The following 5 day unit plan uses primary source images of the National Mall and a modern tourist primary source map to observe, reflect, and explain some the varied historical sites available to students, educators, and travelers alike. In particular, students will explore three of the following sites:

UPDATED WITH NEW RESOURCES - This lesson uses primary sources to explore one of the most remarkable cultural meetings in history: Spanish sponsored Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and the Native Americans from the Taino population in the Caribbean. Two key primary sources in this lesson are a letter from Columbus to the King and Queen of Spain and a 1562 map of European attitudes toward the New World. With guidance from teachers, these documents can spark inquiry from students and encourage increased understanding of the relationship between the Spanish and the Taino. 

In this lesson students are asked to analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address and to compare the promises made to his later work as president. Students will use a graphic organizer to list three of FDR’s promises in the speech and then use secondary resources to research whether he fulfilled those promises.

During the American Industrial Revolution the lives of individual citizens, as well as the overall structure of society, underwent a fundamental transformation. Some of these changes included: the pace of work, the availability and quality of goods and products, the development of complex urban centers, the introduction of technological advancements, and the implementation of a fast and reliable transportation network.

The Industrial Revolution sparked remarkable and permanent changes in the United States. The tremendous increase in the availability and variety of manufactured goods combined with the massive need for factories and workers to revolutionize American society generated a profound impact on American society. The following set offers a rich range of primary sources, exploring these changes and the extent of their impacts on workers, homes, communities, and the environment.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 sparked U.S. involvement in World War II and generated a reactionary movement against Japanese Americans. This primary source set focuses on reactions in the United States following the attack. Images include Japanese-Americans being moved, the signing of Executive Order No. 9066, and “evacuation sales” held by evacuees. The set also includes two activities to drive student understanding and promote interest in the subject.

The Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii forever altered the course of WWII. Although the attack left the American fleet crippled, it failed to strike a fatal blow. From the death and destruction of December 7th rose a nation dedicated to rebuilding and avenging the loss of Pearl Harbor. Using this primary source set students will be able to evaluate how the attack impacted those who were there and how they responded on that fateful day.

The topic of immigration is just as controversial today as it was at the turn of the twentieth century. In this one-day lesson, students will immerse themselves in the attitudes and opinions of many native-born Americans (Nativists) who did not welcome the arrival of immigrants from certain countries. Students will use music and political cartoons from the period to wonder, investigate, and construct new understandings of the popular opinions towards immigrants at the time.

In this lesson students will learn that incurring a disability at work was a common occurrence of the Industrial Revolution.  This lesson integrates disability history content within a larger 14-day unit on the Industrial Revolution. The lesson plan provides a series of activities that highlight the importance of children and adults with disabilities in 19th century workplaces, and the ways primary source photographs provide information and inspire critical questions.

The lesson invites students to think about what life was like as a disabled veteran of WWI and to connect to background knowledge as well as personal experiences. The teacher will provide historical information and guide the class in a read-aloud from the perspective of a soldier wounded and recuperating in Italy from Ernest Hemingway’s “In Another Country.”