During the summer of 2008 the Hoover Presidential Library held a week long workshop for educators empahasizing the use of primary sources with students, grades 6-12th. The grant was made possible through The Library of Congress Midwest Center for Teaching with Primary Sources administered by the Illinois State University. Educators from across Iowa researched topics at the Hoover Presidential Library or online in the holdings of the Library of Congress. The following lesson plans were created and are presented as Word documents; allowing educators to download and edit the lessons to meet the needs of your students.

• Are YOU Doing All You Can? - During World War I and World War II, it was necessary for the citizens on the home front to conserve resources to support the war effort. Focusing on World War II, what sacrifices were made in the United States by the civilians?
  Download as a Word document

 

• Athletics in the 1920’s - In this lesson, students will identify major themes in athletics in the 1920’s, compare and contrast athletics in the 1920’s with present day athletics, gain an appreciation for use of primary sources in historical research, and read and comprehend a primary source document.
  Download as a Word document

 

• The Causes of the Great Depression - Students often feel that the only reason for the depression was that the Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929. This lesson is to give them some insight into the real causes of the Depression and help them compare what is happening today to that time period.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Cuban Missile Crisis – Citizen Response - Students will explore and gain an understanding of the average American citizen’s reaction/response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The citizens represented would include Cuban refugees, women, and college students. After gaining an understanding of how others reacted, they will compare and contrast it to how they would have responded then and now to the threat of nuclear war.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Harry Truman: Was it the right decision? - The United States decision to use atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki represents one of the greatest debates of the Twentieth Century. The debate can be seen from various perspectives that will be explored in this two day lesson.
  Download as a Word document

 

• The Interregnum - The challenging time period of 4 months between the president elect and the outgoing president can hurt our country. My eyes have been open to the political partisanship played by Franklin Roosevelt.
  Download as a Word document

 

• An Introduction into the Use of Primary Sources in Biographical Research: A Closer Look at Lou Henry Hoover - This lesson introduces students to the importance of primary sources in biographical research. Primary sources such as: photo, stereograph, negative, sketch, newspaper article, telegram, and letter pertaining to Lou Henry Hoover will be used.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Laura Ingalls Wilder: Iowa Hero - This lesson plan is one of the introductory lessons to kick off the 4th grade Hero Fair research project. Each fourth grade student will learn from this lesson how to discover items at the Library of Congress website using Laura Ingalls Wilder as an example. Each student will also acquire new knowledge about how to use primary resources in their presentation from examples in this Laura Ingalls Wilder lesson plan.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Pioneer Life: A Girl and her Story - During this lesson students will explore what life was like for a pioneer girl named Laura Ingalls Wilder by reading and analyzing the book, Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder written by William Anderson. This reading will give them the background knowledge needed to create an electronic primary source photo story.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Presidential Decision Making: Truman and the Cold War - With the ending of World War II, the U.S. faced many critical decisions, including the rebuilding of Europe, the status of Germany and Japan, and the transition of the U.S. economy back to peacetime. One of the most critical and intriguing sets of decisions concerned relations with one of our World War II allies, the Soviet Union.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Propaganda on the Home Front During World War II - Propaganda Posters used during World War II helped to mobilize a nation. The posters were an ideal agent for making war aims the personal mission of every citizen. Whether created by government or by corporations, these posters conveyed social, economic, and political ideas through imagery.
  Download as a Word document

 

• Right or Wrong: The Debate of United States Involvement Prior to World War I - In June of 1914, World War I began without the involvement of the United States. The debate whether to get involved in the European crisis escalated until February of 1917 when the United States entered the war. Should the United States have entered the war earlier or not?
  Download as a Word document

 

• Teaching the Native Americans our A, B, C’s: Lessons on Assimilation, Boarding Schools and Christianity - To gain a true understanding of Native American Assimilation, students will examine primary source documents discussing assimilation through education and religion. As part of this unit, students will critically examine, respond to and report on photographs and documents as historical evidence of Native American assimilation years 1860-1910.
  Download as a Word document

 

• A Truly Coed War-Veterans of Gulf War I - Operation Desert Storm offered military women the first real opportunity to contribute to the war effort in ways that had only been reserved for men. Women were now working as mechanics, drivers of convoy vehicles, intelligence agents, pilots, guards of POWs, and commanders of female and male soldiers. This lesson plan will give students the chance to hear from both genders that fought in Persian Gulf War I.
  Download as a Word document