Choose primary sources and pull them together into an online learning activity using one of our DocsTeach tools.
Tag: lesson_plans
The Civil War as Photographed by Mathew Brady, a New Teaching Activity
Students can reflect on the lives of soldiers during the Civil War by analyzing photographs taken by renowned photographer Mathew Brady in this new learning activity on DocsTeach.org. The holdings of the National Archives include over 6,000 photographs taken by Brady and his associates during the Civil War era; 16 are included in this activity. In … Continue reading The Civil War as Photographed by Mathew Brady, a New Teaching Activity
New Teaching Activity: The Zimmermann Telegram
Students will analyze the Zimmermann telegram to evaluate whether the United States should have entered World War I.
New DocsTeach Activity: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In this new activity on DocsTeach.org—our online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives—students will read, analyze, and summarize Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. We suggest teaching with this activity during a unit on civil rights in grades 9–12. Approximate time needed … Continue reading New DocsTeach Activity: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Congress and Harriet Tubman’s Claim for a Pension
Harriet Tubman was also a nurse, cook, and spy. This lesson can help your students understand how her service was acknowledged by Congress.
To What Extent was Reconstruction a Revolution?
Reconstruction was a tumultuous period in American history, and the question of whether it produced lasting change in regard to civil rights is still debated by scholars. A DocsTeach Activity using primary sources allows your students to enter the debate and develop critical thinking skills by evaluating historical congressional records as historians. Available on DocsTeach.org, … Continue reading To What Extent was Reconstruction a Revolution?
Black Soldiers in the Civil War: A New DocsTeach Activity
In this activity, students can analyze a Government poster used to recruit recently freed slaves to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War. The poster refers to the Emancipation Proclamation and President Lincoln’s General Order 233, to provide equal pay for Black soldiers and equal protection if they were captured by the Confederacy and became … Continue reading Black Soldiers in the Civil War: A New DocsTeach Activity
The Equal Rights Amendment: The Most Popular Never-Ratified Amendment
Documents from the records of Congress help students understand why the Equal Rights Amendment wasn't ratified, even with its considerable support.
Connecting Science and Diplomacy: President Ford at 100
Our new "Apollo-Soyuz: Space Age Detente" activity invites students to explore how President Ford used the first joint country space flight as a diplomatic opportunity.
The Documents Behind Twelve Years a Slave
Students can see part of Solomon Northup’s story, told in his 1853 autobiography and the new movie, Twelve Years a Slave, in documents found in the National Archives.