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders compare drafts of the Declaration of Independence. In this primary source analysis lesson, 7th graders access copies of Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the document and compare it the final document that gave birth...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Migrant's Scrapbook from the First Great Migration

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Help young historians personally engage in the stories of African Americans during the Great Migration! Assessing a migration route map, learners create a migrant character's experience, adding details while studying primary sources. A...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The assassination of the Archduke: Exploring Perspectives

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Use political cartoons for a multiple-perspectives strategy, as pupils learn about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After an anticipatory discussion, they are split into 2 groups. The class reads a primary source account...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers write about the impact of the Underground Railroad. They examine primary documents as they conduct independent research to explore the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for abolition. They compose essays...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Evolution of the Preamble

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Reading and comprehending informational text is vital in all subject areas. Upper graders use primary sources and worksheets to better comprehend the historical importance of the Preamble of the US Constitution. Web links, handouts, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expanding the Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Introduce the class to the Civil Rights Movement by taking a critical look at the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. They will pay close attention to the role women played in organizing the boycott and bringing national attention to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play

For Teachers 8th - 10th
This is a fun, thought-provoking lesson. Learners use census data from 1855, primary source documents, their historical knowledge, and information regarding the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 to construct and engage in a role-play....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching With Primary Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students examine primary sources. In this primary sources lesson, students evaluate 19th century advertisements. Students create and illustrate an advertisement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Confino Primary Source Activity Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine methods of accounting for historical events. In this local history lesson, students use primary sources to explore the story of a tenement house family in New York. Students discuss the sources they encounter as they...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Evaluating Historical Sources on Juana Briones

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Most have never heard of Juana Briones, the incredible woman who came to own property and divorce her husband in 1850s California. Yet, her relatively unknown life reflects the historical dynamics of the American West, particularly those...

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