1. Primary Source Research Day
Objective: Students will get hands on experience using primary source material in a research
setting. This day would include a master class delving into proper research techniques, students
examining examples of primary source material provided by the archives, and a tour of the
archives explaining why such resources are important. Program would work best with classes of
25 or, preferably, smaller.
Common Core Standards: This program could be modified to meet the standards of both
middle and high school students. Middle school standards will be used as an example here.
- History and Social Studies: Citing specific textual evidence to support analysis of
primary sources; Determining the central ideas or information of a primary source;
and Providing an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge.
- Writing: Write an informative/explanatory text including the narration of historical
events; Conduct short research project to answer a question drawing from several
sources; Gather information from multiple print and digital sources while avoiding
plagiarism; and Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
Outline of the Day: Brief description of what students will be doing throughout the day:
- Welcome all students to the archives and introduce staff and students that will be
helping with the program. Here we will divide the students into two groups for the
day. The aspects of the day will be a tour and a master class on primary source
research. Each portion of the day should last approximately 45 minutes.
- TakeGroup A on in-depth tour of the facility, including our offices and the reading
room, May Massee collection, and the archives themselves. Then discuss the
importance of having resources like this available to the public.
- Take Group B into a room and hold a master class on research techniques, including
where/how to start, the differences of primary and secondary sources, collecting

2. necessary info, and review of how not to plagiarize and citing sources. There will also
be examples of primary sources available for hands-on learning.
- Group A will then have the master class while Group B goes on the tour.
- The day will conclude by bringing the group back together for a farewell from the
staff and the answering of any last minute questions.
Take Away: The students will then return to their classroom with their notes from the master
class able to better conduct a research project using primary sources.Having an experience such
as this will help improve students’ higher order thinking skills and primary source literacy.
Students will also further appreciate the resources available to them, and have a better
understanding of the research process, and all it entails.Assessment can be collected using a
variety of mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, a blog/vlog, or written survey, which could be
decided upon by the student or teacher.