American Journeys | Lesson Plans
Viking exploration and French/English religious nature of colonization of North America from the Wisconsin Historical Society
Civics and Government - Themed Resources
Review an early draft of the Constitution with revisions and marginal notations as well as the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation. Read about presidents and the presidency, leaders of the new nation, elections, and inaugurations. Find resources to teach about constitutional issues ranging from women's suffrage to slavery and desegregation from Library of Congress
Colonial and Early America - Themed Resources
Learn about colonization and the colonial experience by examining maps, letters and other primary documents. Trace the origins and celebration of Thanksgiving in the United States through images and documents. From Library of Congress
Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center
A collection of primary resources-historical documents, literary texts,and works of art-thematically organized with notes and discussion questions from National Humanities Center from National Humanities Center
American Beginnings: 1492-1690, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center
A collection of primary resources-historical documents, literary texts,and works of art-thematically organized with notes and discussion questions from National Humanities Center from National Humanities Center
The Middle Passage | Stanford History Education Group
Simply a "must-do" lesson in which students read well-selected, edited and presented documents (Portuguese text book from 1994, ship captain, ship doctor and slave autobiography) to corroborate their information and test their reliability. Excellent lesson from SHEG
Columbian Exchange - 1493 (Charles Mann) excerpts reading lesson
There are three excerpts, each with close reading questions from the book 1493, by Charles Mann. The first excerpt is a general overview of the Exchange, in the second students will explore a specific example of unintended consequences of the Columbian Exchange, when settlers thought they were simply bringing in an enjoyable food, but they wound up with an invasive pest. Finally, in excerpt three you can see the devastating effects of the Columbian Exchange upon the Taino Indians, the residents of Hispaniola before Columbus arrived.
HSI: Historical Scene Investigation - Finding Aaron (Escaped slave; 1767)
In this case, students follow the life and escape attempts of an enslaved man named Aaron of the course of four years. Students utilize runaway slave advertisements from the Virginia Gazette from 1767 to 1771 to track multiple escapes by Aaron and the quest of his masters to recapture him. Although the evidence paints only a partial picture of Aaron's life, students are challenged to a plausible explanation of what happened to Aaron between December, 1767 and January, 1771