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Teaching Resources

Welcome to the Emerging America resource library. Browse our ever-growing collection of primary source sets, lesson plans, classroom assessments, and more, developed by teachers and edited for quality and consistency. Use the controls in the blue box to search and filter by Type, Subject, Time Period, and Grade Level. NOTE: Use the website search engine (above) to find resources–such as apps and curriculum from other organizations–that appear only in the blog.
The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770

The Bloody Massacre–Or Was It?

Performance assessments require students to demonstrate what they know and can do. Often expressed as “authentic”–mostly meaning as much like the real world as possible. In this performance task, fifth graders compare three pieces of evidence from a key event in American History.

  1. The Paul Revere engraving of the Boston…
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Civil Rights During WWII

Performance assessments require students to demonstrate what they know and can do. Often expressed as “authentic” (as much like the real world as possible). In this performance task, high school students compare several pieces of evidence from the Civil Rights Movement during WWII.

This performance task requires students to compare text, sound files,…

Quabbin reservoir

A model district-determined measure for 7th grade Geography, developed by the Collaborative in 2015 for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. A pre-assessment utilizes documents on the building of the Quabbin Dam in Central Massachusetts in the 1930s. The post-assessment utilizes documents on the building of the Aswan Dam in Egypt in the 1960s. Students use…

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The following 5 day unit plan uses primary source images of the National Mall and a modern tourist primary source map to observe, reflect, and explain some the varied historical sites available to students, educators, and travelers alike. In particular, students will explore three of the following sites:

  • Capitol Building
  • Lincoln Memorial
  • WWII Memorial
fugitive slave law

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves. Northerner legislatures passed laws in an attempt to reduce the impact of the FSA and how the work of the Underground Railroad (UGRR) was impacted. Students will learn how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (FSA) changed perspectives of Northerners and the ultimate destination of the fugitives themselves. Students…