As COVID-19 deaths spiked in 2020, Suzanne Firstenberg’s public art installation "In America: How could this happen…"
Lessons & Activities
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
2/3/2011
In lesson from the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, students examine a primary source that might seem both familiar and strange: a yearbook from Rutgers in 1860, complete with farewell messages from classmates. On close study, the messages from reveal much about the
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Duration:
13 minutes
Date Posted:
4/2/2012
When John Jea joined a ship’s crew in 1806, he was not prepared for the dangerous conditions, hard work, and preparation necessary for life at sea. Listen to a dramatic reading of his narrative, and then study the supporting primary sources to answer the discussion questions. This resourc
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Date Posted:
9/12/2009
In this activity, one of three on the Bracero Archive website, students will discuss their thoughts on immigration, learn about the Bracero labor program, and use photographs to develop deeper understandings of the Bracero labor program.
The Smithso
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Date Posted:
3/27/2013
In this lesson, students will learn about the Jim Crow era in American history through an oral history interview with jazz legend John Levy. The resource set includes photographs and newspaper clippings in addition to the oral history excerpts, a teacher guide, and a student worksheet.
Grade Range:
7-9
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
380 minutes
Date Posted:
12/17/2012
Studying the American presidency offers students an unparalleled opportunity to explore the democratic political process and to deepen their understanding of how this process fits into the whole of American history. While learning about subjects as diverse as campaigns, the media, and presidentia
Grade Range:
7-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
50
minutes
Date Posted:
6/10/2008
This lesson will help students identify with the experiences of camp internees during World War II. Students will be divided into four-member "family" groups that are to be relocated to an internment camp. They will then read two sections of the online exhibition entitled A More Perfect Union
Grade Range:
7-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
100 minutes
Date Posted:
7/7/2008
In this classroom activity, students will research to gather information in order to create a radio broadcast about the five court cases that made up Brown v. Board of Education, and tell the stories of the African Americans from different walks of like who demanded better educational opportuniti
Grade Range:
7-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Duration:
45 minutes
Date Posted:
9/21/2010
In this lesson plan, students analyze news sources from the Vietnam War era to describe how POWs and their families were represented in the media, then write letters from the perspective of the relative of a POW that describes the concerns of POW families. This resource was produced to accompany
Grade Range:
8-12
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
10/25/2013
This activity is designed to encourage students to practice their critical reading and historical comprehension skills by reading about the primary source document entitled the “Development of Freedom Summer.” Key questions are posed after the reading to gauge students’ understanding of the
Grade Range:
8-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities
Date Posted:
9/27/2018
The National Youth Summit brings middle and high school students together with scholars, teachers, policy experts, and activists in a national conversation about important events in America’s past that have relevance to the nation’s present and future. Mark your calendars for the next
