Whether you are using primary or secondary sources, be mindful of copyright laws, using footnotes or endnotes, or obtaining permissions to use materials, when required. Student Exercises and Activities Make sure the lesson does not depend on visiting the site that is the subject of the lesson plan. The materials used in Determining the Facts must be sufficient for students to gather the evidence they will need. The activities in Putting It All Together, on the other hand, will lead students to go beyond the information provided in the lesson plan and look at the larger picture. Activities also should lead students to discover and understand the historic places in their own communities and how they fit into the broad themes and events in American history.
Students can conduct interviews with family members, community elders or business leaders.
They can do research at a library, newspaper or government offices. They can locate maps, journals, diaries or other kinds of documents. They can work with local preservation groups, museums or historical societies. For many schools, structured field trips are few and far between. Both exercises and activities should guide students through challenging questions to examine and explore evidence and form conclusions.