Based on the idea that the study of history should include the perspectives of all the people who lived during a certain time period, this unit offers as many different points of view as possible. Students are introduced to primary source materials and exposed to literature (especially historical fiction), poetry, and drama that reflects the…

This unit on Ancient Rome (covering a time period from 753 B.C. until A.D. 476) contains the following elements: a list of documents, with a description of each document and a brief synopsis of its historical significance to the unit's theme; the documents; and a set of activities. The unit's documents are grouped under the five categories listed…

The transition of American Revolutionary studies in British upper primary and secondary schools from a rather smug Victorian notion of a gracious monarch granting ungrateful colonies their independence to a more sophisticated and varied treatment is examined. (RM)

This kit, for grades 5 and up, helps students master the content of Colonial American history and develops students' historiographic and upper level thinking skills. The documents and activities included in this volume allow students to become "historical detectives," peeling back the layers, deciphering archaic lettering, reassembling…

This unit of study (for grade 5 and up) about the American frontier contains four elements: (1) a set of reproductions of documents; (2) a list of documents with their specific archival reference numbers and a brief synopsis of their historical significance to the unit's theme; (3) 15 separate classroom activities; and (4) an issue of…

Designed for use in a one-semester course in U.S. history or literature at the intermediate or secondary level, this collection of the Civil War letters of Lewis Bissell, a Union soldier, is divided into two major parts. Part I (chapters 1 though 5) covers the period of time Bissell spent guarding Washington, District of Columbia. Each chapter…

For Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II was not simply a war but a crusade in the high cause of human freedom. This publication, the third in a series of posters and curriculum materials on the life and times of Dwight D. Eisenhower, covers the events leading up to World War II and Eisenhower's rise to the rank of five star General of the U.S. Army…

This unit of study (for grades 5-8 and up) about the U.S. Civil War features original documents from the National Archives and Records Administration. All the records used in the unit reflect the actions of the federal government or citizens' responses to these actions. These records were selected for their historical value, their legibility and…

This publication, the second installment of the Dwight D. Eisenhower series, spans nearly a quarter century of U.S. history and Eisenhower's life from age 20 to 45. The early military period of Eisenhower's life prepared him to assume leadership roles during World War II and his U.S. presidency. Eisenhower sometimes thought his career was going…

This lesson introduces students to the "blues," one of the most distinctive and influential elements of African-American musical tradition. With this lesson plan, students can take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee, one of the prominent centers of blues activities, and explore the history of the blues in the work of W. C. Handy…

This article examines the formation, structure, and program of the Public Industrial Art School of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the two men who directed it during its brief existence between 1880 and 1916, Charles Godfrey Leland and J. Liberty Tadd. Special emphasis is given to the pedagogical theory articulated by Tadd. (Author/RM)