Our partner organizations offer engaging experiences for students from Grades K to 12.
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7 Products clear all+
6-89-12
DBQuest
Explore major questions in civics and history while building the skills needed to analyze primary sources.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Video
- Maps
- African American History
- America at War
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- Economics
- Founding Documents
- Human Enslavement
- Native Peoples
- Voting & Suffrage
- Women in History
Alignments
- History
- Alignment to state and Common Core standards can be found on iCivics.org.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Learning Objectives
- Use evidence from informational texts to support analysis and answer questions.
- Identify each type of source and its purpose.
- Analyze a variety of texts, images, and videos.
- Draw on several sources and consider questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
Teacher Experience
- Teach with DBQuest as a 1:1 assignment, or as a whole class activity.
- Each module is supported with the following instructional materials: Teaching Guide & Tips, Classroom Printables, Anticipation & Reflection Activities, Evidence Guide, Overview Reading and Extensions
Student Experience
The tool takes students through the same four steps for each source:- Rate the document for usefulness and determine perspective.
- Identify and analyze the text and visual elements that assist with answering the questions.
- Address the supporting questions in your own words.
- Summarize your findings as a response to the Big Question.
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6-89-12
Eagle Eye Citizen
Solve and create American history and civics challenges to explore Library of Congress primary sources—and look closer.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Video
- Maps
- African American History
- America at War
- Citizenship
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- Community & Family
- Economics
- Education
- First Freedoms
- Founding Documents
- Human Enslavement
- Journalism
- Labor & Work
- Native Peoples
- Symbols & Traditions
- Voting & Suffrage
- Women in History
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Learning Objectives
The student will be able to practice key historical thinking skills including sequencing, contextualization, and close reading.Teacher Experience
- Sign in and create accounts for students and organize them into classes.
- Create your own challenges for students to take.
- Direct students to take or create challenges.
- Explore three types of challenges: Time after Time, Sort it Out, and Big Picture.
Student Experience
- Take challenges or create your own.
- Take and create challenges to see your score and "rank" increase.
- Earn badges in various categories.
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6-89-12
Engaging Congress
An interactive learning tool using primary sources to explore how our government works. Help students understand separation of powers, voting rights, federal budget, state’s rights, and more.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Video
- African American History
- America at War
- Citizenship
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- Economics
- Founding Documents
- Human Enslavement
- Journalism
- Voting & Suffrage
- Women in History
Alignments
- NCSS Standards
- C3 Framework
- State and Common Core standards information at engagingcongress.org
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Learning Objectives
- Analyze primary sources
- Participate in our representative government as informed citizens
- Identify varying perspectives/bias
- Increase content knowledge in U.S. History, Government, and Civics
Teacher Experience
- Develop critical thinking skills through primary source analysis—no background knowledge needed.
- Use components of the game—primary sources, mini-games, content videos—individually or as an entire module.
- Assess students with trivial challenges, knowledge checks, and compelling questions that can be used as essay prompts.
- Request free giveaways on the Engaging Congress website which includes a Teacher Toolbox and alignment to standards.
Student Experience
- Choose any part of the interactive as the entry point: video, mini-game, primary sources, or trivia challenge.
- Watch a short introductory video in each module to help build content knowledge.
- Play mini-games to reinforce and extend content.
- Zoom in on the primary source to get close-up views of the primary sources being analyzed.
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Engaging Congress
BROUGHT TO YOU BY Indiana University Center on Representative Government
K-23-5
Private i History Detectives: HISTORICAL INQUIRY FOR ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS
Take inquiry-based learning to the next level. Students become history detectives using primary sources as evidence to solve historical mysteries.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Maps
- African American History
- America at War
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- Community & Family
- First Freedoms
- Founding Documents
- Human Enslavement
- Native Peoples
- Symbols & Traditions
- Women in History
Alignments
- Alignment to state and Common Core standards can be found on iCivics.org.
Learning Objectives
The student will be able to:- Follow agreed-upon rules for discussion
- Make observations and ask questions
- Gather evidence and draw conclusions
- Make logical inferences based on text evidence
- Examine primary and secondary source material
- Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of a variety of sources
Teacher Experience
- Materials are available as printable PDFs or digitized student handouts available online through iCivics’ FREE Kami integration.
- Available materials include slide shows, handouts for students, embedded lesson plans, and resources for teachers.The slideshows are adaptable to meet your classroom needs.
- Walk through the slide show and Teacher Resources first to acquaint yourself with the development of the mystery.
- We recommend beginning with the "Introduction to Inquiry" mystery for your grade-band as a starting point for students
Student Experience
- Students act as history detectives to solve a mystery by exploring primary and secondary sources with the Private i History Detectives Team.
- All mysteries include a big mystery question, vocabulary, primary sources from the Library of Congress and other repositories, and inquiry activities.
- Students will have the opportunity to activate prior knowledge, investigate, support a claim with evidence, and reflect on content learned.
- Inquiry-based activities allow all students entry points to engage in higher-order thinking.
No account required
6-89-12
Journalism in Action
Journalism in Action is an interactive learning tool exploring the history of journalism in society using historical primary sources.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Video
- America at War
- Citizenship
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- First Freedoms
- Journalism
- Labor & Work
- Women in History
Alignments
- C3 Framework
- Common Core ELA History
- Social Study Standards
- ISTE Standards
Learning Objectives
- Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source
- Provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions
- Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources
- Communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.
Teacher Experience
- Explore the history of journalism in the U.S. through Library of Congress primary documents.
- Employ interactive features such as historical journal annotation, magnifying tools, and turning historical documents and images into social media posts.
- Make an account for students to track answers, or use without an account.
- Use all or part of our ten historical case studies, which cover topics from the Revolutionary War to Immigration to Watergate.
Student Experience
- Explore the history of journalism in the United States!
- Learn the ways the goals and techniques of journalists have changed over the centuries.
- Use fun, interactive features including making your own social media posts based on historical records.
- Imagine how journalists of the past would cover the controversies of today.
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K-23-5
KidCitizen
KidCitizen offers a growing set of interactive episodes that engage K–5 students with primary source photographs to explore Congress & Civic Engagement.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Maps
- African American History
- Civics & Government
- Civil Rights
- Community & Family
- Economics
- Education
- Labor & Work
- Symbols & Traditions
- Women in History
Alignments
- NCSS Standards
- C3 Framework
Learning Objectives
- Compare life in the past to life today.
- Analyze and collect evidence from primary sources.
- Engage in primary source inquiry, using critical literacy skills to address challenging topics.
Teacher Experience
- Choose from 9 episodes that focus on historical thinking and inquiry-based learning with primary sources.
- Easily access episodes from kidcitizen.org on any device.
- Introduce the initial episode as part of whole class or small group guided instruction, then allow for independent revisits.
- Find implementation ideas as well as suggested children's literature to support cross-curricular connections in the teacher’s guide that accompanies each episode.
- Create your own episodes with the cloud-based KidCitizen Editor and share them with students.
Student Experience
- Use visible thinking strategies to progress through phases of careful observation, analysis, drawing conclusions based on collected evidence, and reflection that propels the students into further inquiry.
- Engage in incremental learning and authentic interaction with a primary source.
- Build conceptual knowledge and develop increasingly complex historical-thinking skills
- Receive guided mentorship from in-game character, Ella, who assists children in interpreting the past and simulates the collaborative conditions that optimize students’ construction of knowledge and meaning.
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KidCitizen
BROUGHT TO YOU BY Snow & Co and the University of South Florida College of Education
6-89-12
Voices for Suffrage
Relive the suffrage movement, learn about key events and figures, and explore primary documents to learn all about the fight for women's right to vote.
Topics
- Documents
- Images
- Maps
- Civics & Government
- Voting & Suffrage
- Women in History
Alignments
- NCSS Standards
Learning Objectives
- Analyze primary sources and extract information from them in order to answer questions or form a narrative.
- Learn more about the important people, places, and events related to the movement and the eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment.
- Learn how to use search terms, filters, and tags to locate content in a large database.
Teacher Experience
- Use as a research tool when developing suffrage-related lesson plans using the included primary sources and other content.
- Assign any of the Guided Tours or game chapters to be reviewed/played by students which can then be followed up with written questions or an in-class discussion.
- Find resources to learn more about the Inquiry Design Model, the C3 Social Studies Framework, and working with Primary Sources (https://voicesforsuffrage.com/resources)
Student Experience
- Voices for Suffrage is a great research tool for students when completing suffrage-based assignments or projects.
- Guided Tours and the They Persisted game are fun ways for students to interact with the content.
- The scrapbook format allows students to click through artifacts such as pins and flyers to learn how they contributed to the movement.
- Exploring the movement by engaging with timelines, navigating guided tours around key themes, and exploring a database of information and sources.
- Replay the movement: put yourself in the shoes of a suffragette, join a party, and find out how you might respond to key events guided by primary sources.
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Voices for Suffrage
BROUGHT TO YOU BY Second Avenue Learning