A primary source is a document, artifact, recording or other media that was created at the time of study. Some examples of primary source documents are a diary or journal entry, a newspaper article, a poster, a speech, a charter, original findings or lab notes. Teachers across grade levels and content areas should use primary source documents, but they are most often found in english language arts, science or social studies content areas. Primary source documents are often more engaging than general text books and using them during instruction is best practice.
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Tips & Tricks
- Great Questions for Primary Source Documents: What is the tone? Who is the intended audience? What is the purpose of the publication? What assumptions does the author make? What are the bases of the author’s conclusions? Does the content agree with what you know or have learned about this issue? Where was the source made? Do you agree or disagree with the author’s viewpoint?
- Shared Reading: The reading mode known as shared reading is a great way to read and teach primary source documents. During shared reading teachers explicitly model and guide students to annotate the text. To learn more about shared reading, click here.
- Framing the Learning: Although primary sources should be used during all stages of learning, they are especially engaging and easy to bring into instruction at the beginning of a lesson or unit to Frame the Learning. To begin a lesson or unit, consider sharing a primary source document with students to jump start their thinking about a specific topic or content area.
- Discourse: Primary source documents are great jumping off points for student discourse. Students can discuss in pairs, groups, or with the whole class. Primary sources are also often great objects or texts to use during Socratic Seminar.
- Thinking Routines: Thinking routines are excellent ways to engage students in discourse, writing, and thinking about objects and primary sources. Thinking routines are explicitly taught metacognitive routines. Some examples of excellent thinking routines are from Visual Thinking Strategies and Harvard’s Project Zero. An example of a Project Zero thinking routine for primary sources is asking the students the following sequence of questions- “What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?” Students answer back with “I see _____ (detailed description). “I think _______ (may include information about the objects subject, tone, purpose, creator, etc.). “I wonder _______ (includes questions they have about the object).” Teaching students to look at visuals, and objects this way can deepen their experience with primary sources.
Tools & Texts
- The National Archives DocsTeach site is has thousands of primary sources that you may also use to create engaging, interactive activities for students. DocsTeach also has many ready-to-use teaching activities that utilize primary sources selected from the National Archives.
- The SmithsonianSource is an excellent place to find primary source documents for teaching American History.
- The Library of Congress website has Primary Source Sets for teachers on a variety of historical topics.
- TeachingHistory.org has guides for using primary sources, teaching materials and examples of best practices with primary sources.
- Engaging Students with Primary Sources is a fantastic document published by Smithsonian that includes information and guidance on how to use primary sources with students.
- The Object of Their Attention by Shari Tishman is an great article published by ASCD on object based learning.
- Historical Thinking: ACPS document on Historical Thinking and Historical Reading Skills
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