Classroom Tools at the MHS

This page features links to curriculum projects created primarily for middle- and high-school classrooms. Each project features documents from the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, as well as suggestions for using the documents with students. The projects are aligned to the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework and address topics including John and Abigail Adams and the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, and the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts.

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In the years between 1764 and 1776, America truly became a nation. Using letters, diaries, broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, maps, and engravings, this website brings those tumultuous years to life for students of all ages. The site is organized around fifteen key topics and features more than 150 documents from the Society's collections. Additional resources include primary-source-based lesson plans developed by middle- and high-school educators, study questions, and contextual essays.

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The Society's teacher fellowship programs bring public and private school educators to the MHS to develop lessons based on primary source documents in the collections. Teacher fellows spend the equivalent of four weeks at the Society in exchange for a generous stipend. The fellowship competition is open to history, social studies, and language arts teachers across the United States.

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Watch this page for announcements concerning upcoming programs and workshops designed specifically for educators. The MHS Education Department frequently partners with local historical sites and institutions, as well as the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and both the Massachusetts and the United States Departments of Education to develop and deliver interactive programs using the Society's collections.

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