The lesson begins with an activity that helps students understand the historical record.
Students then learn techniques for analyzing primary sources.
Finally, students apply these techniques to analyze documents about slavery in the United States. This lesson presents social history content and topics through the voices of ordinary people. It draws on primary sources from the American Memory Collection, American Life Histories, 1936-1940 . Using excerpts from the collection, students study social history topics through interviews that recount the lives of ordinary Americans. Based on these excerpts and further research in the collections, students develop their own research questions.