This activity is meant to give students experience interacting with and interpreting a primary source that demonstrates the beginnings of democratic thought in Ancient Greece. This makes an especially good activity early in the school year, but could be used any time. Students read each excerpt, and - with the help of the teacher, a dictionary, or the internet - interpret the meaning of Pericles’ speech. They are then required to condense their interpretation into a four-word summary. Works great as a discussion-based activity or individual work. This lesson is classroom tested and fully customizable.

Teaching about the United Nations? This collection of primary source analysis activities gives teachers a variety of activities to help students dig into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. History Made Fresh strategies such as Primary Source Ninja, Prove It or Lose It, and the Reading Frame are included. These can be used in class, at home, or as a simple plan for a substitute. Each activity encourages reading for understanding and prepares students for an extended writing activity or presentation. These activities are classroom tested.

Get to know your students with this worksheet of sixteen ice-breaking sentence starters. This is a classroom-tested, fully editable activity that is ready for your students. Included are a printable pdf, and an editable .doc file