Students will learn about westward movement after the Civil War and the economic opportunities offered to people who moved. The focus of the primary source activity is the Homestead Act and how it changed our nation and the lives of the people during that time.

In this lesson, students will use documents from 1865 to 1902 to examine the impact of Reconstruction on African American Rights. It is the student’s role to determine the extent to which this impact resulted more broadly in change or continuity for African Americans. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to evaluate the impact of Reconstruction on African American rights by analyzing documents and completing a Brief Constructed Response (BCR).

In this lesson, students will evaluate the extent to which Andrew Jackson deserves to be celebrated as champion of democracy by selecting evidence to support one's assigned position. Students will complete a DBQ (document-based question) essay using the documents they select.

In this lesson, students will analyze documents and evaluate the impact of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry on America before, during and after the Civil War. The students will demonstrate knowledge of the issues that divided our nation and led to the Civil War by identifying the events and differences between northern and southern states that divided Virginians and led to secession, war, and the creation of West Virginia.

Students identify some of the problems Virginians faced during the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War.

In this lesson, students will learn about the different types of propaganda that were used in WWII and what the designed goals of these were. Students will reflect their knowledge by answering several questions regarding the pieces of propaganda and will participate in a class discussion about them.

In this lesson, students will explore, through analyzing and interpreting primary sources, both Northern and Southern perspectives of the Civil War and understand the issues that led to the secession as it applies to the differing economies. Additionally, students will recognize and evaluate the reliance of slave-labor in the South and articulate the reasons for why the Northern states were called the "free states" and the Southern states were the "slave states."

In this lesson, students will analyze primary resources to explain how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the issue of fugitive slaves escalated tensions between the North and the South, and led to the secession of several states and finally to war. Respond to an ECR writing prompt to demonstrate understanding of how the North and the South had different cultures and how these differences eventually drove them apart.

In this lesson, students will study documents to learn about how the North and the South each viewed slavery. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the issues that divided our nation and led to the Civil War by identifying the events and differences between northern and southern states that divided Virginians and led to secession, war, and the creation of West Virginia.

In this lesson, students will analyze primary sources to compare and contrast two views on the effectiveness of political machines.

In this activity, students examine three photographs of Floyd Burroughs and his family, all sharecroppers in Hale County, Alabama. The photos, taken in 1936 by Farm Security Administration photographer Walker Evans, paint a portrait of rural poverty. First, students examine the map, and ask the following questions: What do you notice about these photographs? What questions do you want to ask about these photographs? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context of the Depression, and draw conclusions about the photographs and the photographer. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise, students examine two different versions of the song known as "Dixie," one written in 1859, just before the Civil War, and one written in 1861, just after the start of the Civil War. Students read the lyrics for each version, listen to the songs, and then answer the following questions: What do you notice about the lyrics and the musical qualities of the songs? What questions do you want to ask about the lyrics and the musical qualities of the songs? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context of sectionalism and the Civil War and draw conclusions about how people at the time thought about the South. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise, students examine a portrait of George Washington painted in 1796 by Gilbert Stuart. The portrait is highly symbolic and presents a grand, heroic image of Washington. Students examine a close-up of one symbol in the portrait as well as the portrait as a whole and then answer the following questions: What do you notice about the symbol? What questions do you want to ask about the symbol or the portrait? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context of the early republic and draw conclusions about how the portrait presents George Washington and his legacy as president. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this activity, students examine the lyrics from two versions of the song "John Brown's Body" or "The John Brown Song." Throughout the course of the Civil War, versions of this song with different lyrics were created and published. First, students read two versions of the song, one published early in the war and one published several years later, and answer the following questions: What do you notice about the song lyrics? What questions do you want to ask about the song lyrics? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context of the Civil War and draw conclusions about how Northern views of the Civil War changed in the time between the two versions. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this activity, students examine a map of Virginia drafted by John Smith around 1607 and engraved in 1612 in England. First, students examine the map, and answer the following questions: What do you notice about the map? What questions do you want to ask about the map? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context of the early 17th century, compare this map with a 2004 map, and draw conclusions about John Smith and the Virginia Company. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise, students will watch a television advertisement known as the Daisy ad. This 1964 advertisement, now one of the most famous political commercials of all time, was created by the advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) for President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, who was running for reelection against Senator Barry Goldwater, a Republican. Students watch and listen the first time the ad is played and answer the following questions: What do you notice about this political advertisement? What questions do you want to ask about this political advertisement? After discussing these questions, students learn more about the historical context and draw conclusions about what message the ad is trying to convey and what it reveals about the political climate in 1964. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise, students examine three images of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur and three images of Emperor Hirohito of Japan to assess which image of each man appeared in this historically significant photograph. After discussing the images, students learn more about the historical context, and draw conclusions about the photographs and the published image. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise, students examine advertisements for runaway slaves and servants from the Virginia Gazette in the mid-1700s and ask the following questions: What do you notice about this advertisement? What questions do you want to ask about this advertisement? After discussing these questions, and learning more about the historical context of slavery and completing a spreadsheet, students draw conclusions about the advertisements and about slavery in the 18th century. (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this exercise students will examine a letter to Truman by Secretary of War Stimpson, diary entries written by Truman, an interview, and a White House press release that cast light on Truman's decision. Students will use these primary sources to address the following questions: Why did President Truman decide to use atomic bombs on Japan? How did Truman reach this decision? (This activity is a professional development module that could be modified to serve as an activity for students.)

In this lesson, students will learn how to identify the social and political impact of World War I on individuals and groups by analyzing propaganda developed by the Committee for Public Information during World War I. Students will then create their own “Pro-War" propaganda (poster, speech, or song) with a specific audience, emotion, and common characteristics of the WWI pieces.