Primary sources

[Unregistered]

I'm a graduate student working on my MAT, and I wanted to get the opinion of some seasoned teachers concerning the use of primary sources in the classroom.

--What kind of approach do you take to using primary sources?
--What do you do when a primary source is too dense for students to really understand what it is saying?
--Are there any good online resources that can help students access the language of dense historic documents?

Any ideas would be great!

[Unregistered]

--What kind of approach do you take to using primary sources?

Not knowing what level you're aiming for, I hope this will be useful.

I teach middle school students, and generally, I start with a basic document analysis exercise. I display grocery receipts,and they must infer information about the purchaser's health, habbits, income, hobbies, family, and age, and the location and time period in which the person lives based on the information on the receipt. It helps to introduce them to the idea of documents giving us more information about a person than what is simply in front of them.

I progress from simpler to more complex documents in this order:
-receipts
-photographs
-maps/drawings
-political cartoons
-telegrams/emails
-journals
-letters
-birth/death/marriage certificates
-Government Documents

We use a consistant format for analysing all documents, so that by the time we reach the more complex sources, they are well practiced in PSD analysis.

Whenever possible, I have students visit a local archive, and then we create an "archive" of documents based on a unit of study. The format, appearance, and style of language must be consistant with a real version of whatever type of document they complete (they draw randomly from a hat).


- --What do you do when a primary source is too dense for students to really understand what it is saying?

I break it down into smaller chunks. We take it a piece at a time. For example, tackling the Constitution can be as daunting to kids as climbing Mt. Everest, but they are far less intimidated if you give them one article at a time. Then, as you come to a natural break in topic, you can put the ones they have covered so far together, and begin to put the individual pieces into their proper context. It is more tedious to teach long documents this way, but I have found that it is far more effective and less intimidating for my kids.

Particularly with government documents, kids need to understand the context, so I often have them work in cooperative groups. They have to create a timeline of major events leading up to and following the creation of the document, create mini-biographies on all parties involved (writers, audience, legislators, etc.)

When reading the document, sometimes I have students go line by line and highlight in green what they do understand, in yellow what they think they understand but aren't 100% positive, and in pink what they have no clue about (usually technical jargon or verbose bureaucratic language.) Be aware that with students with learning disabilities, this can be confusing. This works best with G/T students or older students 8-12 grades

Occasionally we break down the language itself, identifying the verbs. You would be surprised how isolating the verbs in a document can illuminate the author's purpose, target audience, and bias. The truth is always in the verbs!

--Are there any good online resources that can help students access the language of dense historic documents?

Honestly, I haven't done much online searching for this. Teaching greek and latin roots before embarqing on a study of historical documents can be very helpful, as many government and scientific documents are stuffed to the gills with latin and greek root words. I'm sure there are sites out there to help with this.

[Unregistered]

The Library of Congress has digitized millions of primary sources. A great site that offers help, ideas, and projects using them is http://www.americanmemory.org.

Enjoy!

[Gail Hennessey]

Here is something that I developed for a DBQ on Life on the HomeFront in WW2.
DBQs:

Updated 010/07
DBQs are primary sources from which student are asked questions. They can include diaries, music, news articles from the time, anything written by those who participated in or witnessed an event in history. Students review these documents and use many cognitive skills in processing what they see and read. The next step of the process is the development of an essay citing several of the documents reviewed. Here's a sample of how you can use a DBQ in your social studies classroom.

Life on the Homefront during World War 2

1. Your first task is to carefully read over the different primary documents. As you read and analyze each document, pay careful attention to the sources of the documents and the point of view of the author.

2. Your second task is to respond to the questions following each website.

3. Finally, write an essay on Life on the Homefront during World War 2 citing 3 of the sources and involving the responses you made to the questions.

Include:
A. What were some ways people on the homefront were asked to help in the war efforts.

B. Explain how women helped on the homefrontt during the war.

C. Include additional knowledge on the topic of World War 2.

D. Proofread your work and then write a final draft.

1. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/adaccess/war/vmail/@Generic__BookTextView/406?DwebQuery=advertising+during+world+war+2
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lslips.htm
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu:80/adaccess/W/W00/W0083-72dpi.jpeg (click on pictures such as chipped cup and waste paper posters)
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/adaccess/war/conservation/@Generic__BookTextView/1623
A. What was the point of these posters?
B. Why was it important to write letters to servicemen?

C. What were two things people were encouraged to do ?

D. What does the first poster want to express?

2. http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/powers_of_persuasion/hes_watching_you/hes_watching_you.html
Type in He's watching you and select the first link http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/adaccess/war/conservation/@Generic__BookTextView/499
A. Who does Mr. Shickelgruber represent in the cartoon?

B. What were people to do with the grease that was collected. Why?
C. Why do you think selling paperback books began during WW2?

3. http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/www_002.html
http://www.skatelog.com/countries/us/ca/douglas-aircraft-skaters.htm
A. Most women didn't work outside the home before WW2. Why did posters such as this one encourage women to work during the War?

B. If husbands were at war and women were working, what were some of the problems for many women workers with families?

C. Before the war, most women had long hair styles and wore dress. How did hair and clothing styles change with women working in factories?

D. Women workers were called Lumberjills, Rosie the Riveter, Winnie the Welder and Dames for Defense. After the war, women were again encouraged to stay home and stop working. Why do you think many women would want to continue to work when the war had ended?

4. http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfb_disp9b.html
http://www.archives.gov/publications/posters/ww2.html
A. Why were stars on flags placed in windows back home?

B. What do you think the message of the poster "loose lips" or "lights out" were to people on the homefront?

1. Additional Resource: http://www.ddaymuseum.org/education/history_war.html

I also have one I wrote on Japanese Internment during WW2 which you can see at my website for teachers:http://www.gailhennessey.com
Gail

[derricpeterson]

Thanks a lot for useful links. I found them very interesting.

[klkatz]

i have a plethora of primary sources on my US History site: http://USHistorySite.com -- each page has lesson plans and primary sources for teachers.

i've reviewed all of them, so there are no duds.

[literature papers]

Thanks for the great number of required links and information. will enjoying! <a href="http://bookwormlab.com/literature_papers"></a>