Lesson Plan
Teaching with Primary Resources: High School
Students examine primary source documents to reconstruct part of the history of the Lower East Side between the years 1870 and 2010.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Understand that primary source documents can help us understand people, places, and events from the past.
- Think critically about historic records.
- Explore change over time.
- Explore the strengths and limitations of using primary source documents as a research tool.
Grade Levels
High School | Grades 9-12
Duration
1‐3 class periods
Related Programs
All
Essential Questions
- How do historians learn about the past?
- How can primary source documents help us to understand the past and the present?
- What are the strengths and limitations of primary sources?
Materials
(see appendix)
- Census Guide
- Census Packet
- Photograph of 97 Orchard Street
- Loose‐leaf paper
- Pens or pencils
Vocabulary
- Primary source
- Census
Questions on lessons and activities?
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