Standard 1: Use research and inquiry skills to analyze American History using primary and secondary sources.

This infographic shows both the level of Loyalism in America during the American Revolution and the extent of postwar Loyalist migration.

Type: Data Set

Using their understanding of the Bill of Rights, students will work with various scenarios, newspaper headlines, and other forms of information to identify and apply specific amendments in the Bill of Rights, what rights were violated (if any), and how it applies to current events today. Students will understand how the amendments apply and protect civil liberties and rights in current times.

Type: Lesson Plan

Using the Bill of Rights, students will delve into the specific language and interpretation of each amendment to gain a deeper understanding of their intended scope and limitations, as well as connect the infringed rights of the colonists to the Amendment created to protect those rights. Using the primary source (Bill of Rights), students will analyze and interpret the amendment in their own words using a graphic organizer.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will be introduced to citizens' rights, responsibilities, and obligations and their real-world relevance to students.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will develop their own amendment to the U.S. Constitution to increase the rights of citizens. This is part of a 3 lesson mini-unit integrating social studies and civics.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will compare the views or perspectives of Patriots and Loyalists in regards to British policy during the era of the American Revolution.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will compare the views or perspectives of Patriots and Loyalists during the period of the American Revolution. Students will examine and analyze primary quotes and excerpts in order to decipher differing ideas and perspectives.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will explore excerpts of primary quotes to analyze the arguments between the Patriots and the Loyalists during the American Revolution.

Type: Lesson Plan

This PowerPoint slideshow is designed to support teachers in delivering direct instruction on the origins and content of Florida's 1838 state constitution. The accompanying guided notes can be completed by students during instruction.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will be taught at the end of the Civil War unit prior to Lincoln’s assassination. Through multiple readings of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, students will analyze his words as they relate to what has taken place over the last four years and what he sees as the nation’s future, that is, Reconstruction.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will use primary sources to learn about the constitutional principles included in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Then, they will form their own proposal in response to Lincoln's goal of achieving equality.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will become familiar with the first Chief Justice, John Jay, and his contributions to the foundation of the American government, as well as his contribiutions to The Federalist Papers.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will compare and contrast ("spot the difference") between Paul Revere’s famous “Bloody Massacre” engraving and the original print from his friend and colleague and answer a series of critical thinking/discussion questions. They will then read written accounts of the event and draw conclusions about key areas of creative license taken. Finally, students will create their own interpretation of the Boston Massacre: either a rewriting of the event using modern language (tell a friend what happened!) or a drawing of their own.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be analyze, describe and explain the meaning and purpose of each amendment in the Bill of Rights and how the Bill of Rights affects citizens and the government.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be able to evaluate and explain how the Fl Constitution of 1838 was amended in 1868 to conform to the US Constitution in terms of citizenship, equal protection, and male suffrage.

Students will also evaluate the impact of the Reconstruction Era amendments.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will take a Gallery Walk with a partner to identify how four colonial-era founding documents: the Mayflower Compact, Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution, have influenced the ideals and principles of our U.S. government and impact our daily lives. Students will trace the foundational principles from each primary source and answer questions on a Graphic Organizer.  Each group will present their analysis to the class with an oral or digital presentation. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will recognize the views of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists on adding the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Students will evaluate primary source excerpts from the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers and explain which perspective each provides.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will read and analyze the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, along with background information on Frederick Douglass.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will analyze several primary sources representing the views of Loyalists and Patriots and will compare these groups' arguments for or against independence.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read and analyze 3 source documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address. Students will first read the documents independently and annotate them. Students will then work cooperatively to compare and contrast the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address and look for the influence of the Declaration of Independence on both.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will learn about the 1838 and 1868 versions of Florida’s state constitution. Students will work in groups to learn about the contents of the documents and the historical context in which they were written and adopted. The teacher will lead a discussion and comparison of the two constitutions as students complete written notes.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students examine and apply the rights and principles found in the United States Bill of Rights to the past, present, and future using primary and secondary sources. This resource helps support Florida’s State K-12 Holocaust Education Mandate.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into space in 1957. Americans watched the Soviet satellite beeping and blinking across the American night sky. Sputnik I weighed only 184 pounds and could do little more than beep, but many people worried that this meant the United States was losing the race to develop space technology.

Pressure exploded from United States politicians and the American public demanding that the country catch up and increase investment in rocket technology and aeronautics. In this lesson students will analyze the film Florida: Moonport USA to describe the effect of the United States space program on Florida's economy, growth and culture.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this short lesson plan, students will explore and analyze a variety of interactive sources (texts and visuals) to answer the compelling question: Why was ice cream an exclusive treat at Mount Vernon long ago?

The lesson is presented as a module for students to navigate through on computers. Text resources, assessments, answer keys, and rubrics for students and teachers are attached.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, student will analyze as primary sources the objects and furnishings in George Washington's "New Room" at his Mount Vernon estate. Take a virtual tour of the New Room at

Students will attempt to answer the question: "What message did George and Martha Washington want to convey to their guests in the New Room?"

Type: Lesson Plan

This web resource from the Civil War Trust will engage students through an analysis of primary source documents as they work to discuss the meaning and significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Virtually all students, at one point or another in their schooling, are exposed to Longfellow's ballad, "Paul Revere's Ride". How accurate is it? Is it responsible for Revere's ride achieving such iconic status? In this lesson from EDSITEment!, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, students will think about the answers to these and other questions as they read primary and secondhand accounts of events during the American Revolution.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this web resource from EDSITEment!, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, students will explore the characteristics of the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, learn about the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and try to understand how and why this event occurred.

Type: Lesson Plan

This web resource, from the Civil War Trust, helps students examine the state of the nation and the sequence of events leading to the Civil War. A thorough PowerPoint and graphic organizer are included to ensure students are fully engaged while learning. Supporting activities include questions putting students in the shoes of the citizens of the time, giving them a unique perspective and an exit ticket to help reinforce what they just learned.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn how to analyze the ideas, grievances (complaints), and language found in the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in the history of the United States.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Analyze the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution -- line by line, word by word -- in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This PowerPoint slideshow is designed to support teachers in delivering direct instruction on the origins and content of Florida's 1868 state constitution. The accompanying guided notes can be completed by students during instruction.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

This resource from Mount Vernon provides students with a "20 questions" tool for analyzing historical objects. It also provides several Washington-related objects to analyze.

Type: Teaching Idea

Through this web resource, students will use a graphic organizer to analyze and interpret engravings representing the Battle of Lexington and Concord, considering context and bias. They will then decide how best to represent this battle, and create a representation of their own from either the American or British perspective. The resource features background information, an illustrated map of Lexington, engravings for analysis, and a graphic organizer for students as they work to develop their own interpretation of two key battles in the American Revolution.

Type: Teaching Idea

This teaching idea on the Battle of Gettysburg is part of Gilder Lehrman's series of standards–based teaching resources. These resources were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of excerpts from several key primary source documents and articulate their understanding of the various views of the Battle of Gettysburg. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

Type: Teaching Idea

Alejandro Brice and his family immigrated from Cuba at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. His father was jailed as a counter-revolutionary sympathizer and upon release, the family fled the country. Dr. Brice shares his memories of his “freedom wings”, the culture shock of growing up in Ohio as immigrants, learning English in elementary school, watching his family start over, and becoming a U.S. Citizen. Dr. Brice is a college professor specializing in the education of immigrant children and English language learners.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Ivonne Blank immigrated to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus on unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. Ms. Blank talks about how difficult it was waiting for her parents and living in an orphanage in Denver, CO. Her parents later left the island by boat, were rescued by the Coast Guard, and resettled in the United States. After the family was reunited, they were able to rebuild their lives with support from their community. Ms. Blank went on to become a lifelong educator and U.S. citizen.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

View a 10-part video on the Battle of Yorktown, the culminating battle of the Revolutionary War. With French aid, George Washington led American troops to a victory that ensured American independence.

In addition to the video, you will find primary source documents and a graphic organizer to help you analyze the Battle of Yorktown in greater detail.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation