These media analysis tools or worksheets guide students into deeper analysis of primary sources. The guides focus on life histories, objects, and photographs.

The following document analysis worksheets were designed and developed by the Education Staff of the National Archives and Records Administration. They include written documents, photographs, cartoons, posters, maps, artifacts, motion pictures, and sound recordings.

This site walks participants through an exploration of Gilbert Stuart’s Landsdowne portrait of George Washington using three different filters: symbolic, biographic, and artistic. Each filter highlights a different element in the portrait and provides unique information and a distinct interpretation. After working through the interactive presentation, students should be able to effectively interpret the portrait as a primary document. They can also use these filters and related questions to analyze additional artistic works. The site provides a series of lesson plans on George Washington’s life.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you need to know how to analyze the picture to gain any understanding of it at all. "Making Sense of Documentary Photography" provides a place for students and teachers to grapple with the documentary images that often illustrate textbooks but are almost never considered as historical evidence in their own right. Written by James Curtis, this guide offers a brief history of documentary photography, examples of what questions to ask when examining a documentary photograph, and an annotated bibliography and list of online resources for documentary photography.

National Park Service Teaching With Museum Collections offers object-based learning emphasizing the links between the real things and historical analysis. Collections connect students to their past, rich and varied cultures, momentous events, inspiring ideas, and the places where the nation's history happened.

Lesson plans provide teachers with easy-to-use, grade-appropriate educational activities, and link to national educational standards. Photographs of museum objects and specimens, historic photographs, maps, and other documents are used to teach. Reading materials, web resources, and glossaries are included. Suggestions on how teachers can substitute similar available objects, and develop local, community-based activities are provided.

Teaching with Museum Collections includes a worksheet for analyzing artifacts asking students to examine such factors as the object's construction purpose, value, and design. The site also includes a similar worksheet for analyzing photographs.

Picturing America, a recent initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, contains a wealth of resources for using art in the classroom. The site contains links to four lesson plans that teach students how to analyze art, for example, teaching the basics of composition. The site contains over 20 pieces of art from various periods in U.S. history. A short essay with background information and analysis accompanies each piece of art. There are resource guides for using art, including a guide designed specifically for younger students.