This is a great lesson plan from the Library of Congress that shows how to use primary sources in the examination of the Spanish Conquistadors in America. The lesson offers many possible activities for students to use with the primary...

A collection uses primary sources to explore the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

A quick comprehension check over European Exploration in the Americas.

Read and study the sources about the European Age of Exploration. As you read the four sources, think about the ways in which exploration during this time period impacted the Americas.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A look into the history of the Americas from the beginning of time to 1620. Learn about the American Indians, imperial rivalries, and exploration with resources from this page.

A lengthy lesson plan about the Norse encounters with indigenous people of North America by examining two sets of stories handed down through history by Vikings. [pdf]

Consider these resources while illustrating the natives' response to Europeans settling into the Americas.

The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...

A collection of primary sources to explore the motivations and realities behind life in the American colonies.

Learning activity on religion and society in which students explore the ideas and events of the Great Awakening and determine the impact they may have had on the American Revolution. Site provides links to wide variety of resources for...

This collection uses primary sources to explore The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the impact of women blues performers.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the New Woman ideal.

A collection uses primary sources to explore the construction of the Panama Canal.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the secession of southern states from the United States prior to the Civil War.

Given short summaries about the reasons for European exploration and colonization of North America, students will compare English and Spanish settlements in the New World.

Experiments and activities for investigating the science of light, as well as in-depth explanations of some of the light principles.

A glossary explaining the definitions of terms used in discussing the science of light.

Explains what optical illusions are and offers many examples to try.

This collection of primary sources explores the introduction of electric power to the United States.

This section of the America on the Move exhibition explores the substance behind the myth of Route 66, telling the stories of real people who made their living on or beside the road and who traveled on the fabled highway.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the 1925 Scopes Trial.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the impact of television on news media.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Great Migration.