How did World War II serve to advance movements for equality at home and abroad? and How did the American government change because of World War II? Download Primary Source Set: WWII Movements for Equality

This inquiry set is designed to introduce 11th grade students to the ways in which World War II served to advance movements for equality.

In what ways have issues such as education; civil rights for people of color, immigrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and disabled Americans; economic policy; the environment; and the status of women remain unchanged over time? In what ways have they changed? Download Primary Source Set: Contemporary American Issues 

This inquiry set addresses contemporary topics through the lens of education.

How was the war in Vietnam similar to and different from other Cold War struggles? How did the war in Vietnam affect movements for equality at home? Download Primary Source Set: Vietnam and Movements for Equality

This inquiry set includes images, letters, and interviews that highlight the effects of the Vietnam War. Students will explore how the war in Vietnam was different from other wars and Cold War struggles.

How did various movements for equality build upon one another? Download Primary Source Set: Civil Rights Movements

This inquiry set examines how the various movements for equality in the mid twentieth century built upon and inspired each other. The chosen material represents the movements against the Vietnam War and the civil rights movements of women, Chicanos/as, American Indians, Asian Americans, LGBT Americans, African Americans, and people with disabilities.

How did the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail “address those opposed to the civil rights movement? Download Lessons: Civil Rights - MLK 

On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama after taking part in nonviolent protests against segregation.

How did various movements for equality build upon one another? Download Primary Source Set: Civil Rights

The advances of the black civil rights movement encouraged other groups—including women, Hispanics and Latinos, American Indians, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans, students, and people with disabilities—to mount their own campaigns for legislative and judicial recognition of their civil equality.

What did Senator Margaret Chase Smith hope to accomplish with this speech? Download Primary Source Set: McCarthyism 

The lesson uses close reading strategies to draw students progressively deeper into the text. First students read the text to identify repetition, learn about the historical context and build vocabulary. Re-­‐reading, they connect allusions in the text to the historical context. Students write an essay answering the lesson focus question and citing evidence from the speech.

How did ordinary people respond to the Great Depression? Download Primary Source Set: The Great Depression 

This inquiry set focuses on how ordinary people experienced the Great Depression. The sources focus on a relatively narrow topic - food - to expose much larger trends (like poverty, hunger, and government policy) of the 1930s. 

Why were the 1920s filled with political, social, and economic extremes? Download Primary Source Set: The 1920s 

This inquiry set provides resources that frame the 1920s as a decade of diverse social and cultural developments, political anti-radicalism, and intense nativism.

Why did women want the right to vote? How did women convince men to grant them the right to vote? Download Primary Source Set: Women's Suffrage 

This inquiry set is designed to provide context for students to be able to address with nuance and perspective the question, Why did women want the right to vote, and how did they convince men to grant it to them?Women in California won the right to vote in the 1911 election, nearly a decade before the national suffrage amendment passed.