Arm your class members with the six C's of primary source analysis—content, citation, context, connections, communication, and conclusions—and help them to establish a solid system for analyzing historical sources of...

Why did many Tennesseeans support the 1925 Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution? Using several primary source documents and a brief video clip, your young historians will draw connections between the broader historical...

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...

Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...

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...

Students consider works of art in their historical context. For this art in historical context lesson, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...

How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...

The class reads the description of the "Drawing of an African Burial Ground Grave In Situ" then completes a work sheet. They act like archaeologists and answer a series of critical thinking questions to better understand the historical...

Bridging art and math can be as easy as making tessellations. The art, context, and life of M.C. Escher is explained to the class, as is the concept of tessellations. After a bit of art history, pupils get out the ruler, tape, and...

Don't let your pupils waste another second drawing out lines for your next timeline assignment. Pass out this worksheet and get straight to the main activity!

Students examine a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries, to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the...

Are Civil War monuments a kind remembrance or a reminder of a dark past? The lesson focuses on the public's memory of the Civil War and the monuments that represent it. Young academics explore past efforts to change historical symbols...

Young historians compare and contrast differences in the laws that regulated the activities of slaves and servants. They review and analyze a series of primary source documents to explain the social constructs related to slaves and...

Middle and high schoolers study significant people who shaped the 20th-century history and are introduced to database tools. Researchers use the Internet to research five 20th century history makers. They write a short biography of five...

students examine the historical, political, religious and culture aspects of the Renaissance. Using this information, they read "Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht. They use the internet to research a specific event of the time period and come...

Students construct an historical timeline extending from 1840-1850. They discuss various people, places, and events on their timelines.

Over the course of the instructional activity, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763)....

Students examine World War I poetry for historical context, poetic devices, and participate in a class discussion. They write an analysis of the poetry's form and its content.

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Why are US dollars no longer backed by gold and silver? What is our medium of exchange, and what would it be like to live in a barter economy? Learners consider these questions, as well as learn about the major historical events in the...

Students examine the historical, social, and cultural context of modernist poetry. They explore websites, complete a chart, compare/contrast rural and urban life, watch a video of early New York, and complete a writing assessment...

Students explore world history by completing artifact worksheets. In this archaeology lesson, students identify the importance of finding clues when researching historical information by utilizing artifacts. Students research the...

Students identify that history can characterize actions differently from how they were perceived when initially undertaken. Then they identify that terrorist groups exist within a political, cultural, and historical context, and students...