Did you know that the first Federal Congress passed a resolution recommending a day of thanksgiving in 1789? Or, that in 1941 Congress established a fixed-date for the holiday? The National Archives contains dozens of digitized documents associated with the holiday of Thanksgiving.
These documents are a fun way to focus on primary source documents throughout the year. Create a bulletin board featuring a different document every few weeks. Whether remembering the anniversary of the Homestead Act of 1862 to celebrating the Civil Rights Act of 1942, primary source documents can bring history alive for students.
To locate the Thanksgiving documents, go to http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving/
For a list of featured documents, go to http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/
For many more ideas for using primary source documents in the classroom, go to http://docsteach.org/
