A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...

Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Tintin? Belgian cartoonist Georges (Herge) Remi’s famous comic character launches a study of primary and secondary source material and the impact these sources have on storytelling. Class members also examine the...

A research project is only as good as the credibility of its sources. Teach elementary learners to evaluate their sources by identifying author, time of publication, and area where the source was published, among other details.

Students investigate and distinguish between primary and secondary sources when analyzing works of literature. They present their information on transparencies that are displayed to the class.

Learners see how to use primary and secondary sources to investigate history. Whether it is a photograph, book, map, letter, postcard, newspaper, or official document, students can use sources to reconstruct and relive history.

Students review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....

Even in a world in which dozens of participants and curious onlookers record every controversial event, the basic facts of what happened are often in dispute. Revolution '67, Lesson 2 explores 1967 Newark, New Jersey using an examination...

Who is George Winter? Learners review knowledge of George Winter, an artist who captured images of the Trail of Tears. They distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources and determine the reliability of a document....

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.

Students distinguish between primary and secondary sources when researching on the Internet and evaluating historical records. They recognize important features of a primary source such as the type of document, who created it, what is...

Explore the U.S.S. Nevada. Researchers use primary sources, secondary sources, children's books and websites to study the naval ship. Their study commences with a class alphabet book on the ship. Intended to be part of a lesson on...

“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...

How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...

Fourth graders read about Harriet Tubman and develop vocabulary lists.  In this Underground Railroad lesson, 4th graders find similarities and differences in primary and secondary sources, create a timeline and recognize important...

Eleventh graders consider the impact of the Underground Railroad. In this slavery activity, 11th graders examine primary documents as they conduct independent research to explore the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for...

The post-Revolutionary Period of 1781-1787, also known as the Critical Period, is the focus of a series of lessons that prompt class members to examine primary source documents that reveal the instability of the period of the...

Fourth graders become familiar with the explorations of Hernando DeSoto. In this DeSoto lesson plan, 4th graders recognize the routes and territories of DeSoto's explorations. Students use primary and secondary sources and research to...

Students evaluate historical sources. In groups, students explore the differences between a primary and secondary source. They examine the importance of evaluating sources and using credible ones when writing reports. Students...

Twelfth graders identify the difference between a primary and a secondary source, and use writing as a tool for learning and research. They compile information from primary and secondary sources using available technology.

Students use primary and secondary sources to conduct research about Glenn Cunningham. For this Glenn Cunningham lesson plan, students tell why he was a hero, and tell facts from what they learned.

Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...

Students define the term "liberty." They explore the concept of liberty in our nation's history and how it is reflected throughout our rich culture. Students connect the office of the presidency to our nations' development and its place...