Every subject has a history and every student of that subject needs to know and understand that history. As teachers, we can engage our students with primary sources across all walks of life and within every subject area.
Think out of the box and mix it up: how about the influence of the automobile on music? For your CTE students: what do house builders or rennovators today need to know about the materials used to build houses in the 1800s? How about in the 1200s? What can we learn about climate change from the protests in the 1960s and 70s?
Happy exploring!
Agriculture
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Audio & Visual SourcesTelevision. Radio ads. Photography. Art. Museums specific to art. Architecture |
CultureFashion. Music. Car culture. Poetry & Lit. Kids.
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Geography
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Food, Medicine, Health
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Math, Economics & Data
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National Museums & Archives
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Science
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U.S. Government
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U.S. History
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U.S. History perspectives
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Wars
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World History
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"A quick view of Primary Source possibilities" powerpoint from the CCCS 2023 presentation. The images in the presentation are
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MY BLOG POSTS from other sites - ABOUT PRIMARY SOURCES IN THE CLASSROOM: It's March, Time to Talk Girl Talk
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About primary sources : Welcome to the 'good stuff' of history.
Scroll through this fabulous list of museums, Historical Societies, Tribal Preservation Organizations. Search all 50 states.
Check out DocsTeach
From Ken Burns - movies loaded with primary sources; ripe for all subject areas.
Lessons, NASA missions - not just science...
Best kept secret ever - share it!
This is not a definitive source for primary sources- it's a 'starter pack' to jump-start your exploration into primary sources.
All these sites are filled to the brim with resources useable with any subject. They include secondary sources for you to use as you plan your lessons but all link to the primary sources that they're highlighting.
For your classes: think out of the box and you have combos like:
marine biology and the moon landing,
women's rights and wartime gardens,
bearded presidents and blogs.
Up your game with your students and share the wealth of fun, information, and stories that make up our history.
Please feel free to contact me with ideas for sources to include, and any other ideas you might have to make it useful and interesting. Thank you. chwms@mac.com
Much of this comes from my work researching and writing:
Understanding Government Information: a Teaching Strategy Toolkit for grades 7-12 . Libraries Unlimited, 2017.
Books you should know about: mostly about teaching, big ideas, and thinking 'out of the box'...
Make Just One Change:: Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions: Luz Santana and Dan Rothstein
Making Curriculum Pop: Developing Literices in all Content Areas: by Pam Goble and Ryan Goble
The Back of the Napkin: by Dan Roam
While not specifically primary source related, government information librarians contributed to this book:
What can U.S. Government Information do for Me? hosting chapters on energy, data, the Census, National Park Service and more. I am honored to have been a part of it. Check it out!
