Students record daily temperature and other direct observations in a 14-day Weather Journal, taking measurements with a thermometer outdoors. Students read pages 8–15 in Weather and Climate and watch linked videos that present summarized explanations about temperature, seasons, and weather. The Parent Plan prompts students to compare their thermometer readings with weather forecasts and discuss reasons for any differences (different locations, elevations, measurement circumstances).

Students carry out hands-on investigations (Air on the Move; When Warm and Cold Air Meet) and record observations and conclusions from those experiments. Students collect primary weather data in a weather journal (temperature, wind speed/direction, barometric pressure) and use tools like an anemometer and compass to make measurements. Students also use secondary materials (textbook pages, instructional videos, the Wind Chill Chart and weather websites) to interpret and classify what they observed (e.g., answering whether Part 1 demonstrates a cold or warm front and explaining why).

Students build and use a homemade wet/dry bulb hygrometer to collect relative humidity data and record readings in a weather journal. The text explicitly tells students they may compare their hygrometer readings to the relative humidity reported by their local weather forecaster and explains possible reasons for differences (distance, sensitivity). Students also use a National Weather Service–based heat index chart to interpret humidity and temperature data and answer questions that require relating their measured values to chart values.

Students are instructed to record cloud observations and meteorological measurements in a weather journal (primary observations). Students read pages 52-56 in the textbook and are directed to use provided websites and a cloud chart to research and categorize the ten cloud types (secondary sources). The activities ask students to use the clouds they see and today's air pressure reading to predict later weather, linking observations to the information from texts and web resources.

Students answer questions identifying that Sophie was retelling Bompie's stories and that she knew them because he had written letters to her (Questions #6 and #7). Students note that Sophie's details were sometimes incorrect, as Cody reacted to her inaccurate retellings (Question #2). The Special Notes and questions-to-discuss prompt students to recount Sophie's story and to consider how Bompie's letters relate to what Sophie tells others.

Students are asked to create a panoramic photograph of the same space they mapped (Activity 4) and then use the Photo vs. Map Venn diagram to list items unique to the photo, unique to the map, and common to both. The optional extensions point students to historical panoramic photos (Library of Congress) and Google Street View to compare map views and photos. Several activities (Activity 2 and Activity 4) require students to produce and compare two different representations of the same place and note 'clues' that appear in each.

Students listen to two sets of recordings: songs from The Sound of Music movie and recordings by the real Von Trapp family, and they answer guided comparison questions on the student activity page (How does the movie music sound different; what is a cappella; which do you prefer). The activity directs students to watch the first 11 minutes of a documentary about the Von Trapps and to compare movie performances with primary audio performances, prompting analysis of musical style, use of instruments, and vocal technique. The lesson includes explicit prompts that require students to note differences in authenticity and production between the dramatized movie soundtrack and the original family performances.

Students are asked to use their log from Lesson 3 and to "think back to the movie" when completing the "Comparing Ember & Sparks" activity. Students create a Venn diagram that asks them to list similarities and differences between Ember (from the text/log) and Sparks (as seen in the movie). Students also read chapters 11–13 and answer comprehension questions that focus attention on the book's content.

Students are directed to visit two linked sources that portray the same topic: a painting of the Cliffs of Dover and the poem 'Dover Beach.' They are asked to 'look carefully' at the painting and 'read the first stanza' of the poem and to 'note how the poet uses visual and sound imagery to create a picture of the scene.' Students are also asked to research a chosen rock online (geology.com) and to discuss why the imagined landscape is correct for that rock.

Students read specific textbook pages (pp. 70-71 and pp. 106-107 of Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth) and answer content questions about frost wedging, chemical weathering, and soil composition, providing a secondary-source account of weathering. Students also produce primary-source observations by conducting experiments (Drip, Drip, Drip; Ice Cold Weathering) and by doing a Weathering Walk where they document evidence with photographs, sketches, or written descriptions.

Students read Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" (the story text is provided and linked) and are directed to listen as it is read aloud. Activity 4 asks students to read a poem retelling of "Rip Van Winkle" and "consider how it is different from the story." Students are prompted to explain which version they enjoyed more and to describe how the poem and the short story were similar and different.

Students read secondary sources (A History of US chapters and a video) and primary sources (WPA slave narratives) as part of the activities. The lesson defines primary and secondary sources and directs students to "consider how reading about the past from a primary source is different from reading about the past from a secondary source." The wrap-up includes an explicit discussion question: "How was it different reading the secondary source materials compared to reading the slave narratives?"

Students read a secondary source (A History of US: War, Terrible War 1855-1865, chapters 12–14) and answer comprehension questions about Civil War leaders. Students create Civil War Leader Cards that require filling in background, roles, notable events, and their impressions, and they are instructed to include a picture of each leader. The Parent Plan and activity note the Library of Congress "Civil War Photographs" collection as a source for images, providing access to primary-source photographs that students may use for the cards.

Students read chapters 15 and 16 of A History of US: War, Terrible War 1855-1865, which is a secondary source describing soldiers' lives. Students are offered optional primary-source links (Valley of the Shadow; Love Letters from the Civil War) and are invited to view actual diary entries as an extension. Students also create an imagined diary entry based on the secondary account and images of soldiers in camp, and Activity 4 directs students to an online article about daily life (another secondary source).

Students read chapters 25–27 of Joy Hakim's A History of US (a secondary account) and also read the full texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address (primary sources). Students highlight important ideas or powerful phrases in each primary document and use a three-circle Venn diagram labeled for those documents to identify overlapping ideas and shared language. The activities require students to record events on a Civil War timeline and to consider questions from the secondary text.

Students read chapters 28-31 in A History of US: War, Terrible War (a secondary narrative) and a linked web article about the lives of former slaves, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the Black Codes. Students also read the full texts of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (primary documents) and are prompted to "determine their meaning" and "restate this amendment in your own words." Students add events from readings to a Civil War timeline and answer questions about what happened at Lee's surrender and about challenges faced by former slaves.

The lesson defines primary and secondary sources and has students read two primary-source journals (a Tennessee schoolgirl's diary and a prisoner-of-war journal) in Activity 4. Students are asked to identify facts and opinions and to discuss the perspectives of those primary accounts (Parent Plan). In Activity 5 students research the Battle of Bull Run using secondary sources and are asked in the discussion prompts to consider how both primary and secondary sources were useful in helping them understand the battle.

Students read the picture book Pink and Say and record factual information about the Civil War (Activity 1). Students read multiple Civil War letters as primary-source documents, identify each letter's writer and recipient, determine what side the writer is on, and note opinions expressed about the enemy (Activity 5). Students are prompted to compare the Civil War letters to the book and discuss how the letters are similar to and different from Pink and Say in the Wrapping Up discussion questions. Students also rewrite passages from different points of view (Activity 2), which requires them to consider how perspective shapes interpretation of the same events.

Students read a primary-style document titled "By the President of the Confederate States" (dated April 29, 1861) and are asked to record three factual statements and three opinion statements from that speech. Students examine Civil War-era pictures labeled as propaganda and explain how each image could have been used to sway attitudes. Students also read the novel Bull Run and background passages describing Northern and Southern social conditions and complete activities that place characters on a North/South map and consider differing perspectives.

Students read pages 21–40 of Bull Run (a text about Civil War experiences) and are asked to think about the characters they read about. Activity 2 directs students to locate historical propaganda posters (links to National Archives, Smithsonian, and poster collections are provided) and to design a Civil War propaganda poster, considering which posters might have influenced the characters. The parent plan asks students to explain the message the poster conveys and how it would influence a reader's thinking.

Students watch videos that include a recording of Einstein explaining E=mc² (Activity 4) and read Chapters 5 and 6 about Einstein's life. Students are asked to take notes, write a summary of one video (Activity 5), and discuss similarities and differences between the book and the video in the wrap-up questions. The parent notes also prompt students to listen for factual statements versus narrator opinions while viewing, which supports comparing sources.

The lesson defines primary and secondary sources and states that Where Poppies Grow includes both primary sources (photographs, postcards, letters) and secondary information by the author. The "Life in the Trenches" activity asks students to choose a photograph from the book, describe it, and answer whether the photographs give a better sense than written descriptions. The parent prompts instruct students to identify whether the photograph was a primary or secondary source and to discuss how captions (secondary information) and photographs (primary sources) provide different information.

Students read a secondary source (Where Poppies Grow, pp. 22-33) and engage directly with primary sources included in that book (the poem "In Flanders Fields" printed on p. 32 and photographs, postcards, and objects shown on pp. 28-29). Students are asked to reflect on the poem's emotional impact and either copy/illustrate or memorize/recite a stanza, and they complete a Time Capsule activity prompted by primary-source images. The Wrapping Up section explicitly asks students to consider how an author knows about events and what kinds of primary sources the author could use.

Students are assigned to read primary-source letters from World War I in Where Poppies Grow (pages 40–44) and secondary-source chapters in Joy Hakim's A History of US (Chapters 1–2). In Activity 1 students read soldier letters and answer questions about censorship and secrecy, and in Activity 2 students complete a table comparing Wilson's Fourteen Points with the Treaty of Versailles and answer reflection questions using Hakim for context. The parent plan explicitly tells students to compare Wilson's Fourteen Points to the treaty outcome and to use Hakim Chapter 2 for additional information.

Students read a secondary source: A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz (pages 153–162) about WWII battles and technology. Students are invited to gather oral histories by asking a local person who remembers WWII to share memories and to explore the Library of Congress oral history collection (a set of primary-source interviews). The parent plan suggests assisting students in preparing questions and contributing to the Library of Congress collection, which involves handling firsthand accounts.

Students read a secondary source (A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz by Joy Hakim, pp. 163-179). The lesson provides primary-source materials or samples, including a link to a radio broadcast of the Japanese surrender and an optional USHMM resource page with primary texts, photos, artifacts, and personal histories. Students are asked to listen to the radio broadcast and to consult the Hakim text for accuracy while composing and performing their own radio script, and parents are prompted to check students' use of vocabulary and historical accuracy.

Students collect firsthand data by observing and testing the four mystery elements and record those observations on the "Mystery Element Observations" and "Matter Challenge" pages. They are instructed to "Analyze findings by comparing test results and observations" and to "Compare with gathered information throughout the unit," using unit readings and the provided interactive periodic table as additional resources. The rubric requires students to "Explain reasoning behind classification and element identifications," which asks them to connect their observations to information from other sources.

Students read the Ponce de León account (linked Wikipedia page), two Norse myths, and the novel excerpt and are asked to "write three similarities and three differences" between these stories and the novel. The lesson directs students to "read two Norse myths about a fountain of immortality" and compare those myths (and the Ponce de León story) with the novel in their journals. The activities require students to identify comparable content and themes across multiple texts on the same topic (magic waters/fountain of youth).

Activity 5 asks students to watch the Disney movie adaptation of Tuck Everlasting and then record three ways the movie differed from the book and three things they would have done differently, which directs students to compare a primary text (the novel) with a secondary interpretation (the film). The lesson also provides a link to an interview with the author and asks students to read it and consider how the author's experiences shaped her life, giving students access to a primary-source perspective related to the work.

Students read a secondary source account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (pp. 14-19 of Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round) and answer comprehension questions about events and outcomes. Students are given an Optional Extension with links to primary materials (National Archives arrest records scans, a Library of Congress guide, photo of Parks being fingerprinted, and an interview transcript/video) that they may consult. Students complete a Research Workshop and prepare an independent research/oral history project in which they could use primary source materials gathered from the provided links.

Students are directed to read Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round (a secondary account) and to use web links that include the Brown v. Board of Education document transcript on ourdocuments.gov, allowing access to the Supreme Court decision itself (a primary source). Activity 1 asks students to prepare a radio broadcast using the book pages and the linked Supreme Court transcript or background pages. Activity 2 has students work directly with Elizabeth Eckford's account from the book (secondary) by writing interview questions or a letter, and Activity 3 Option 1 asks students to identify and plan an oral history interview (creating and using a primary source).

Students read selections from Doreen Rappaport's Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round (pages specified) that describe children marching in Birmingham and the role of protest songs. Students are directed to listen to a curated playlist of Civil Rights Movement songs and to use lyrics/music from the book to learn and perform specific songs. Question #2 asks students to explain why people sang protest songs, and Activity 1 explicitly asks students to listen to those primary recordings before choosing a follow-up task.

Students read a secondary source account (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round, pages 40-43) and are directed to the primary source text of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech via a web link. Students practice and perform or memorize a portion of the primary speech (Option 1 or 2) and answer content questions that reference the March on Washington and King's "dream." Students also view images/slideshow material related to the event and complete related creative activities (designing stamps/coins/bills, protest signs) that draw on knowledge of King and the March.

Students read pages 44–55 of Doreen Rappaport's Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round (a secondary source) and answer content questions about Freedom Summer. Students conduct an oral interview of a voter and record or take notes on that interview (generating a primary source) using the provided interview form or audio recording instructions. Activity 2 requires students to draw on the words of their interviewee and what they learned about voting to create a magazine advertisement.

Students prepare for and conduct an oral history interview and complete a 'Post-Interview Field Notes' page to summarize important topics and reflect on the interview. Students identify at least three books and two internet sites, record bibliographic details on the 'Research Sources' page, and are instructed to write the source after each piece of information when taking research notes. The materials also allow inclusion of other resources (sound recordings, photographs) and instruct students to use their interview or research sources for the final project.

Students are asked in the Oral History Reflection Journal to compare oral history interviews to books and other sources, explicitly prompting them to explain what an interview reveals that a book does not and to evaluate enjoyment and differences. The Radio Program/Podcast task requires students to incorporate excerpts from their interview (a primary source) together with information from unit readings (secondary sources) and to provide historical background that frames the interviewee's story. The Mock Interview and Book Review options ask students to use their research and readings alongside interview material when preparing presentations.

Students read the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and complete comprehension questions and "Recognizing Discrimination" worksheets that ask them to record who was involved and how events were examples of discrimination across chapters. Students watch a linked video identified in the materials as containing primary-source interviews from the Civil Rights Movement and are explicitly told the interviewees are primary sources. Students write a three- or four-sentence journal response after watching the video describing what they learned and how the video made them feel.

The lesson includes a primary-source document: the "Integrated Bus Suggestions" flyer dated December 19, 1956 (signed by Rev. M.L. King, Jr.), and asks students to read it and underline the three suggestions they think were most important and explain their choices to a parent. The lesson also provides secondary-source material: a short explanatory summary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a linked video titled "The Montgomery Bus Boycott." Students are asked to explain what they learned about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and to consider how the flyer's statements promote peace and strength in the community.

Students read Lois Lowry's Newbery Acceptance Speech (multiple Student Activity Pages) and are asked to discuss how the memories she shares relate to The Giver. Students are prompted to identify meaningful memories from Lowry that inspired the story and to connect those memories to plot and character changes in Jonas. The parent plan and discussion questions explicitly direct students to compare the speech's content with events and themes in the novel.

Students read a secondary source (What Was the Great Depression) and multiple firsthand accounts and photographs (e.g., "No Help Wanted," "The Dust Bowl," letters to Mrs. Roosevelt, and LOC/PBS photo collections). In Activity 1 students choose two firsthand accounts, find and paste corresponding images, and cite image sources in a photo journal, directly working with primary-source material. The Questions to Discuss explicitly asks how the photos (primary sources) and the book (secondary source) were both useful in understanding the time period, prompting comparison between the two source types.

Activity 2 directs students to read pages 82–89 of What Was the Great Depression? (a secondary source) and to view Dust Bowl photos and videos that include people who lived through the events (primary-source materials). Students are asked to record interesting quotes from the videos and to create a poster titled "The Dust Bowl" that incorporates printed or drawn images and the recorded quotes.

Students are directed to listen to two interviews with real Mexican migrant workers (primary sources) via provided Library of Congress links and to read chapters from Esperanza Rising (a historical fiction secondary text). The "On Strike!" activity asks students to examine listed reasons for strikes, record examples from the book that support those reasons, and summarize examples with page numbers. The lesson explicitly connects first-hand interviews about camp life and discrimination to textual details in the novel by asking students to use both kinds of materials when considering reasons for strikes.

Students are asked to compare What Was the Great Depression and Esperanza Rising with questions such as "How were their approaches similar? Different?" and "How did each text help you better understand the time period?" Students read chapters of Esperanza Rising and are prompted to consider how the texts portray the Great Depression and its people.

The skills list explicitly asks students to "analyze the similarities and differences between an original text and its dramatic adaptation," and parent prompts ask students to explain how movies or plays based on books are similar to and different from the books. In Activities 4 and 5, students read a provided script adapted from the novel, write their own script based on events in the book, perform the adaptation, and are asked to discuss how their script is similar to and different from the story. The wrapping-up parent prompts ask students to critique the dramatic interpretation and explain specific similarities and differences between the script and the original events.

Students read pages 8-13 in The Basics of Cell Life (a secondary source) and label or draw an animal cell using the provided diagram and web link. Students prepare microscope slides of their own cheek cells and observe paramecia slides or videos (primary sources), sketching what they see. The Activity 2 conclusion question asks students to compare their cheek cell observations to the organelles shown on the animal cell diagram by asking, "How many of the organelles on the animal cell diagram from activity 1 are clearly visible in your cheek cells?"

Students are directed to read specific pages of DKfindout! Maya, Incas, and Aztecs and to look at pictured Mayan and Aztec codices on page 5 and page 13, giving them access to reproduced primary codex images. Students are asked to watch a video about Mesoamerican codices and to study codex images in the book, then create their own codex using those images as models. The lesson also has students use Mayan numbers and refer to codex artwork when explaining the story their codex tells, so students work with both reproduced primary materials and secondary explanations.

Students are asked in Activity 5 to identify an Incan artifact (from a book or online), draw a sketch, and answer guided questions about its name, date, place, materials, probable use, and what it reveals about Incan culture. Students read assigned pages and watch videos (e.g., Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs, The rise and fall of the Inca Empire) and then write two paragraphs summarizing the falls of the Aztec and Inca empires. The timeline and timeline-card activities require students to place historical events in chronological context, and the video-response and Parent Plan direct students to take notes and summarize secondary-source content.

Students read and work directly with excerpts from Hammurabi's Code (Activity 3) and examine cuneiform inscriptions and recipes written on clay tablets (Activity 4 and Activity 5), which function as primary-source materials. Students also read background material and textbook pages that summarize Mesopotamian history, including descriptions of Hammurabi's Code and scholarly translations, providing secondary-source context. The Hammurabi activity asks students to write how each ancient law compares to how the same issue is handled in a modern community, prompting comparison between the ancient text and contemporary descriptions of legal practice.

Students plan archaeological expeditions and choose specific artifacts from Mesopotamia and Egypt, describe each artifact, and explain what each artifact reveals about the producing culture (Share Your Findings! pages). Students also locate, review, and summarize websites about Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultural elements, recording URLs and writing 2–3 sentence introductions for each site (Web-based Review Pages and Web-based Tour Cards). Students present their artifact analyses or website reviews orally to an audience and answer questions about what the artifacts or sites reveal.

Students collect an original water sample, observe its clarity after settling, and record evidence about contamination and impacts on organisms (Part 2). Students research their chosen water source and identify organisms using tools like Google Image Search and the unit Review Page, gathering background information about freshwater vs. saltwater ecosystems (Part 1). Students then synthesize findings into models, a food web, and an oral presentation, bringing together their observations and researched information.

The Parent Plan prompts students to compare the Parable of the Pearl with Steinbeck's The Pearl, asking the child how the parable is like the novel and how the title may be an ironic reference, which requires comparing two texts on the same topic. The Student Activity Pages explicitly note that one story is "adapted from a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) story," presenting an original account and an adapted narrative on the same event. Activities ask students to retell or illustrate selected parables, which has students work directly with the content of different versions of similar moral narratives.

Students are asked to compare the book to another story using a Venn diagram (Compare/Contrast activity) and to read a poem (Money or "Money, O!") and discuss how the poem's themes relate to the novel (Poem activity). The Skills list includes "Synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing similar or different genres," which directs students to connect multiple texts.

Students read Geography of the World (pages 208–213) and use information from that book to complete Option 1 tables or an Option 2 brochure about climate, crops, and exports, which functions as work with a secondary source. Students set up a current events journal, locate news stories from print, radio, TV, or the Internet, and fill in Current Events Report pages that record the source, region, a 2–3 sentence summary, and their reaction — engaging with contemporary news accounts (primary sources).

Students are required to find a current events story for each country and create a citation for each source using the "News Report Citation" activity page. Students must record background information about each country (environment, political and economic systems, cultures) from sources such as Geography of the World on the "Final Project Notes" pages and incorporate that background into their news stories or broadcasts. The project asks students to use information from their source articles to plan and write stories in their own words, and rubrics require accurate background information and cited current events.

Students analyze a real-style weather map in the "Weather Front Investigation" activity (a primary source) and are instructed to use evidence from that map together with a preparatory video and readings (secondary sources) to identify fronts and explain weather. In Activity 2, students read detailed case-study narratives of the Moore tornado and Hurricane Katrina and are given links to images and external pages (primary-source photos/data) to investigate how the storms formed and were tracked. In Activity 3 and the "It's Snowing!" task, students access historic snowfall data (a primary dataset) and are asked to analyze trends and use those data alongside explanatory text about wind shear and storm processes.

Students collect primary observational data by leaving agar dishes open to capture particulate matter and recording detailed observations across days (Activity 1 and Activity 3). Students examine secondary sources of data by reading Chapter 8 and analyzing provided graphs of atmospheric CO2 and global average temperature in the Climate Data Analysis activity. Students are asked to connect observations and graphs through questions such as "What evidence from the graphs suggests that human activities are increasing emissions..." and prompts to explain how observations support conclusions about human influence on air quality.

Students read Chapters 5-7 of a novel that present villagers' beliefs about a cholera outbreak (a first-hand narrative account). Students take on an Investigator role and are asked to dig up background information related to the book (geography, history, author info, pictures, materials) and record four or five bits of information in a journal. Students respond to discussion prompts that contrast the villagers' belief that a witch caused the disease with the scientific explanation that cholera is spread by contaminated food or water.

Students are asked to read Chapters 11-14 of the novel (a primary narrative) and to begin the Literary Luminary role by choosing passages and explaining why they were chosen. Students are also directed to read the back-of-book section titled "The History and Peoples of Mozambique and Zimbabwe" and to complete multiple activity pages that ask factual questions about Mozambique and Zimbabwe (e.g., which country fought against Frelimo, which tribes, where Portuguese moved). The Parent Plan skills list includes "Make connections to related topics/information," indicating students are expected to connect the novel's content with the historical information provided.

Students read the Rainbow Serpent creation story (Stories from the Billabong, pp. 8–11) and also read an informational passage about the first Australians (p. 56). The lesson text explicitly describes different evidence types—written records, archaeological analysis, and oral tradition—and asks students to consider these ways of learning about the distant past. Parent/teacher prompts ask students to compare the Rainbow Serpent story to another creation story and to discuss how researchers learn about people who lived long ago.

Students read traditional Yorta-Yorta stories from Stories from the Billabong and the factual information that follows each story, providing two different accounts about the same places and events. Question #3 explicitly asks students to compare scientists' explanations of Uluru with those offered by Australian Aborigines, prompting a direct comparison of differing accounts. Option 2 on Uluru directs students to park websites and cultural information, and Activity 2 asks students to find news items about Aboriginal Australians, giving students secondary-source material to consider alongside primary cultural stories.

Students read pages 262-263 of Geography of the World about New Zealand, which serves as a secondary source description of the country and Maori people. Students research Maori art and artifacts using museum websites, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, and image searches, and then draw and record information about a chosen artifact. Students complete an activity page that asks what the object is, where it was found and how old it is, what it is made of, how it was used, and how it fits into Maori culture.

Students are instructed to read secondary sources such as the "Twelve Soil Orders" webpage and the official state soil PDFs to learn descriptions and maps of soil types. Students complete activities that require collecting and testing a local soil sample (soil texture jar test and pH/nutrient kit), producing primary data about their backyard soil. Students create Venn diagrams comparing their state's official soil to another state's soil, recording similarities and differences from the secondary source descriptions.

Students read Chapter 2 of The Hobbit (a primary source) and are directed to two biographical web articles about J.R.R. Tolkien (secondary sources). Students are asked to "consider how Tolkien's life and experience influenced his writing" and to create a collage representing important aspects of Tolkien's life and then explain each image. Students also generate interview questions for Tolkien and are asked to explain the reasoning behind each question and each piece of information they would share about the future.

Students finish reading the novel (the primary source) and are instructed to read early reviews/responses to The Hobbit (secondary sources). They are asked to summarize each critic's response in two or three sentences, identify whether the response is positive or negative, and explain major points the critic makes. Students are also asked to describe any literary elements that the reviewer alludes to and to read aloud their summaries while identifying literary elements discussed.

Students read and copy a primary source excerpt from the Tao Te Ching, then illustrate and explain each section in a booklet. Students are instructed to use page 23 of Life in Ancient China (a secondary source) to write a short sentence explaining what the Tao Te Ching is and why it is significant. An optional extension asks students to compare the Tao Te Ching's ideas about wealth with quotations from other philosophers and religious texts, prompting comparison across sources.

Students are asked to read pages 1-7 of Exploring Ecology and consult biome graphics in the Changing Ecosystems booklet and provided websites (World Biomes, Missouri Botanical Garden, UCMP), which function as secondary informational sources. Students are also invited to use local ecosystems and to use information they collected in Lesson 1, which constitutes primary observations and data. Students must record findings on survey tables and then write paragraphs and present their research on a website or in a portfolio that combine their collected observations with researched information.

Students are directed to watch the video "The Threat of Invasive Species" and review pages 16–17 in Changing Ecosystems, which provide secondary-source background information. Students are asked to use web links (Wikipedia and the National Invasive Species Information Center) to gather species information, which are additional secondary sources. Students are also asked to take a digital picture, find an image, or draw the plant and to ask local experts if desired, producing firsthand observations that function as primary-source evidence.

The lesson asks students to "evaluate information from different sources about the same topic" and provides multiple web links for Ancient Korea and Modern Korea for students to read. Students are instructed to record information from those websites on the "Elements of Korean Culture" pages and to decide whether each piece of information belongs in the "Today" or "Centuries Past" column. The lesson also has students read the novel A Single Shard and add what they learn about 12th-century Korea to the chart, combining information from the novel and online sources.

Students are directed in Activity 2 to research Linda Sue Park using multiple sources (the author's website, an interview on Reading Rockets, and a 2002 author interview link) and to take notes from videos and bios. Students answer specific questions about the author's life and influences and write a short paragraph explaining how the author's experiences and relationships influenced her writing. These tasks require students to collect information about the same topic (the author) from more than one source.

Students are assigned a reading from Exploring Ecology (pp. 8–10 and p.14–15) that explains producers, photosynthesis, and carbohydrates. Students perform a Potassium Iodide Test to collect primary data on the presence of starch in various substances and record predictions, test results, and explanations on the Student Activity Page. Parent instructions ask students to "take the evidence and make an explanation based on it," and the lesson prompts students to "go back and consider" carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and the role of carbohydrates after the experiment.

Students read pages 12–13 (and an optional online summary) about the water cycle, providing a documentary/secondary account of the topic. Students carry out the solar still experiment and record observations of evaporation and condensation, generating primary observational data. The activity sheet and questions (e.g., "How is the solar still a model of the water cycle?" and prompts to keep the Sun's role in mind) ask students to connect their observations to the described processes.

The gathering grid juxtaposes different resources (NRP report, President Obama's speech, a photograph, and a USA Today article) and asks students to answer the same set of questions for each source, prompting them to collect comparable information across sources. Activity 2 requires students to use at least four different types of resources (reference books, websites, audio/video, periodicals) and Activity 5 asks students to find at least three opinions from different stakeholders and record supporting details, encouraging comparison of perspectives. Activity 4 provides a rubric for evaluating purpose, authority, currency, and objectivity of websites, and the Works Cited/note-taking activities require students to document interviews and other sources, supporting the use of firsthand and secondhand materials.

Students are asked to read secondary accounts (the Khan Academy/video article "The Fall of the Roman Empire" and the article sections "External Causes," "Internal Causes," and "Conclusion") and to answer questions about causes and events. In Option 2 students read three New Testament passages (primary sources) about Christian persecution and are instructed to "analyze them in light of what you have learned," identifying the authors' messages and how large a problem persecution seemed to be. Follow-up discussion questions ask why Christians were persecuted and how the biblical passages relate to historical explanations, prompting students to connect the primary texts with the secondary accounts.

Students are prompted to compare a modern retelling (The Lightning Thief) with the "original Greek myth" by thinking about how the two compare. The Parent Plan skills list tells students to "synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts... and support those findings with textual evidence," which signals that students should compare multiple texts and use evidence.

Students read the traditional Daedalus and Icarus myth (pages 153-154) and read the contemporary retelling Icarus at the Edge of Time, then complete a chart comparing theme, method of flight, setting, character roles, and another student-chosen category. Students are also asked to reread the myth and watch a filmed version, take notes on how the film expands or changes scenes, and analyze film techniques (sound, music, images, dialogue) that affect the story. The Parent Plan and skills list explicitly direct students to compare written stories to filmed/multimedia versions and to synthesize connections across texts using textual evidence.

Students are assigned a secondary source: pages 15-23 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself, which describes kings, queens, and the Magna Carta. The lesson provides the full text of the Magna Carta via a web link and Option 2 directs students to copy that primary text and create a word cloud. Option 1 asks students to complete a two-column activity comparing the king's power before and after the Magna Carta using information on page 19 and includes a National Archives link for further reading.

Students read a centuries-old poem titled "A Dialogue on Poverty" alongside chapters from The Midwife's Apprentice and are asked to "consider how Beetle could relate to this poem and the message the narrator conveys." The activity includes four guided questions that ask students to compare the narrator's situation to Brat's/Beetle's, identify physical and emotional lacks, and to explain how first-person point of view affects the poem compared to the novel's third-person point of view. The parent/discussion questions explicitly prompt students to describe how Beetle's situation resembles the poem's narrator.

Students read secondary material about Galileo (Chapters 5-7 of Newton at the Center and the brief description of Galileo's trial on page 113). Students are directed to read multiple primary documents (Kepler letters, Galileo's letter to Castelli, scriptural references, and Galileo's recantation) via the provided links. Students answer focused questions that require interpreting those primary documents and explaining how Galileo's views compare with the Church's views.

Students compare excerpts of Shakespeare's original language with modern translations in the Student Activity Page, using the modern version to clarify underlined words and then inserting bracketed clarifications in the original text. A guided question (What should you do when you come across a confusing line in Shakespeare, and why is this strategy helpful?) directs students to restate confusing lines in today's English and focus on overall meaning. The lesson provides a secondary article on reading Early Modern English and a character list alongside the original play text for students to consult while preparing to read the play.

Students read the modern translation (right-hand side) and are invited to look at the original text on the left-hand side, as noted in the reading directions. The lesson provides an example that shows the original phrasing alongside the modernized version and offers two activity options: one that uses the modern text and one that uses the original text for performance. The parent plan and activities explicitly instruct students to choose and possibly compare passages in modern or original language when selecting scenes to perform.

Students read the play using the modern translation and are invited to look at the original wording on the left-hand side of the page, giving them direct exposure to a primary text and a secondary (translated) version. Students watch a 25–30 minute animated adaptation of the play and are asked to discuss whether the key scenes were included and whether the adaptation tells Shakespeare's story well. Discussion prompts (for students and parents) repeat the task of comparing scenes included and judging how well the animated tale conveys the play.

Students read a modern secondary account (Chapter 5 of Elizabeth I, The People's Queen: Her Life and Times) and answer comprehension questions about Elizabethan religious politics. The lesson directs students to read an Elizabethan text on page 65 and to "experience the language of the time," which presents a contemporaneous primary source. Students also complete activities (timeline and map) that use information from the secondary reading to place events and religious affiliations in context.

Students are asked to look at a painting in the book (page 268) and then choose Jacques‑Louis David or J.M.W. Turner to research. They are directed to print a work of art from the Metropolitan Museum website (a primary source not included in the book) and to use a K‑W‑L chart and web biographies (secondary sources) to gather information. Students then give an oral summary and create a 1–2 paragraph sidebar that includes the printed artwork and a written description.

Students are directed to research how their state or local area produces electricity using local power company websites or the U.S. Energy Information Administration and to create a pie chart from those data. Students are then asked to compare and contrast five energy sources and to note two advantages and two disadvantages for each, with specific pages in the book given for reference. A parent note explicitly tells students to compare their research answers with the relevant pages in the book. The lesson also offers options to gather firsthand information (a field trip) or to consult international data charts, which students can use alongside the book.

Students read the introduction (pages 5–15) in Poetry Rocks! Modern British Poetry and answer questions about historical influences and how poems from different eras might differ. Students also mark stressed and unstressed syllables in lines from Sonnet 43 and work directly with poem excerpts. Question #3 specifically asks students to compare Victorian-era poems with poems from between the wars and to explain why they might differ.

Students read Chapter 1 about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and answer a question linking sonnet conventions to her sonnet (QUESTION #2 asks why it was unusual for Browning to write a sonnet because sonnets were usually written by men to their muses). Students read or encounter Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" (quoted in the capitalization section) and answer a question about how the poem would differ if it included both sides of the conversation, which requires thinking about perspective in the primary text. Students also connect biographical/time-period context to poetic choices when asked to consider how the poets' time periods are reflected in their writing and how structure affects meaning.

Activity 2 directs students to read Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Dedication" (primary poetic source) and a prose biography of Prince Albert on the royal.uk site (secondary source). Students are instructed to choose a favorite poetic line and a prose statement that express the same idea, write the two statements on opposite sides of the "Prince Albert Remembered" page, and illustrate the event or emotion. The Parent Plan explicitly states that students will "compare how the same event or emotion is treated differently in poetry and prose."

Students read poems by W.B. Yeats, Edith Sitwell, and Wilfred Owen and answer comprehension questions about their content and allusions. Students also read biographical chapters about those poets in Poetry Rocks! and answer questions about context (e.g., Yeats's role, Sitwell's reception, Owen's wartime service). A discussion prompt asks students to consider what poetry shows about war that they might not learn from a non-fiction article or book, and the Life Application asks students to look for images or stories about the World Wars at a museum or monument.

Students read about Stevie Smith and are asked (Question #2) to note that Smith read a newspaper article that inspired her poem about a drowning, establishing two texts on the same topic. The Parent Plan Questions to Discuss explicitly asks students to compare the original article and Smith's poem, noting that the article likely contained more complete factual information such as names and places. Students are also prompted to compare tone and theme, e.g., that Smith's tone is light while her messages are serious, which encourages contrast between sources.

Students are prompted to watch the documentary actively with questions such as "Where did the film's writers get their information?" and are encouraged to pause the film to "look up more information online (with a parent's assistance)". The Parent Plan explicitly states the course "incorporates numerous primary sources" and recommends using primary sources alongside the mini-series and other resources. Students are instructed to take notes on new information and to discuss and answer guided questions after viewing, which asks them to think about how images and accounts (e.g., Revere's engraving) influenced public opinion.

Students read a primary account of a 1584 encounter (Barlowe's text) and are instructed to read it aloud, note archaic spelling, and reinterpret the scene from the perspective of American Indian participants by writing a 2-3 paragraph mock diary entry or letter. The lesson explicitly tells students that historians consult multiple perspectives and warns that surviving written records are often European and contain biases, prompting students to consider what voices are missing. Students also read secondary-source materials (We Were There, Too! and National Park Service articles) about the same general topics (Pocahontas, voyages, tobacco cultivation) in separate activities.

Students read the Mayflower Compact (page 7) and complete an analysis by creating a word cloud and answering guided questions about prominent words and the document's main ideas. Students also read secondary narrative texts about the Pilgrims and Separatists (pages 18-22 of Great Colonial Projects and "Saints and Strangers" in We Were There, Too!) and answer comprehension questions about the colonists' views and experiences. For the Salem Witch Trials, students are directed to consider multiple explanations and are given links to primary-source collections (University of Virginia) to review supporting documents.

Students read primary documents such as the Declaration of Independence (and Jefferson's rough draft) in Activity 2 and Patrick Henry's speech in Activity 1, and they read secondary accounts in We Were There, Too! and linked Library of Congress background pages. In Activity 2 students print and mark Jefferson's rough draft showing text deleted by Congress and are asked to choose 3–5 significantly revised sections and suggest edits, requiring close comparison of drafted and revised texts. In Activity 1 students read background material about the First Great Awakening and discuss how those interpretations relate to support for independence, and in Option 2 they interpret and perform a primary speech.

Students read first-person accounts such as "Joseph Plumb Martin: 'And Now I Was a Soldier'" and narratives about Sybil Ludington, Deborah Sampson, and other young people in We Were There, Too. Students are directed to visit National Park Service and other web pages (Minute Man, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Yorktown) and fill in a brochure about battles and causes of American victories. The lesson also includes an optional link to read additional information on Joseph Plumb Martin's account at History Matters.

Students conduct a home survey of fifteen items and record primary observations (item name, location, primary and secondary materials) in the provided Survey table. Students are directed to use encyclopedias and reliable internet sites (including a linked periodic table) to research what elements make up chosen items and to fill the "Survey Details" and "Getting Specific with an Element" pages. Students then record properties and reasons for material choices, connecting their observed items to researched information about elements and compounds.

Students read background that Abigail Adams "wrote thousands of letters...many of which survive today," and they see an Ideas to Think About question: "How does the availability of primary sources influence historical writing?" Students complete book-exploration pages that direct them to examine the bibliography, foreword, chronology, and further reading list (several other biographies), and the parent notes point out that the author references quotes from Abigail and John Adams' letters.

Students are asked to use the book's reference notes to determine the source for quotations in a specific paragraph (Question #1), which requires them to match quoted text in the secondary account to Abigail Adams's letters cited in the endnotes. The lesson explains endnote reference numbers and the bibliography, and students are asked to provide a full bibliographic entry for a cited work (Question #3), so they practice locating primary-source citations within a secondary work. Discussion questions prompt students to consider how the availability of thousands of Abigail Adams letters influences historians' writing, which directs students to think about how primary materials shape secondary accounts.

Students read Chapters 5 and 6 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (a secondary source) and are given an option (Activity 2, Option 2) to read the diary entry of John Adams about the Boston Tea Party (a primary source). Students are instructed to use both the Adams diary entry and the Abigail Adams reading to compose a short first-person paragraph describing the Boston Tea Party. In Activity 2 Option 1 students also examine Paul Revere's engraving (a primary source) and write an interpretive paragraph about the artist's perspective.

Students read Chapters 9 and 10 of the biography (a secondary source) and the full texts of Abigail and John Adams's letters (primary sources). In Option 1, students compare their own notes on a selected letter with how the biographer used that same letter, answering specific questions about how much of the letter was quoted, what point the author was conveying, and what aspects of Abigail's life the letter illuminates. Option 2 and the activity prompts also have students analyze author/creator, context, content, and point of view of the primary documents.

Students are asked to read Chapters 15 and 16 of Natalie S. Bober's Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (a secondary source). Students are also given the opportunity to read correspondence between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson firsthand (primary-source material). In the Experimenting with Genre activity, students must write a paragraph that summarizes a scene "based solely on known facts" from the nonfiction biography before transforming it into another genre.

Students read Chapters 17 and 18 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (a secondary source) and are directed to read at least two original letters between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson on Founders Online (primary sources). The activity prompts students to consider what Jefferson and Abigail write about, the impression of each writer, and specifically asks "How do you think Thomas Jefferson might have influenced Abigail Adams and how might she have influenced him?" Students then write a diary entry from Abigail's point of view based on those letters.

Students are required to quote directly from a primary source in at least one of their three scenes and are given a web link to a digital collection of Adams papers. Planning pages prompt students to list "Relevant primary sources cited" for each event and provide spaces to summarize events and note dates and context. The project rubric explicitly includes a criterion: "Includes reading from at least one primary source."

Students read multiple primary sources (excerpts from the Magna Carta, the full Mayflower Compact, selections from the English Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation). The lesson provides secondary-material links and summaries (an Articles of Confederation summary link and an answer key for Activity 1) and asks students to take notes, summarize parts of the Articles in their own words, and to compare their notes to sidebar notes in the provided summaries. Activity instructions also have students sort and categorize phrases from the primary documents and, in Option 1, an answer key models a secondary interpretation of those primary passages.

Students are asked to read a secondary article, "A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution," and answer comprehension questions about it. Students are also directed to Federalist No. 10 (a primary source) and to watch a Library of Congress video on The Federalist Papers, and to use the Federalist No. 10 material and the video to complete an activity about factions. The lesson repeatedly refers to engagement with primary sources and includes tasks that require students to use both primary texts (e.g., Federalist No. 10) and secondary materials (articles and videos).

Students are asked to read the introduction to the Constitution (contextual/authoritative text) and the Preamble (the primary text) and to take notes section-by-section. Option 2 directs students to the Library of Congress "Creating the Bill of Rights" interactive and asks guiding questions such as "How did the English Declaration of Rights influence some of the ideas in the Bill of Rights?" and "Do you notice any significant changes between the ideas in the source documents and the way they are expressed in the Bill of Rights?" Students also record origins and interesting details from the LOC site as part of their notes.

Students are instructed to review Article I of the Constitution (a primary source) and also to read the White House overview of the legislative branch (a secondary source). Students are also directed to find and read the full text of a bill sponsored by their representative (primary source) and to consult representatives' webpages and congressional summaries (secondary sources) when researching that bill. These activities require students to read both primary and secondary materials on the same topic (the legislative branch and specific legislation).

Students are instructed to review Article III of the Constitution (a primary source) and to read a White House webpage about the judicial branch (a secondary source). Students research landmark Supreme Court cases using the US Courts "Landmark Supreme Court Cases" page and complete a structured activity page that asks them to state the case basis, the court's decision, the precedent established, and why the precedent matters. Students also complete activities about court processes and checks and balances that rely on information from teacher-provided or web-based explanatory sources.

Students are assigned to read pp. 42-45 in Eyewitness Chemistry (a secondary source) and then perform hands-on tests making red cabbage indicator and measuring pH of household substances (collecting primary observations). The activities require students to record observed colors and estimate pH ranges using a provided pH color chart and to complete an activity table comparing pH guesses, observed color, and pH range. An answer key and guidance for checking pH values online are provided, enabling comparison between students' observations and established/reference values.

Students read Chapter 5 of Animal Farm and complete research-based activity pages that ask them to identify roles, dates, and "connection to Animal Farm" for figures such as Czar Nicholas II, Karl Marx, Josef Stalin, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin. Students are instructed to use encyclopedias, library sources, or the provided BBC links for research and to provide "specific evidence that leads to that connection." The activities require students to create a short timeline and to link events or traits from historical accounts to characters and events in the novel.

In Question #2 students are asked to judge how often claims (about farm numbers, Snowball's role, and stories about Frederick) are backed up with credible evidence and to explain reasons behind possible misinformation; the expected answer directs students to note the lack of actual evidence and the use of reassurance and dogs to enforce belief. The discussion prompts ask how Napoleon maintains power (with misinformation and intimidation), which asks students to analyze sources of claims and persuasive tactics. These items require students to evaluate the credibility and support for claims in the chapter.

Students read Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address (a primary source) and are given written summaries/paragraph-level summaries (secondary interpretations) to match to each paragraph in Option 1. In Option 1 students cut out provided summaries and glue them into boxes corresponding to paragraphs, effectively aligning secondary summaries with the primary text. Students also read secondary biographies on the White House Historical Association site to gather facts and create timeline cards for early presidents.

Students are given both primary and secondary sources on the same topics: a primary account by Daniel Boone (link to Boone's own account) and an optional primary text of the Northwest Ordinance, alongside secondary sources (Kiddle background page, a short video, History.com summary, and an article on effects for Native Americans). Students answer factual reading questions drawn from those sources and complete activities that use both types of materials (Option 2 asks students to read Boone's account and create a movie poster). Parent guidance and discussion prompts ask students to consider how Boone presents himself and whether that version is the whole truth.

Students read a reprinted text of the Monroe Doctrine and are asked to summarize the bold passages in their own words, engaging directly with a primary source. Students watch a PBS documentary about the War of 1812 and read Chapter 3 of Joy Hakim as well as four short essays presenting American, British, Canadian, and Native perspectives, engaging with multiple secondary sources. Students complete activities that require comparing the four perspectives (Option 2) or writing a film review from a chosen viewpoint (Option 1), practicing analysis of secondary-source interpretations.

Students read a secondary account (the PBS article "Indian Removal Act") and multiple primary documents (Andrew Jackson's Second Annual Message, General Winfield Scott's ultimatum, Chief John Ross's letter, Ralph Waldo Emerson's letter, John Burnett's firsthand account, and WPA family interviews). Students record reasons given in those documents by listing at least four justifications and at least four objections in their activity page, and they summarize what a personal account helped them understand about the Trail of Tears. Students also use those documents to imagine and defend perspectives in Activity 4, comparing viewpoints from different historical actors.

Students read a firsthand account, "Enrique Esparza: Inside the Alamo," and complete an activity requiring a direct quote, a summary sentence, an explanatory sentence, and a later-life sentence, demonstrating engagement with a primary source. Students also read Chapters 8-11 of Joy Hakim's A History of Us and answer questions about Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War, which functions as engagement with a secondary source. Students view and analyze two paintings about Manifest Destiny, answering questions about the artists' messages and how critics might respond, providing additional secondary/interpretive source analysis.

Students are instructed to read Chapters 12-14 of Joy Hakim's A History of Us (a secondary account of the Gold Rush) and to read a first-person account from the Library of Congress collection "California as I Saw It" (a primary source). Activity 2 explicitly tells students to look for details about living conditions, work, food, shelter, and daily challenges as they read the first-person account. Activity 1 has students compare personal narratives (Mary Goble and Ng Poon Chew) and use those narratives to create a first-person monologue, prompting attention to differing firsthand perspectives.

Students read chapters of a secondary history text (A History of Us: Liberty for All? 1820-1860) and complete comprehension questions about topics like the Oregon Trail and New Mexico. Students select 10-12 historical photographs (dated 1880 or before) and complete an Image Analysis activity page that prompts close observation of setting, objects, and people. The parent/discussion prompts explicitly ask, "How do historical photographs help us understand a time period better? What can a picture tell you that words can't?"

Students are instructed in the art-gallery option to locate images online (photographs, paintings, artifacts), copy down the URL for each image, and write 1–2 sentence gallery cards describing each image and its significance. Students must practice guiding visitors through the gallery and answer questions about the images, which requires explaining the content and historical context. In the storyboard option, students plan panels that integrate historical context and at least two federal government actions that impacted their character, and they must write explanatory text for each panel.

Students are directed to read Andrew Jackson's veto message (primary source) via the Avalon Project link and to read a short essay about the Bank controversy on the Miller Center site (secondary source). Activity 2 explicitly tells students they can "analyze Jackson's message using the essay provided from the Miller Center at UVA and the text itself, and will compare support for and opposition to the bank." The "Who Would Support a National Bank?" activity asks students to sort statements into supporters and opponents columns based on the essay and the primary text, requiring cross-source comparison.

Students read a secondary source (Chapter 18 of Joy Hakim's History of US) and one or more firsthand accounts (e.g., "Gene Schermerhorn: A New City Every Day" and first-person mill accounts such as Smith Wilkinson, Lucy Larcom, and Harriet Hanson). Students are instructed to "draw on the descriptions in the chapter you read today and in Schermerhorn's account" when composing a letter imagining life in an antebellum city, and to base diary entries or assembly-line reflections on the readings about mill workers.

Students read Chapters 29-31 of Joy Hakim's A History of US (a secondary source) and also read original poems by Transcendentalist writers (primary sources) linked in Activity 1. In Activity 1 Option 1 students are asked to "read back over the values of Transcendentalism and then give 3 examples from the poems you read that you think illustrate one or more of those values," which requires connecting claims in the secondary account to evidence in primary texts. The reading questions also ask students to interpret a quoted line from Herman Melville and to explain how Whitman and Dickinson differed from other poets, prompting students to use primary-text features to respond to secondary assertions.

Students read firsthand slave narratives from the Library of Congress and complete the "View from the Slave Quarters" activity in which they list details, state what they learned, and compare similarities and differences between two narratives. Students use primary quantitative data in the "Slavery By the Numbers" activity to graph white, slave, and free non-white populations and answer analytical questions about trends. Students read passages (pro- and anti-slavery excerpts presented in A History of Us and We Were There, Too!) and prepare a speech that cites those readings to counter pro-slavery arguments.

Students read and analyze first-person 'Interviews with Team Ninja Campers' in Activity 2 and complete tables marking where each camper was and whether they became sick, using those interview statements as evidence. Students also read explanatory excerpts about immune system problems (Activity 3), watch linked informational videos, and are introduced to epidemiology and a CDC outbreak-solving web link as background information. The Mystery Ailment activity asks students to use the interviews and other clues to identify the source of the illness, which requires bringing together eyewitness-style accounts and informational resources.

Students collect and organize their own food journal data (Part 2) and create graphs and tables to represent servings and calories by biomolecule, which serves as a primary source of dietary information. Students are instructed to consult and use external guidance (Part 7 and Part 9) such as Mayo Clinic/ChooseMyPlate and provided web links about dietary fats to determine healthy intake and acceptable consumption rates. The project requires students to compare their own consumption to recommended daily intake and to report whether their intake is too much, too little, or within expectations.

Students are asked to read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and to use web sites about Mark Twain, maps, and slavery-era articles to gather information in a journal. Activity 5 directs students to read two history articles about the growth of slavery and slave codes and to summarize how the slave trade arrived in America and list rules slaves followed. The unit repeatedly prompts students to "consider how the book mirrors the political and social era" and to refer to maps of free and slave states as they trace Huck and Jim's journey.

Students read Chapters 12–15 of the novel and answer specific comprehension questions about events and dialogue. Students also read a web article titled "Propelling Action through Dialogue" and then analyze several lines of dialogue from the novel using guided questions (What does the dialogue reveal about the characters? How does the dialogue propel the action? How does the dialogue keep the reader interested?). Student activity pages prompt written responses about the dialogue passages from the novel.

Students are asked to listen to two slave narratives (links to Sarah Gudger and Arnold Gragston) and take notes comparing the life of the slave to the character Jim in the novel. Students read Chapters 37-40 of Huckleberry Finn and are prompted to compare and contrast the dialects used in the narratives to the dialects used in the novel. The activity explicitly directs students to draw conclusions about the life of the slave and to make notes about figurative language and dialect for comparison with Jim.

Students finish reading the primary text (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and are instructed to watch a film adaptation as a secondary source. Students are asked to take notes while viewing, observing changes the director or actors made regarding character, plot, language, setting, or dialect. Students must compare and contrast the novel and the movie, decide whether the directors and actors made good choices, and consider why those changes were made. Students are prompted to discuss how the movie and novel are similar or different and whether the changes impacted the movie positively or negatively.

Students read a secondary account (Fields of Fury by James McPherson, up to page 13) that summarizes sectional differences and the origins of the Civil War. Students also read primary-source excerpts from Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech and statements by Stephen A. Douglas and complete a chart comparing each man's views. In Activity 1 students are directed to research one historical figure (Adams, Calhoun, Clay, or Webster) using provided links and then write a perspective letter, which could lead them to consult additional primary or secondary sources.

Students read a secondary account (pp. 14-17 from McPherson's Fields of Fury) about Lincoln, Davis, and Fort Sumter and also read primary documents: Jefferson Davis's inaugural address and excerpts from Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address. Students take notes on Davis's inaugural (Activity 1) and complete a Comparing Two Presidents activity that requires reading both primary speeches and explaining which speech would appeal to different historical actors. Students also create an illustrated timeline of Fort Sumter events based on the McPherson reading, linking secondary narrative to a sequence of events.

Students read a secondary source (pages 30–43 of McPherson's Fields of Fury) that narrates Civil War campaigns and includes a quoted statement from a rebel private about Stonewall Jackson. Students are asked Question #2: "What did the rebel private mean when he said this about Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah campaign...?" and expected to interpret how Jackson's movements diverted Union forces. The parent answer key models interpreting the primary quotation in the context of the secondary narrative by explaining how Jackson's actions diverted 60,000 soldiers with 17,000 men.

Students read a secondary account of the Emancipation Proclamation in James McPherson's Fields of Fury and a secondary biographical excerpt about Susie King Taylor, and they are directed to explore primary materials on the Massachusetts Historical Society site (photographs and a recruitment poster for the 54th Regiment). Students are asked to use the readings and online resources together to write a recruit's letter explaining reasons for enlistment, which requires drawing on both kinds of sources. The parent notes also tell students to "pay particular attention to recruitment posters," signaling engagement with a primary source.

Activity 2 ('Accounts of Slavery') directs students to read quotes from characters (Mr. Leroy and Elijah's father), to review linked excerpts titled 'Excerpts from Slave Narratives,' and to examine photographs, an engraving, and a sketch. Students are asked to write words or brief phrases explaining what they learned about the experience of being a slave from each text or image. The parent notes and student pages reiterate that students should use the novel excerpts and the supplementary readings/artwork to inform their responses.

Students are directed to use the Allusions pages to examine specific allusions found in Elijah of Buxton and to write 2–3 sentences explaining an allusion's origin and connection to the book. The student activity pages include primary biblical passages (Mark 6:33–44, Joshua 6, Luke 3:1–9) and ask students to link those passages to scenes or references in the novel. Students are also asked to read the Q&A with Christopher Paul Curtis and discuss his responses and how his experience relates to the book.

Students retrieve and use numerical population data from a secondary source (the Wikipedia "List of U.S. States by Historical Population" table) when plotting state population over time. Students locate and record primary-source census data using the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for state and county population details in Activities 2 and 3. Students use these data to plot graphs, fill tables, create a population map, and compare state figures to national figures.

Students read a secondary source (the provided web link listing 10 human genetic traits) and use it to complete an "Investigating Genealogy Chart" that identifies traits and whether they are dominant or recessive. Students then gather primary-source data by surveying family members in Activity 2 (or by examining the provided sample family table) and record trait presence across generations on a "Family Survey" page. Students are prompted to discuss questions that require comparing the trait descriptions/dominance information from Activity 1 with the observed family data (for example, explaining how a child can lack a dominant trait even when both parents express it).

Students read a chapter from Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA and use multiple web sources (KidsHealth, Mayo Clinic, NHLBI, etc.) to research diseases (Activity 1 and Day 2 web research). Students collect and record primary patient data by conducting a mock medical history and physical examination (Activity 2 scenario specifies physical exam, lab reports, and patient history) and then use their research to determine a diagnosis. These tasks require students to use information from external sources and to apply that information to interpret primary-like clinical data.

Students read the first four chapters of The House of the Scorpion (a text that presents cloning within a narrative) and separately research six internet articles about cloning, creating labeled source cards and note cards for each article. The lesson asks students to "review the connections" between their research on cloning and the novel ("What connections did you discover between the topic of your persuasive essay and the first four chapters of The House of the Scorpion?"). The Parent Plan and skills list explicitly instruct students to "analyze works written on the same topic" and to "compare and contrast persuasive texts that reached different conclusions about the same issue."

Students read a secondary account (Charles Denby: Bound North in We Were There, Too!) and answer comprehension questions about why Denby moved and what he found in Chicago. In Activity 2, Option 1, students read primary-source letters from migrants on the Library of Congress site and are instructed to use that site "combined with your reading from today" to understand what migrants actually experienced. Students are then asked to write a two-paragraph letter from the point of view of a migrant that draws on the reading and letters to describe reasons for moving and how expectations matched reality.

Students watch the "Heartland" episode (a secondary source documentary) and use note-taking pages to record information from it. For Wounded Knee, students are asked to use a Britannica article (secondary) and a linked page titled "Primary Sources: The 1970s: Wounded Knee Occupation" (which contains reports, photographs, and other primary-source documents) to create an informational sign. In the Indian Boarding Schools activity, students read Capt. Richard H. Pratt's words (a primary-source statement of policy) and compare paired "before" and "after" photographs, writing observations and answering questions about the changes.

Students read secondary biographies (e.g., the NPS Edison biography and Britannica entries for Bell and the Wright Brothers) and then examine primary materials (e.g., early Edison motion pictures from the Library of Congress, Wright Brothers artifacts in the Air and Space Museum gallery, and optional Bell papers). For Edison, students are instructed to read the biography and then watch at least five early films and choose three to advertise, linking the biographical/contextual reading to viewing primary films. For the Wright Brothers and Bell options, students use online primary-source artifact galleries or papers after reviewing biographical summaries.

Students read two short first-person accounts: "Rose Cohen: First Day in a Sweatshop" and "Joseph Miliuaskas: Breaker Boy," and answer comprehension questions about those readings. Students watch the documentary episode "Cities" from America: The Story of Us, take brief notes, and write 4–6 follow-up questions about the film. Students are asked to reflect on both the reading and the film (for example in the role-play activity and the wrapping-up discussion prompt: "What did you learn from the reading and film...").

Students read primary-source letters from Polish immigrants in Option 1 and a Klan manual excerpt in Activity 2. Students also read a short secondary article (including the section "A Wave Becomes a Flood"), watch a video about Ellis Island, and view a documentary episode, taking notes and answering comprehension questions. Students complete an activity page documenting push and pull factors drawn directly from the immigrant letters and record facts/statistics from the Ellis Island video.

Students view and analyze primary-source photographs by Jacob Riis or Lewis Hine in Activity 1, choosing images, printing them, and completing detailed photo-analysis pages that ask about setting, details, people, mood, and the photographer's intentions. Students read secondary-source texts (selections from We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History) and a biography of Samuel Gompers, answering comprehension questions and writing 1–2 paragraph responses that require synthesizing information about labor and reform. Students also conduct internet research about reformers and write posters or responses that draw on secondary-source information about causes and proposed solutions.

The lesson presents a secondary summary of the Populist Party platform (Activity 2) and offers a web link to the full 1892 Populist Party platform (a primary source). Students are asked to use the platform statements to decide which groups might support the Populist Party and to explain why. The Grangerism activity provides contextual/secondary information about farmers' economic pressures that relate to the Populist positions.

Students read a secondary account (the PBS "Lost Liners" description and a State Department "Milestones" page) and then examine primary sources about the Lusitania on the National Archives site and contemporary newspaper articles from the Library of Congress. Students complete a Student Activity Page requiring them to summarize a chosen primary newspaper article and write imagined reactions as an American and as a German. Students also analyze World War I propaganda posters (primary sources) using guided questions and create their own poster or slogans, and they rank and evaluate reasons for U.S. entry using a secondary source.

Students create a scrapbook or dramatic presentation that requires inclusion of primary-source artifacts (mock steamship ticket, immigration inspection card, photographs, a newspaper article from Lesson 8, posters). Students must review and use secondary-source materials such as the unit "Things to Know" sections, the Review Sheet, and timeline cards to provide context and factual background for their character. The scrapbook and presentation rubrics require that "All information in the scrapbook is based on historical facts" and that students "discuss the scrapbook and answer questions," which requires explaining items and relating them to the character's story.

The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic." Students read pages 16–19 of Life Processes, perform hands-on experiments (earthworm light and gravity trials, lima bean germination), and view multimedia (a tropisms video and an online slideshow), giving them both text-based and primary experimental/multimedia sources to work with. The Gravity Response activity asks students to compare results from Activity 1 and Activity 2, prompting comparison of different kinds of investigations.

Students are asked in Activity 1 to research the works cited in the chapter-opening quotations (William Blake and Thomas Hardy) and record the time period, culture, themes, and why the work is well known. They must then explain how each quotation "relates to the events and theme of the chapter of Watership Down," requiring students to compare the quoted work with the chapter text. The activity's directions explicitly prompt students to make connections between an external text and the novel chapter.

Students read Chapters 28–31 of Watership Down, including Chapter 31 ("The Story of El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inle"), and are asked to write a summary of that chapter (working directly with the primary text). Students also read provided summaries of El-ahrairah tales on the Student Activity Page (secondary accounts) and are asked to record observations about the importance and messages of those summaries. The Animal Research activity directs students to consult at least three sources and record them, requiring students to gather multiple sources on the same topic.

Students are asked to write a 3–5 minute script and create a dramatic version of a scene, explicitly told to "consider whether you'll need to add or omit anything in order to bring the scene to life on the stage," and to include notes for music and lighting. The parent plan lists the skill: "Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors." The lesson also notes that dramatic presentations typically contain similarities to and differences from original works, prompting students to think about faithfulness and departure.

Students analyze original photographs from the Library of Congress FSA-OWI collection (Activity 2), answering guided questions about where/when the photo was taken, what it shows about the Great Depression, and similarities/differences among images. Students watch the documentary episode "Bust" and take structured notes on social impacts, Dust Bowl, radio era, and leaders/events (Activity 1). Students also read background sections and personal stories from World War II for Kids and We Were There, Too!, providing narrative/contextual accounts of the same topic.

Students read selections from a secondary source (Chapter 2 of World War II for Kids) that summarize major events of 1942 and related context. Students also read excerpts of letters from soldiers (primary sources) on pages 40-41 and are asked to react to specific details in those letters. Students answer content questions about battles and events that appear in the secondary text and then complete Activity 1 that requires composing a response to a soldier's primary letter.

Students read a secondary source chapter (World War II for Kids, Chapter 6) and use guided note-taking pages to record details from that account. Students explore primary-source materials by completing a virtual tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum or by examining artworks created by Holocaust survivors and then fill out reflection pages about what each artwork shows. Students complete activity pages asking how a museum visit could enhance understanding and to select particularly interesting museum sections, prompting reflection on museum (primary/archival) materials.

Students are required to include primary sources in their exhibits: Option 2 requires "at least one brief primary source" for each poster, and Option 1 suggests including printed diary entries or other primary sources as part of the exhibit. Students are directed to use secondary materials and syntheses such as Library of Congress timelines, unit readings, and review sheets to write 2–4 sentence summaries and explanatory paragraphs about events or themes. The project rubric explicitly evaluates the inclusion and use of primary sources as part of the final product.

Students create a Geologic Column timeline and add Paleozoic/Mesozoic/Cenozoic timeline cards that represent fossil occurrences and events. The text explains that scientists used index fossils (primary evidence) to order rock layers and that radiometric dating later confirmed the geologic column (a secondary synthesis). Parent prompts ask students to explain how scientists came up with the geologic column and to describe the relationship between specific fossils and rock layers.

Students are asked to conduct interviews (Step 3 and the Interview Questions activity) and to document what religious people and scientific sources say side-by-side on the "Evolution and Religion" pages. The Evolution and Religion note cards and rubric require students to identify issues, record religious evidence and scientific evidence in parallel, and communicate differences in viewpoint. The rubric also requires interviewing at least two people and drawing conclusions that follow from the research, and Step 4 directs students to compare evidence, assumptions, and reasons used by each side.

Students analyze Nazi propaganda posters in Part A by choosing three posters and identifying the target group, the poster's goal, and what makes it effective. Students use the provided web links (USHMM, encyclopedia, infographic) to research historical references from The Book Thief and answer targeted questions about Communists, Aryan ideology, anti-Semitism, and yellow stars. Students record examples of propaganda from the book and are asked to compare wartime U.S. posters with Nazi posters in the Life Application section.

Students read excerpts of the Nuremberg Laws (a primary source) and answer targeted questions that require applying those laws to specific cases (e.g., whether Hans would qualify for citizenship). Students identify examples of the Hitler Youth and other Nazi policies as they appear in The Book Thief (a secondary/literary source), linking passages from the novel to the legal provisions they read. Students are offered optional links to USHMM and PBS resources about Kristallnacht, giving them additional secondary-source context to compare with the primary-law excerpts.

Students read a secondary article about wartime communication/censorship (the PBS piece) and two primary sources: a 1943 newsreel and an Ernie Pyle column. Students answer questions that analyze the newsreel's informational versus propaganda elements and that ask how Ernie Pyle's column differs from regular news reporting and helped Americans understand the war. Students are also asked to identify how correspondents brought vivid descriptions to Americans and the three main ways Americans got news, which requires drawing on the provided primary and secondary materials.

Students read primary-source excerpts (Anne Frank and Warsaw Ghetto reflections) and the historical fiction text The Book Thief and are asked to compare them directly. In the "Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction" activity, students brainstorm advantages and disadvantages (historical value, emotional effect, accuracy, reader interest, memorability) for each type of source. Students then choose three ideas and provide specific examples from both the day's primary-source readings and The Book Thief that illustrate those ideas, focusing on writing style or point of view.

Students are asked to compare the movie (or trailer) with the book by noting how the movie differs, what it omits or condenses, and whether the movie has the same impact as the book. Students analyze primary visual sources by choosing three World War II propaganda posters and answering guided prompts about how each poster is propaganda, the emotions it aims to generate, logical fallacies, and design features. Students read an essay by Walter Cronkite about censorship and develop an argument about wartime censorship, engaging with a firsthand journalistic essay.

Students are directed in Activity 1 to "review the images and the data on the activity pages and then complete the questions provided," and to fill in a chart's "Material Damage description" using historical photos while using provided GDP and death statistics. The Student Activity Page requires students to calculate deaths as a percentage of pre-war populations and to graph GDP changes from 1938 to 1945, combining numerical (secondary) data with photographic (primary) evidence. The Reading and Questions section asks students to view 45 historical photographs and read the introductory paragraph and captions, then describe what each image helped them understand.

Students read short historical articles from the U.S. State Department about the early Cold War, Truman Doctrine, and Marshall Plan (secondary sources) and answer comprehension questions about them. In Option 1, students are asked to read parts of Truman's actual speech and Henry Wallace's letter and to view Cold War political cartoons (primary sources). Students are prompted to interpret what the cartoonist was trying to say and to create their own political cartoon expressing a viewpoint about the Truman Doctrine.

Students are directed to read background accounts of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis from the Office of the Historian (secondary sources) and answer factual questions about them. Students are given the option to read President Kennedy's October 22, 1962 radio/television speech (a primary source) and complete an "Analysis of Kennedy's Speech" activity. Option 1 also directs students to read advisers' options and Theodore Sorensen's memorandum (primary documents) and complete a decision-making activity.

Students read multiple secondary-source accounts (chapters from We Were There, Too: Young People in U.S. History and sections of Free at Last) and are asked to compare Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks using a graphic organizer. The lesson provides a National Archives web link about Rosa Parks that includes documents related to her arrest, which are primary-source materials students could view. Students are assigned to write a newspaper clipping (a primary-source style product) about individuals they read about, requiring them to synthesize factual details into a contemporary account.

Students read Part 4 of Sara Bullard's Free at Last, a secondary source, and answer comprehension questions about events like voter intimidation and the Voting Rights Act. In Activity 1 students locate and analyze primary-source photographs (from Charles Moore and the NMAAHC), describing the photo, its origin, and what it shows about reactions to the Civil Rights Movement. Activity questions ask students to identify when/where a photo was taken, who the photographer or subjects might be, and what the image reveals about opposition to the movement.

Students are directed to read a secondary account of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Stanford Encyclopedia page) and a primary document (the 1966 Black Panther Party platform) and then use a Venn diagram to record similarities and differences in goals, principles, strategies, and membership. Students read Section 5 of Free at Last and a piece on Jessica Govea and answer comprehension questions about causes of tensions, leaders, and working conditions, and they select Cesar Chavez quotations to use in a collage or speech. The Differing Strategies activity explicitly asks students to compare and contrast the two organizations and to justify why young activists might support one over the other.

Students watch an oral-history video titled "Veterans Remember - Wally Bissinger," which provides a primary source account of a Korean War veteran. Students also are directed to read a webpage about the Korean War and may watch the PBS documentary "Unforgettable: The Korean War," both of which function as secondary, interpretive sources. Students take notes on veterans' memories and answer factual reading questions about causes, events, and outcomes of the war.

Students read multiple U.S. Department of State webpages about the Gulf of Tonkin, the Tet Offensive, and Ending the Vietnam War and answer factual questions about those texts. Students are asked to review 2–3 oral histories, interviews, memoirs, photos, and audio/video stories from Vietnam veterans in the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Students also watch a video of veterans' recollections and respond to guided discussion questions about veterans' experiences.

Students read a secondary source (pages 160-170 of The Concise Human Body Book) and are directed to a secondary web source (kidshealth.org) about lungs and respiration. Students perform hands-on experiments (make and use a red cabbage indicator; test inhaled and exhaled air in Parts 3 and 4) and record observations, producing primary data about breath acidity. Activities also ask students to calculate and interpret composition of inhaled and exhaled air using measurements and observations.

Students watch a video titled "Alabama in the 1930s" and create a mind map capturing historical facts about the Great Depression and Jim Crow-era segregation. Students read the first two chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird and answer guided questions that ask them to identify evidence of the historical period in the chapters. Students respond in writing (journal and discussion prompts) about whether they would have wanted to live in Alabama in the 1930s and note specific connections between the historical information and events/characters in the text.

Students read chapters 3 and 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird (the primary source) and are directed to read the linked "About the Author" article about Harper Lee (the secondary source). Activity 2 explicitly asks students to "read the following article to learn more about Harper Lee's life and the ways her novel is connected to it" and to consider how her personal experiences affected her writing. The lesson asks students to make connections between the author's life and events/themes in the novel and to record explanations of those connections.

Students are instructed to "record what you have learned about Boo so far, relying on both chapters 1 and 5 for your information" and to classify each item as "Hearsay and Gossip" or "Personal Experience and Reliable Sources." The Student Activity Page directs students to list five items under each column and then to compare and contrast the two columns, looking for overlap. Students are also asked to develop a hypothesis about who Boo really is based on the comparison.

Students read chapters 18–20 of To Kill a Mockingbird (a primary narrative of Tom Robinson's trial) and also read the student activity page "Order in the Court" and view a courtroom video (secondary explanatory sources about trial procedure). Students complete "The Trial" worksheet that asks them to fill in legal terms from the secondary materials as they apply to events and characters in the novel, and they order trial steps using a cut-and-paste flowchart to match courtroom procedure to the case in the story.

Students read several actual Jim Crow law excerpts (e.g., state statutes on schools, buses, libraries, intermarriage) which serve as primary source texts. Students also read explanatory background about how Jim Crow laws developed and how "separate but equal" functioned, which provides a secondary-source context. The Found Poetry activity directs students to select and arrange words from the Jim Crow laws, requiring them to engage directly with the primary-source language.

Students read the final chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird and then watch the 1964 film adaptation, using a two-column student activity page to keep a running list of similarities and differences between the novel and the movie. The lesson includes a set of focused questions asking students to judge which actors resembled book characters, identify special effects and how the director used them, and name the biggest changes made to the novel and why those changes were likely made. The parent-plan Skills statement explicitly directs students to analyze the extent to which a filmed production stays faithful to or departs from the text, evaluating director and actor choices.

Students are instructed that both final project options will involve "completing some research, using primary sources, doing some writing and editing, and citing your research sources properly," which requires them to locate primary and secondary materials. The National History Day Project Rubric explicitly lists inclusion of "primary and secondary sources" as an assessed criterion, and the Choosing a Topic and Brainstorming pages ask students to list websites and research sources for their topics. Students are also asked to create a research plan and identify resources and skills needed for a potential National History Day project.

In Activity 2 students first read brief overviews (secondary accounts) of the Watergate and Iran-Contra affairs and then watch each president's speech (primary sources). The Leadership in Crisis activity page directs students to answer what the president was accused of, how the president addressed those accusations in his speech, and to compare the two presidents' responses. The activity sequence (read summary, view primary video, then answer comparative questions) requires students to use both secondary and primary materials about the same events.

Students are prompted to identify and describe three primary sources and five secondary sources on the Annotated Bibliography activity pages, including space to explain what each source is about and why it will be helpful. The annotated bibliography materials explicitly explain the distinction between primary and secondary sources and give an example (a letter from Bill Gates, 1986) to illustrate a primary source. In Option 2 students watch Apollo 11 landing videos (primary-source footage) and write a 2-3 paragraph reaction, engaging directly with a primary source.

Students read a secondary source by viewing the History Channel "9/11 Attacks" webpage and answer comprehension questions about the event. Students may conduct a primary-source interview with an adult about their memories and then write a short reaction paper describing how the interview helped them understand the attacks more personally. Students may alternatively examine primary-source artifacts and their supporting documents from the Smithsonian, 9/11 Memorial, and National Geographic and create a poster explaining how those artifacts helped them understand September 11, 2001 more fully.

Students are asked to include appropriate citations for each paragraph of their illustrated essay and to assemble research materials from earlier lessons, which requires them to locate and record sources. Students complete a Process Paper that asks them to write short paragraphs about how they chose their topic and what their plan for research is, prompting students to reflect on source selection. Students are guided to gather, analyze, organize, and arrange information chronologically as shown in the activity image (magnifying glass on documents, highlighted sections, note-taking, and a timeline), which involves working directly with source material.

Students read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem "Paul Revere's Ride" and a first-person account titled "Paul Revere's Ride in His Own Words," marking phrases or lines they find significant. They complete a Comparing Texts activity (Venn diagram) that asks them to note similarities and differences in content, use of literary language, and details, and they are prompted to consider how the differing forms influence the reader. The parent/answer notes and optional extension explicitly direct students to identify facts present in one account but absent or altered in the other and to consider the poem's inaccuracies.

Students are asked to view Cubist artwork on the Guggenheim site and then reread Gertrude Stein's "Susie Asado" to think about how the poem is like a Cubist painting (Activity 2). The lesson includes book commentary about Frost's use of nature imagery ("As the book mentions, his poems 'frequently compare the outer, natural world to the inner world of the psyche'") and asks students to analyze poem forms, imagery, and punctuation in specific poems (Reading and Questions and Activity 3).

Students are asked directly in Question #3 to relate Claude McKay's background to the poem "The Tropics in New York" ("How does an understanding of Claude McKay's background help the reader better understand 'The Tropics in New York'?"). The lesson provides the biographical detail in the answer key (the poet was born in Jamaica and the imagery likely refers to that country) and directs students to reread poems and annotate phrases or images that strike them, supporting text-to-context connections.

Students are directed to read primary-source poems via multiple web links (e.g., Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California," Ferlinghetti poems, Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays"). Students are asked to research a poet using online secondary sources (Activity 2 Option 1) and to use Poetry Foundation and Academy of American Poets sites as starting points. The Poet Research activity page prompts students to record biographical details, influences, types of poetry, and to read at least one additional poem by the chosen poet, which places primary texts alongside secondary-source research.