Teaching for Learning with
Primary Sources
Kimberly Dyar, NBCT
Elkton High School
kdyar@[Link]
Common Core Anchor Standards
Specific to Primary Sources
[Link].1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and
secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and
origin of the information.
[Link].2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or
secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events
or ideas develop over the course of the text.
[Link].6
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat
the same or similar topics, including which details they include and
emphasize in their respective accounts.
[Link].9
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several
primary and secondary sources. [Link]
Core Student Competencies
Compare perspectives
across time and culture
Process and critique
information in various
formats and media
Develop coherent
understanding
Answer questions
Solve problems
Sustain focus in
challenging reading and
writing tasks
Evaluate claims,
arguments, evidence
Analyze relationship
between primary &
secondary sources on
same topic
Analyze, reflect,
research
What are primary sources?
newspaper articles
advertisements
photographs
letters
government documents
(general orders)
video recordings
newscasts
music
literature
art
map
speech
political cartoons
comic strips
diaries
ephemera (pamphlets,
posters, paper-based
communications)
What information can a photo provide?
Challenging Stereotypes
Compare & Contrast
Related Photos
Surprising Elements
Lyrics express common sentiments
Writing style
Language changes
Values & beliefs
Economic realities
Perspectives
Google News Archive
[Link]
rs
Library of Congress Historic
Newspapers
[Link]
Scholastic GO! (formerly Grolier)
World Newspapers
[Link]
wsnow/[Link]
Change over time
Commonly accepted
views
Emphasis of mapmaker
Economic and political
realities
Migration patterns
Bias based on purpose
Individuals Impact on Society
People as Symbols of Change
MALCOLM X'S EULOGY delivered by Ossie Davis, Faith Temple Church Of
God
February 27,1965
It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless
proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this AfroAmerican who lies before us - unconquered still. I say the word again, as he
would want me to: Afro-American - Afro-American Malcolm, who was a
master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew better than he
the power words have over minds of men. Malcolm had stopped being a
'Negro' years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too weak a word for
him. Malcolm was bigger than that. Malcolm had become an Afro-American
and he wanted - so desperately - that we, that all his people, would become
Afro-Americans too.
Ha Ha! Or A-ha!
Common sentiments
Gender roles
Societal Critique
Which war?
Universal
sentiments
Individual perspectives
on history
Many web sites have
transcriptions that are
easy to read.
Avalon Project
[Link]
Prejudices
Social causes
Values
Language change
Why use primary sources?
Complexify understanding
Initiate authentic inquiry-based learning
Teach critical thinking
Improve curriculum
Develop student independence & persistence
What do you do with primary sources?
Photo analysis
individually/sets
paired with text/art
Compare historical and
modern sources
Explore multi-format text
sets on one issue
Trace development of
issue over time in one or
more formats
Use excerpts to illustrate
concepts or provide
context
Annotate & dialogue
about (written or oral)
Compare contradictory
sources to develop
insight & understanding
Grapple with language
and what it means
Form questions
Uncover psychological
elements that transcend
cultures & shape
documents
[Link]
Library of Congress Tool
Source title
see
think
wonder
[Link]
[Link]
Provide thorough models
to which students can
refer.
co-developed during
planning
with history teacher
Where Do I Find Primary Sources?
Digital Databases (especially Gale)
[Link] annotated list
Advanced Google searches
primary sources Progressive Era site:.edu
primary sources Progressive Era site:.gov
primary sources Progressive Era site:.org
Citing Primary Sources
Teach students to cite
the actual primary
source, not its location
in a database!
[Link]
Library of Congress
[Link]
[Link]
Library of Congress
Online collections
Historic newspapers
Themed resources
Online exhibitions
Support from librarians
Primary Source Tools
Primary Source Blog
Free summer institute
Free online professional
development
[Link]
Docs Teach
[Link]
Free account
Premade activities
Activity builder
History Day
resources
Digital primary sources
Free professional
development
Education blog
Themed Pages
Students complete/submit online
[Link]
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Multimedia resources
Free teacher workshops
Accessible language resources
Holocaust Encyclopedia easy readability level
In-depth content
Online exhibits
[Link]
English: The Kite Runner
English: The Things They Carried
*
[Link]
[Link]
US History: Supreme Court Case Analysis
[Link]
Government: Compare Constitutions
[Link]
Social Studies: Political Cartoons
[Link]
US History: Sources Conversing
DBQ: Should
the US have
entered WW I?
Germanys Reply To
The United States
First note of the
German Government in
answer to President
Wilsons protest on the
sinking of the Lusitania
- German Minister for
Foreign Affairs to the
American Ambassador
at Berlin May 28, 1915
Gale US History in Context
Telegram from U.S.
Ambassador Walter Page to
President Woodrow Wilson
English translation of the
decoded Zimmermann Telegram
February 24, 1917
"The Anniversary" [excerpt]
SYNOPSIS: The first Pulitzer Prize
for editorial writing was awarded to
this bitter denunciation of Germany
in the New York Tribune and call for
Americans to join World War I
(191418). The editorial's occasion
was the first anniversary of the
sinking of the Lusitania, a British
passenger liner, by German
submarines, an attack that killed
over a hundred Americans and
more than a thousand people total.
World History: Propaganda Project
[Link]
Science: Annotated Bibliography
Great for yearlong STEM projects!
Search for articles using ProQuest & EBSCO
Psychology: Individual Choices
Interactive multimedia exhibit about individual responsibility
and self-determination
[Link]
English Language Learners: Art
Vickery, Robert. Newborn Kitten. Robert
Vickrey. Robert Vickery, 2012. Web. 31 Mar.
2014. <[Link]
Complex Project Elements
Rich content
Reading strategies
Group dynamics
Multi-step projects
Increased rigor and
synthesis
Technology
Knowledge creation
Challenging sources
Cross-cultural content
Address weaknesses
you see in student
work
A Word About Checklists...
Complex
projects
require
complex
support.
Create
needed
resources!
Complex U.S. History: Primary Source Sets
Immigration Poster
1. What does the body language of
the people in the poster
represent?
2. What is the significance of the
Statue of Liberty in an obviously
foreign-written document?
Primary Source Sets: WW II*
Questions:
1) What is the significance of the
American Flag in the background?
2)What does her appearance and
demeanor portray about women during
this time period?
3)What is the significance of "Rosie"
implementing this profession?
Whitman, Sylvia. "War Production Board."
V Is for Victory: The American Home Front
during World War II. Minneapolis: Lerner,
1993. N. page. Print.
*student example
Complex Contemporary World Studies
[Link]
Complex English: Breathing Underwater
Provide models
Provide resources
(less seek, more find)
Provide checklists
Tips for Success
Start small lesson hook
or extension
Choose a flexible teaching
partner & communicate
Solicit teacher and student
feedback
Incorporate manipulatives
Experiment with no, low,
and high tech
Keep groups small: 2-3
Couch it in lots of student
talk
Scaffold it & provide a
task analysis or checklist
Use magnifying glasses
Richer resources = richer
discussions
Provide strong models
Track the thinking
Make it metacognitive
Show teachers whats been
done with others & rework it
OR start fresh
Evaluate student work for
learning - revise as you go
Embed analysis within
instruction
How do you know theyre learning?
Articulate process, ideas,
reactions
Comment on the gap
between their experience
and the expectation
Engage with issue and
discuss thoughts & feelings
about it
Adopt a perspective
Identify with characters
Zoom in on details
Hyperfocus
Form relevant questions
Connect ideas across
formats
Use supporting details
appropriately
Build their own
comparisons: Its like
Note pattern of errors
and/or discoveries
Apply skills to new sources
(transfer)
Reflect on content and
process
Additional Resources
Google Cultural Institutes
[Link]
Google Lit Trips
[Link]
Jackdaws Primary Source Sets
[Link]
US Holocaust Memorial Museum Center for the Prevention
of Genocide
[Link]
kdyar@[Link]
[Link]
