In response to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, the NAACP selected nine African American students to attempt to integrate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. After the students were prevented from attending the school by the governor and mobs of segregationists, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne to escort the students into campus. But what was school like for students once they arrived? In this lesson, students examine five documents to learn about the experiences of one student, Minnijean Brown, in desegregating Central High School.

This assessment gauges students’ ability to contextualize two historical documents and place them in the correct chronological order. Document A is a passage from a press conference held by the Chicano Moratorium Committee in 1970. Document B is an interview with a Mexican American farmworker in 1941. This assessment draws on students' knowledge about Mexican American rights in a way that goes beyond the simple recall of facts and dates. In this assessment, students must show that they have a broad understanding of how Mexican American rights changed over time and demonstrate the ability to use knowledge about the past to place the two documents in context.

In this assessment, students who correctly contextualize the documents will see that Document B, which describes segregation between whites and Mexican Americans, was likely written before Document A, a press conference held by the Chicano Moratorium Committee.

This assessment gauges students' knowledge of the past. Rather than measure whether students can simply recall decontextualized facts, this assessment requires students to make connections across time and construct an argument about how events are connected. Students with a strong sense of the past will be able to explain that the Great Depression intensified anti-immigrant scapegoating like that included in this letter or that McClatchy wrote to Congress about how to solve the “problem of unemployment” because the unemployment rate was very high during the Great Depression. Strong students will also be able to connect the xenophobia and racism against Mexicans conveyed in the letter with Mexican Repatriation.

From 1910 to 1929, one-tenth of Mexico’s population (about one million people) moved to the United States. This historic wave of migration came to a halt in the 1930s, and in the new decade, more Mexicans left the U.S. than entered. In this lesson, students examine congressional testimony, photographs, industry correspondence, and state legislation to answer the question: Why did Mexican migration to the U.S. drastically change in the 1930s?

In 1924, Congress and President Calvin Coolidge drastically restricted immigration to the U.S. by placing most countries on a strict quota system. Mexico was excluded from these restrictions. In this same period, however, Mexicans in the U.S. commonly faced discrimination and even racial violence. In this lesson, students read six historical documents to answer the central historical question: Were Mexicans welcome in the United States in the 1920s?

This question asks students to engage in sourcing, contextualization, and corroboration. Students must consider how the contextual information about the creation of the photograph affects its reliability as historical evidence of Pancho Villa and his forces during the Mexican Revolution. Students must also think about what other information they might seek to help them evaluate the reliability of the document.

In this lesson, students are presented with a claim made on Twitter about a massacre of Mexican Americans by law enforcement in Porvenir, Texas. Students use the internet to evaluate the trustworthiness of several historical sources and learn about the 1918 massacre.

This lesson gives students an opportunity to practice the click restraint strategy introduced in the Click Restraint Level 1 Lesson.

This lesson includes Teacher and Student materials.

In this lesson, students analyze primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Who was a stronger advocate for African-Americans, Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois? The teacher first uses a mini-lecture and a streaming video clip from Discovery Education to explain late 19th-century race relations in the South. Students then analyze an excerpt from Washington‰ŰŞs ‘Atlanta Compromise‰ŰŞ speech as the teacher models‰ŰÓextensively‰ŰÓsourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and close reading techniques, answering questions on a graphic organizer. Students then do the same, on their own, with a selection from DuBois‰ŰŞ Souls of Black Folk. A final class discussion evaluates the 2 men: who was more right in his approach, given the historical context?

In this lesson, students analyze primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Was JFK a strong supporter of Civil Rights? First, the teacher streams a video clip from Discovery Education on JFK and civil rights. Students form a hypothesis and discuss whether JFK was ‘strong‰ŰŞ on civil rights based on this. Students then read a 1963 JFK speech supporting the Civil Rights Act; as a class, they answer sourcing, close reading and context questions and revisit their hypothesis. Students then read John Lewis‰ŰŞs controversial original draft of the speech he delivered at the March on Washington. They answer guiding questions which corroborate both documents and attempt to reach a conclusion. If there is time, the teacher may bookend the lesson with another clip which shows how LBJ signed the eventual law into action.

In this lesson, students analyze primary and secondary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Was the Great Society successful? Students first read LBJ‰ŰŞs “Great Society” speech and answer sourcing, close reading and context questions about it before discussing as a class. The teacher then hands out a list of Great Society programs and asks: Which have you heard of? Which do you think were successful? Students then watch a film clip about the Great Society, streamed via Discovery Education. This is followed up with 2 secondary sources: a “Pro” perspective from historian Joseph Califano and a “Con” perspective from Thomas Sowell. They fill out a graphic organizer in groups and discuss: Which historian is more convincing? What kind of evidence does each use to make his case? How do these arguments still play out today?

In this lesson, students analyze two primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: What were the differences between [Alexander] Hamilton and [Thomas] Jefferson? Students first read a textbook summary/description (not included) of the Hamilton/Jefferson dynamic. Then, students are given a letter by each man‰ŰÓboth addressed to George Washington and written on the same day‰ŰÓeach of which addresses the ongoing feud with the other man. In pairs, students read the documents and answer sourcing, corroboration, contextualization, and close reading questions, including some intriguing ones which encourage students to “pick sides” in the rivalry.

In this lesson, students analyze primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Why did the Homestead Strike turn violent? The teacher first recaps labor/industry relations of the era and introduces the Homestead Strike with a timeline. The teacher then models sourcing and close reading techniques with a document: Emma Goldman‰ŰŞs 1931 autobiography. Students then do the same with an 1892 newspaper interview of Henry Frick, followed by corroboration guiding questions that pit the 2 authors against each other. In a final class discussion, students evaluate the validity of the sources and debate whether the historical “truth” about the strike is knowable.

This lesson challenges students to answer the central historical question: What caused King Philip's War of 1675? After warming up with some historical background information, students are presented with 2 primary source documents: a 1675 document ostensibly representing King Philip's "perspective" (but actually written by a colonist) and a post-war query as to the war's causes instigated by the English government. Students then answer questions (sourcing, contextualization, close reading) to analyze the passages and work in pairs to answer a final corroboration question on the war's ultimate cause.

In this brief lesson, students study the writings of Loyalists during the American Revolution in an effort to answer the central historical question: Why did some colonists support England and oppose independence? After a brief teacher introduction establishing historical context, students will read read 2 primary source documents: 1) a pamphlet by Charles Inglis, Anglican minister, explaining the many drawbacks to American independence, and 2) an anonymous newspaper letter urging reconciliation with Britain. While reading, students complete a graphic organizer that applies sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and close reading to each passage. A final class discussion asks students to draw a conclusion as to whether the Loyalists or Patriots were more reasonable.

In this lesson, students analyze a primary source in an effort to answer the central historical question: How did Americans react to Shays‰ŰŞ Rebellion? Students read a textbook excerpt (included) about Shays‰ŰŞ Rebellion and a letter from Thomas Jefferson speaking about Shays‰ŰŞ rebels. Students answer questions that ask them to analyze the letter through sourcing, contextualization, close reading, and corroboration questions. A final class discussion corroborates the textbook passage and the Jefferson letter in an effort to challenge the popular account in which all Americans feared the rebellion.

In this lesson, designed to follow a more general lesson on the causes and warring parties of WWI, students analyze primary source documents in an effort to answer the central historical question: Why did the U.S. enter World War I? The teacher begins with a mini-lesson on Woodrow Wilson. Students then read 2 Wilson documents: 1) a 1914 speech urging American neutrality and 2) Wilson‰ŰŞs 1917 speech on the U.S. entry into the war. Students then read their class textbook‰ŰŞs explanation for the end of U.S. neutrality, followed by an excerpt from Howard Zinn‰ŰŞs People‰ŰŞs History of the United States. For all documents, students answer guiding questions which stress contextualization and close reading. A final class discussion evaluates Zinn‰ŰŞs views and compares them to the other sources.

The constitutional amendments passed during Reconstruction vastly expanded formerly enslaved people's rights and opportunities. At the same time, the Black Codes passed in most Southern towns, cities, and states curtailed those rights and opportunities. The tension between African Americans’ federal and local rights raises questions about the impact of Reconstruction on the freedom of formerly enslaved people. In this structured academic controversy, students examine constitutional amendments, a Black Code, a personal account of a formerly enslaved person, and other documents to answer the question: “Were African Americans free during Reconstruction?"

In 1937, the Federal Writers' Project began collecting what would become the largest archive of interviews with formerly enslaved African Americans. Few firsthand accounts exist from those who suffered enslavement, making this an exceptional resource for students of history. However, as with all historical documents, there are important considerations for students to bear in mind when reading these sources. In this lesson, students examine three of these accounts to answer the question: What can we learn about slavery from interviews with formerly enslaved people?

In this lesson, students examine classic Maya art and monumental inscriptions, as well as an excerpt from an Aztec encyclopedia, to explore how the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan influenced other Mesoamerican societies. Students also reason about contemporary scholars' commentary on the historical sources.