Digital Snapshots

Here you can find educator resources and a general lesson plan appropriate for use in Mississippi Studies, U.S. History, Geography, and other middle and high school classrooms. In this lesson plan, teachers will find engaging activities and historical content related to the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964.

To understand the past and see its impact on the present, students should engage with primary sources from past events. For students to truly understand the documents and have the correct context, teachers must first lay the groundwork for this connection. The teacher should begin this lesson with a brief introduction about the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and efforts by individuals in the movement to register voters and support educational opportunities in Mississippi. A short introduction to this collection and a list of additional resources is available here.

Use the button below to access the classroom activity, document and photograph analyses worksheets created by the National Archives, and learn how you can use the Foner (Thomas) Freedom Summer Papers in your classroom.