Primary sources are the very documents that history is made of, the images that science is based on, the raw material of our lives. They are also excellent tools to teach the critical thinking skills required by the Common Core State Standards and the C3 Framework for Social Studies.
OneHistory has a lot of primary source material for you. And now, the founders have written a book that explains in detail the strategies you can use to make primary sources come alive for your students, using fascinating photographs and powerful primary source texts.Because it is geared to students in elementary and middle schools--or older students who are beign introduced to primary sources for the first time--it emphasizes sources that do not require advanced reading skills--images and personal voices such as diaries, letter, journals and oral histories.
You'll find other resources when you scroll down this page. There's help for finding primary sources and what to do when you find them. We have printable posters with questions for classroom discussion, and pages of important primary source text. Except for the book, which you can order from Capstone Publishing, it's all free. |
