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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Suggestions for using primary sources.
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Website
University of North Carolina

Evaluating Print Sources

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students draw their own conclusions by studying documents created in the past.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anti-Slavery and Reform-Related Sources

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use primary sources to explore events witnessed by ordinary people.  In this primary documents lesson, 5th graders  answer critical thinking questions based on their documents.  Students recognize the difference between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching with Primary Sources Across Tennessee: Debunking Civil War Photographs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars analyze photographs and texts using primary source analysis. In this primary source activity students determine whether the photographs and text are truthful.
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Lesson Plan
Briscoe Center for American History

Applying the SOAPS Method of Analyzing Historical Documents

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...
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Lesson Plan
Historical Thinking Matters

Social Security: 5 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Did the New Deal fundamentally shift the role of the American government in the economy? Your class members will examine the interpretations of various historians in answering this question, and use a variety of primary and secondary...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

The Movement Before the Movement: Civil Rights Activism in the 1940s

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Many educators focus on the civil rights movement as it occurred after Rosa Parks incited the bus boycott. Extend the understanding of the fight for civil rights in the United States with this post-WWII instructional activity. Learners...
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Theodore Roosevelt, Excerpt from “The Man in the Arena” Speech

For Students 8th - 11th
Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" speech not only provides individuals with a chance to develop their reading skills but also provides much food for thought about current political situations. Cynics, fops, and voluptuaries...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining Secondary Sources: The American Revolution

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Learners who have a grasp on the events of the Revolutionary war view clips from five different films as secondary sources. They take notes on each clip thinking about historic inaccuracies. They then view parts of the film The Patriot...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Tobacco Economy: How did the Geography of the Chesapeake Region Influence its Development?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Explore the relationship between geography and economy using primary sources. After examining wills, advertisements, and other primary sources, individuals consider how the Chesapeake Region came to be home first to indentured servants,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining Women's Roles through Primary Sources and Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this women's history lesson, students examine the role of women prior to and following the suffrage movement. Students also read selected pieces of women's...
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Lesson Plan
Middle Tennessee State University

Lesson Plan: Immigration: A Case Study on Multiple Perspectives and Diverse Formats

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
As part of a case study of U.S. immigration during the first part of the 20th century, class members examine a variety of primary sources that present multiple perspectives of the responses of those in favor of immigration and those...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Learning About The Past: Comparing Primary And Secondary Sources

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Scholars find out how primary and secondary sources help us learn the past. Beginning with an anchor chart, class members discuss and write the differences between primary and secondary sources; a card sort is added to the anchor chart...
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Activity
PBS

Document This

For Students 6th - 12th
Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...
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Lesson Plan
Civil War Trust

Transcribing Civil War History

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...
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Unit Plan
University of California

The Cold War (America)

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
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Lesson Plan
Historical Thinking Matters

Scopes Trial: 3 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...
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Lesson Plan
2
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TCI

Ain't I a Woman?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Learners discover the impact of women on civil rights in United States history by analyzing primary source clues to identify influential female figures.
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Participants examine two documents related to Rosa Parks and the bus boycott, sources that challenge some of the commonly held preconceptions about Rosa Parks. They then respond to discussion questions to reinforce understanding and...
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Lesson Plan
1
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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
University of California

Impact of the California Missions on Native Americans

For Teachers 4th Standards
While the Spanish claimed to bring civilization to California indigenous peoples, in reality, they also brought violence and forced assimilation to European values. Primary sources, such as the reports of Catholic priests and Europeans...

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